A lot of water flows over your roof whenever it rains. Having a proper gutter system on your roof therefore enables you to efficiently drain that water either to the rainwater tank or the storm water drains. This demands that you keep track of the condition of your gutters even as you check on your roofing as well as other parts of the house. Here's what you need to watch out for when it comes to repairing your gutters.
Corrosion
If you have old iron gutter sheets on your roof, they may be corroded due to contact with moisture and air. However, you have to get up close to identify this corrosion otherwise your gutters may look just fine from afar. A roofing plumber can inspect your gutters and check if any corrosive damage has taken place. Corrosion not only eats into the gutter leaving massive holes, it also contaminates your water. If you have corroded gutters, or gutters made of a corrosive material, have them replaced altogether. Don't forget the downpipes too.
Gutter blockage
Another subtle problem that could be hurting your roof drainage is blockage. The most common cause of blockage is leaves and this happens if your roofing is overshadowed by trees. When the trees shed their leaves, they fall onto your roof and are later lodged inside your gutters and downpipes when it rains.
As harmless as it may sound, such blockage will cause runaway water to overflow on the sides. This will mean less water collected in your tank. It also means your roof will flood at the lower sections. This will get moisture under your shingles/tiles and that could bring about molding or leaks soon after.
Your roofing plumber will use pressurized water to clear your gutters and downpipes. He can also clean the gutter system and install filters to ensure you get clean water in your tank.
Loose joints
If your gutter system hasn't been maintained in a while, some joints may have come apart. This can happen on the roof or the downpipes. Unfortunately, you may only get to notice bad poor joints when it actually rains, which will be too late.
Loose joints cause loss of massive amounts of water. This water will pour right under your eaves causing flooding or property damage. During gutter repairs, your plumber will fix them by attaching a bracket to hold the gutters in place or by installing a joint to connect the two loose pieces.
Get your gutters checked at least once every year by a professional such as Aussie Plumbing & Gutters. This will assure you of adequate rainwater collection and prevent leaks or flooding any time it rains.
Share11 February 2015
Welcome to my blog! My name is Richard and my big passion in life is looking for old buildings to restore. My love of old buildings started when I was seven years old and I visited my grandparent's house in Alice Springs. It was a large Victorian building which looked magnificent even though it was in a bad state of repair. Once I grew up and made some money, I decided I would like to invest in old buildings to bring them back to life. I hire a range of different contractors to complete the work on my behalf but I take a keen interest and I have learnt a lot of things.