Pretty much every home in the area has gutters in some form or another. Here in Northern Colorado, many homeowners enjoy new construction homes with gutters that are likely to last most or all of the time they own the house. In general, we tend to take gutters for granted and assume that they’re doing their job — even if many of us don’t know what that job is.
Here are the 5 key reasons why your home needs working gutters at all times, each of which should be more than enough to motivate you into walking the perimeter of your home to check for gutter damages.
1. Keep Water Away From Your Home’s Foundation
The key reason your home needs a working gutter system is to keep water away from your home’s foundation and structural elements. When left unchecked, water can destroy every aspect of your home inside and out.
During heavy rains or after snow rapidly melts, as it so often does in Northern Colorado, your home will likely see a sudden deluge of water that your foundation, siding, windows, doors, etc. were not built to withstand. If left unchecked, these structures can and will break down due to water damage.
Considering that a foundation lift or flooded basement could easily cost you tens of thousands of dollars, it is not difficult to imagine why gutters serve a vital purpose for local homeowners. If you’ve taken your gutters for granted until now, just know that you’re not alone.
2. Shield Your Exterior Siding & Paint
Similar to your home’s foundation, water will wreak havoc on your home’s siding or paint. Since rainwater tends to condense into “streams” to fall from your roof, it is likely that without gutters water would concentrate and repeatedly “attack” the same portion of your home’s exterior.While exterior paints and siding elements are designed to withstand rain itself, a concentrated stream of water falling from the roof each storm can easily cause your siding and paint to fail far sooner than it should.
Gutters act as a channel for water to take from your roof that circumvents hitting the ground or siding of your home, which protects the home’s exterior elements.
3. Prevent Soil & Landscape Erosion
If you’ve ever seen the ground beneath a section of gutter that is clogged, you’ll notice large recesses in the soil. While this may seem somewhat harmless, the erosion that a stream of water falling from the roof causes can change the way water drains around your home’s foundation.
Again, this can lead to a compounding effect that brings you to a foundation repair to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Even in the less extreme examples, soil erosion makes for an uneven lawn, patches of no grass or vegetation, decreased property value, and more.
4. Protect Your Home’s Value
Any discerning home inspector will notice a gutter that needs repair (and all accompanying damages and symptoms) at a glance. If you’re looking to protect your home’s value within the booming Northern Colorado real estate market, protecting your gutters is a necessary step.
As they become worn or ineffective, gutters will naturally warp, rust, and even fall off of the exterior of your home. This could cause lasting damages at the worst and a poor, run-down look at the least.
While we don’t often think to look up and inspect the roofline (except maybe after a local hale storm), it is important to regularly check on your gutters to ensure that you’re not jeopardizing your home’s marketability.
5. Working Gutters Save You Money
At the end of the day, it comes down to dollars and cents. As mentioned above, a prospective buyer of your home would likely assume that gutters in disrepair could be a sign that other maintenance elements of your home are in disrepair, as gutter repair or replacement is a low-cost alternative to greater problems that are caused by failure to maintain this system.
Whether it’s buying less mulch for the landscaping around your home or avoiding an extremely costly fix to your basement or foundation, a working gutter will save you money in Northern Colorado when compared to relying upon a broken or missing gutter system.
Don’t Go It Alone, We Can Help!
While a full gutter repair or replacement may not be on your agenda for the weekend, the team at Lion Roofing & Gutters is ready to help out. We’re well versed in all things related to roofing and have years of experience working with and around healthy gutter systems.
If you’re unsure whether your gutters need a quick fix or a full replacement, let us help and we’ll be sure to get your gutters working right to protect your home’s value.
Call today for scheduling or more information!
