Replacing Your Roof Is Not Enough…Don’t Forget Gutters & Downspouts

An Essential Home Improvement

Many homeowners in the United States every year find themselves compelled to replace a badly damaged or heavily worn residential roof. This essential home system protects the interior from water damage while providing an attractive exterior design element. Today many high-quality roofs also offer valuable insulation assistance, ultimately helping to keep household utility bills under control.

Yet even if you choose to replace your roof with a brand new, energy-efficient product, you won’t want to overlook another important feature. Don’t forget to include ample gutters and downspouts when you budget for roof replacement costs! They could help you save thousands of dollars over the course of your new roof’s lifespan.

Why Gutters And Downspouts Assist Homeowners

An experienced gutter contractor can serve as an excellent information resource for homeowners considering a variety of different gutter guard systems. As you review different available gutter guards, gutter covers and gutter downspout covers, it makes sense to keep in mind several key advantages:

• • Optimizing The Roof’s Lifespan

A gutter system with connecting downspouts collects runoff from a roof and channels the flow of wastewater towards an intended location, usually an exterior drain. In wood frame homes, this process helps prevent soaking water from dripping across the leaves and soaking into the wood, potentially causing long-term rotting damage. In this respect, a gutter helps ensure a property owner obtains optimal utility from a new roof.

• • Safeguarding Your Home’s Foundation

Perhaps even more importantly, by directing the flow of rainwater towards an exterior drain, a gutter and downspout system helps preserve the lifespan of the residential foundation. In the absence of this important roofing component, rain and melting snow sometimes form rivulets of water pouring from a roof onto locations near the residence. Depending upon the surrounding soil composition and the topography, regular streams of runoff flowing in the same location over the course of time may contribute to basement dampness, as water sinks into the ground along the perimeter of the home. Runoff may collect on a slab or seep into the foundation. In some cases, heavy water flows also promote shifting soils, which may, in turn, cause structural problems. The small investment you make in a well-functioning gutter system could yield an excellent return during years of service by preventing foundation or structural problems from developing.

• • Gutters Protect Siding And Masonry

By directing water away from the residence, gutters and downspouts also prevent trickles of water from eventually creating moldy siding or causing unsightly exterior masonry water stains. By helping a homeowner avoid more frequent exterior cleaning expenses, a gutter and downspout system offers cost savings over the course of time.

• • Gutter Components

A well-constructed gutter guard will help prevent the formation of rust on the gutter and reduce the buildup of debris. Gutter covers contribute to the appearance, while also deterring mosquitoes and other insects from taking up residence inside a wet gutter.

Downspouts funnel water from the gutter towards a desired location. Choose a downspout cover carefully to help control water flows. You can select an “elbow” connection to redirect a downspout in a desired direction.

• • Different Types of Gutter Guard Systems

Manufacturers produce gutter components in a variety of attractive styles and materials. Each variety furnishes unique benefits. Some of the most popular systems installed by a typical gutter contractor today include:

• • • Aluminum
      Lightweight and inexpensive, aluminum provides a great gutter material. This metal resists rusting. Today manufacturers produce an attractive variety of colored aluminum components.

• • • Copper Seamless Gutters
      The most expensive and durable gutter components utilize copper. These parts resist rusting and potentially endure for a century!

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Gutters and Downspouts: A Great Investment

By carefully selecting the best gutters and downspouts to match your new roof, you’ll contribute to the elegant appearance of your home. A lovely roofing system replete with a complete gutter and downspout assembly will control water runoff. It furnishes literally years of utility!