Why Do Homes Have Gutters?

Firstly, not all homes need gutters-those in hot climates may not have a gutter system. This is because there is little rain fall, which is one of the main reasons homes have gutters. The main purpose of gutters is to channel water from the homes roof and away from the home safely. Gutters should also be seen as a safety precaution, because the damage that water can do to a homes render are quit extreme. http://www.soundhome.com/article/why-do-we-need-gutter-system is a good article on gutters use and properties.

Inadvertently, gutters catch a lot of moss and debris off the roof and also avoid broken tiles and roofing falling onto the ground; which can have obvious safety issues.

How are gutters installed?

As Kirkcaldy gutter cleaners we have been asked this before by customers, and the answer is that the type of gutter depends on how it is installed. To install uPVC guttering, firstly we fit one support bracket at one end of the fascia board-at the opposite end to where the water running outlet shall be. We then fit the second bracket at the other end of the fascia board, but importantly we measured this to allow a 1cm drop in height for every 3.5 meters along the board. We use string banded between both brackets and check with a spirit level that the water will be running downhill slightly, marking off where we want our other 1 meter spaced brackets to be at the same time.

We can assume all brackets are in place now, and we have our new piece of guttering ready to fit. The outlet end is first fitted at the lowest end of the guttering support bracket as this is where the downpipe will eventually be fitted too. We clip the guttering into the support brackets and fit an end stop to the other end (opposite down pipe end) and we use offset bends to direct water from the downpipe against the wall of the house; cutting the downpipe to length and fitting support brackets against the vertical wall as well.

What are the components of a residential gutter system

The main component is the gutter itself, where the water is transferred along the side of homes. When gutter cleaning in Kirkcaldy a common set up we see is an end cap at either end of the gutter, a seamer used to take the gutter around corners of the house and a front elbow attaching to a downpipe- to remove water from the gutter and down away from the home.

What damage can faulty gutters actually cause to a home?

The main damage is water damage, the homes render is built to be splash proof but if you have a constant leak or drip then this can find its way into small chinks in the render over time. If the render is “blown” then what was a simple gutter leak can now be a job for a roughcaster, will your home insurance cover this? Possibly not if the gutter maintenance was not adhered to. Here is a photo of how bad render damage can be, in fact it can be a lot worse but this is an example we witnessed while carrying out gutter cleaning in Kirkcaldy.

Have a look at the blog posts here for more information on water damage.