Living in the North West of England unfortunately means that quite a lot of the time, we are faced with heavy rainfall. This is common all year round and it can cause havoc with your roofing and guttering. As we have been having a lot of on-and-off weather recently with some very rainy days and the odd thunderstorm, we wanted to share with you some tips and advice on how to look after your guttering and keep it safe and secure so that it is able to do its job properly.
During these periods of bad weather and heavy rainfall, it is not uncommon to experience problems with your guttering. Though this may seem like a big inconvenience and something you might not pay all that much attention to, it is actually very important to have your guttering repaired when it is broken or blocked.
Blockages lead to flooding
One of the most common problems with guttering is blockages. This can happen due to all kinds of reasons and is pretty impossible to prevent. During the winter gutters can freeze up inside which creates a blockage, or sometimes there is a build up of snow that closes it all up, and throughout the rest of the year you get things like leaves, branches and debris that clog it up and prevent it from functioning properly.
Though you can’t necessarily prevent blockages in your gutter, you should always get them cleared when they do block up. This is because water cannot flow through as it usually would otherwise, and this can lead to the water overflowing or even flooding. Furthermore, if the water cannot drain through the gutter, this can have an impact on your roofing and make it become weaker as well as causing dampness.
It’s better to get your gutter fixed sooner rather than later
We would always advise that summer is the best time to get your gutter fixed. Though it may not seem like a problem now, your guttering might not be in the best condition and over time this can deteriorate, which often leads to bigger problems further down the line. Leaving a problem unattended will only lead to worse consequences in the long run.
For example, if your gutter has cracks or is a little weak or even broken, or if there is a bit of a blockage, come winter it won’t be functioning as it should be and this can leave you with a negative impact to and outside of your house. Leaving a broken gutter unrepaired until a time when you need it to be performing well will only make matters worse and it will be more difficult to get it repaired. Therefore, we strongly advise getting any problems fixed now, so that come winter and the colder months when the weather is a little more harsh, you are prepared and your guttering will be able to withstand the force of the weather.
Broken guttering impacts the external appearance of your home
Aside from broken guttering being a huge practical issue, it is also quite an eyesore on your home. From the exterior, broken guttering does not look good. You want to take pride in your home and give off a good impression, and not have any damage making it look unattractive.
Severe broken guttering may detract from the value of your property
When a gutter becomes severely damaged and is left untreated for too long, it can have really damaging consequences which are not only costly to repair, but can also actually detract from the overall value of your property. For example, flooding and dampness are two of the most common results of broken guttering, and both of these things cause havoc to your property and leave you with a costly repair bill as well as potential long-lasting damage to your property. Therefore, it is extremely important to get broken guttering fixed as soon as you possibly can in order to minimise the risk of this happening.
For more information and advice or if you have any questions about guttering, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help.
