Don’t Ignore Ice Dams and Excess Snow Your Roof

Winter is not only the season for holidays, it’s also the season for ice dams and snow-burdened roofs. While they may seem harmless enough, these two can actually cause major headaches for your home and family.

Aside from potential water damage and the threat of a potential roof collapse, icicles that form on the roof can suddenly fall off and cause serious injuries. Icicles also drip water regularly, with the resulting puddle turning into a slipping hazard before long, especially if it forms along sidewalks or pathways.

It is acceptably far safer to simply take preemptive measures and install specific home additions that can control or eliminate the ice and snow that accumulates on the rooftop, rather than risk life and limb to remove them manually. One such option is to install a product like Heated Helmet by Gutter Helmet® that melts snow or ice so that they drain through the gutters like rainwater. Such a product can also be used in tandem with gutter guard systems.

Though you can use a shovel and a ladder to take care of this bothersome duo, you must exercise utmost caution if you wish to remove snow and ice chunks from the roof yourself. Along with a sensible gutter guard, it may be a wiser decision to install a reliable gutter splash guard system on every roof valley to prevent overflows.

Getting the Best Gutter Protection System

In cleaning or maintaining your house, you have to consider all sides and corners. The exteriors, where gutters, attached to the entire roofing system, belong, are as equally important as the interior parts of your home.

Gutter maintenance take a bit from your time and savings. It takes some effort to keep your gutters free of debris that may soon clog the rainwater channels. Some homeowners install protective gutter guards as a plausible solution to having professional roofers or cleaners clear the roof and gutters frequently throughout the year.

Not all gutter guards work, though, so be wary before you buy the product. Size matters when it comes to gutter protection. The gutter guards should be able to completely cover the width and length of your gutters. You can employ professional companies to get a quote estimate after their on-site inspection.

The type of material and condition of your roof are important points as well. This will determine if and how a gutter guard can be installed and which type suits your home. It is advisable to seek the services of a professional gutter guard installation company, for roofing work that will not affect the warranty on your roof. The most important consideration, of course, will be value for money, which means efficiency at a price worth its performance.

Gutter Guards Can Save You Time and Money

Gutters are important features of the house because they help prevent rain damage by controlling the flow of rainwater from the roof and diverting it to the ground. They also keep insects away from the basement and crawlspaces. However, some people fail to recognize the importance of well-maintained gutters in protecting their homes.

Uncovered gutters are a great source of possible damage, but can be prevented through regular cleaning. Most people, however, do not like cleaning the gutters because it is an arduous task. Furthermore, it requires using ladders, which can pose a danger of falling and getting injured.

If you hate cleaning gutters, you might want to install reliable gutter guards or gutter shields on them. These guards or shields act as your gutters’ protection from leaves and other debris that cause clogging. Though the installation of gutter guards may be costly, your initial investment will pay off in the long run, especially when you think about the time and energy you will save.

An effective gutter shield falls into three categories, namely screening agents, filling agents, and reverse curve. Screening agents fit over gutters and prevent leaves and other debris from entering gutters. Filling agents, on the other hand, are foams or bristles that fill in the gutter cavity and allow water to pass through but keep debris at the top. Lastly, reverse curve gutter guards are hoods that allow water to pass into the gutter, but shoot debris off into the ground.

Make Gutter Maintenance Easier with Gutter Guards

A clear gutter not only prevents water damage to your roof and basement, it also deters the formation of ice dams when winter comes around. During forest fires, it can also reduce the chances of setting a house on fire, since wind-borne embers that fall all on the gutters won’t have any flammable debris to ignite.

Additionally, a well-designed, properly installed, and well-maintained gutter system also makes it possible to collect a significant amount of clean rainwater that can be used for various household purposes. Indeed, it’s a cost-effective way to keep your home aesthetically pleasing, durable, and risk-free. Likewise, you can lower your water bill and help save the planet.

Of course, cleaning your gutters in the spring and fall isn’t the only way to keep them debris free; the installation of high-quality gutter guards is another practical and innovative solution worth considering. These days, a growing number of homeowners see the benefit of installing heavy-duty gutter guards that ward off debris to prevent backflows and protect the entire roofing structure from damage.

In any case, be sure to consult with a credible company that can provide the appropriate gutter protection solutions for your home. Aside from gutter guard installation, your roof may need some serious gutter repairs or replacements, as well as gutter cap installation for a more formidable protection.

Preventing Water Damage to Your Home

Water, for all its usefulness, is actually detrimental to your home when it seeps into places where it shouldn’t be. If you want to prevent expensive water damage to your home, below are a few helpful tips.

Dry Foundation

Remember that your downspouts aren’t just intended to allow rainwater runoff from your roof to gently fall to the ground—they’re also designed to keep water from drenching your foundation as well as your basement. You have to inspect your downspouts regularly, especially after a bad storm, as they might have incurred some damages where water can leak.

Painting Wood

When you’re painting or repainting your wooden fence, deck, siding or other exterior fixture, make sure that you apply a coating of primer first to protect the wood. To be even more efficient, try removing all traces of old paint, and sand the wood surface before applying primer. This will make it more resistant to moisture.

Gutter Cleaning

You should see to it that you get your gutters cleaned regularly, especially in autumn and winter when there’s a high risk of snow or debris clogging up your gutters. Of course, if you don’t want to get up on your roof for a clearing session every few months or so, you can always buy a reliable gutter protection system that can help improve the flow of water into your gutters by preventing debris buildup.

About Sturdy Gutter Materials and Gutter Covers

Roofs often been taken for granted, but the fact of the matter is, they provide more than half of your home’s weather protection needs. What’s even more neglected is the fixture that keeps all that rainwater from piling up on your roof – the gutters. If you don’t want to have a faulty gutter leaking water onto the foundation of your house, you might want to invest in some of these:

Gutters made of aluminum and stainless steel – The former is arguably the most widely-used gutter material in the US due to its affordability and greater capacity for holding water compared to other materials. The latter, while expensive, is very durable and does not rust easily. Take note that no matter which material you choose, you should remember to supplement your chosen gutter with solid gutter guard systems to prevent clogging.

It takes a responsible homeowner to keep things like busted, leaky or clogged gutters, as well as ice dams (for areas that generally experience heavy snowfall) from happening, and it will take the best gutter guard system to see that objective through. Once you’ve chosen the ideal gutter material for your home, be sure to contact the professionals to help you make sure that all that water from above goes right where it needs to: away from your home.

Winterizing Your Roofing and Gutter Systems

Winter is more enjoyable when a home is well-prepared to take on critical volumes of snow. Part of winter preparation is to ensure your rain gutters are clean and operating optimally. When winter hits, a home’s gutter system plays a major role in regulating snow and ice buildup on the roof’s surface and eaves.

Gutters that have not seen any cleaning activity before winter could be in danger of clogging, particularly when melting snow mixes with the leaves and other debris that might have accumulated on the roof. Clogged gutters can trap melting snow and rainwater on the roof, which could then result in the formation of ice dams and cause major problems such as leaks and overloading. Additionally, the buildup of water on clogged gutters can weaken the gutters themselves, not to mention cause the growth of health-threatening organisms like mold and mildew.

Gutter covers can effectively minimize—perhaps even eliminate—the problems detailed above.

With that in mind, choosing the right gutter cover for your home has to be done carefully. Quality gutter covers are made from anti-corrosive materials with high tensile strength that can handle heavy snow and rain loads. They also come with a textured surface and a curved edge to ensure that water flows onto the gutters and not to the ground.

Rodents and Pests—The Other Threat to Your Gutters

The primary purpose of a reliable rain gutter system is to direct water away from your roof and home’s foundation to prevent any type of water or moisture damage. However, there are times when runoff isn’t the only thing that gets caught in your gutters. They may also become clogged with dead leaves and twigs.

Even worse, they can serve as the home of pesky creatures like rats and squirrels.

When these rodents find their way into the gutters through overhanging tree limbs, they may even give birth to a litter if you don’t find a way to deal with them as soon as possible.

If you don’t take the time to clean out your gutters, the accumulated, rotting debris inside them will start to attract insects and tiny rodents, which, in turn, draws in lizards and snakes – their primary predators.

Fortunately, there are many ways to keep various critters from living in your gutters. For instance, you can set up traps, place fright inducers (e.g. fake snakes, decoy owls or eagles), or make it a habit to regularly remove debris from your gutters.

Gutter guards are also useful since they are specially designed to allow proper drainage of rainwater or melted snow while simultaneously preventing animals from nesting in your gutters and keeping debris from clogging the system.

Avoid Having to Always Clean Your Gutters Again

One of the most hazardous home maintenance tasks is the cleaning of gutters. For one, just the risk of falling off the roof while completing the chore is dangerous enough; then, there is also the risk of accidentally hitting a tree branch or power line that’s in the way.

While gutters can be cleaned professionally, it might be costly for a homeowner without any budget for twice yearly roofing maintenance, plus the need for check-ups in the wake of every severe storms. Simply leaving gutters unkempt is not an option either and is not advisable as falling leaves and debris left to rot in the channels would eventually clog the system, inevitably causing water damage to surrounding structures. The moisture and dampness that spread on the surface create a perfect breeding ground for unhealthy critters and parasites that make their dwellings in your roof.

Protective gutter providers like Gutter Helmet have developed innovative gutter guards which are placed on top of the gutter channels as a protective cover to allow debris to be filtered out and water to flow freely into the gutter, properly directing water away from the roof and home. When properly installed, gutter guards eliminate the need for constantly cleaning or clearing the gutters, whether of debris or snow build up.

Preserving Gutter Performance with Guard Covers

Winter has arrived for most of America, but gutters all around the country still hold the remains of the leaves of autumn. A single leaf may be considered harmless, but once dead leaves start to accumulate and clump together on your roof, they can effectively block the gutter and prevent water from flowing through the drain. In the winter, the water trapped on your gutters will then build up and freeze, leading to problems that range from leaky roofs to sagging driveways.

Clogged gutters also cause water to pool around the foundation of a house. This may be the cause of severe damage as it weakens that material and causes cracks in the foundation. One way to prevent extensive damage to a home is to install effective leaf gutter guards. Being a system designed to keep out leaves and debris, gutter guards allow water to flow naturally and safely away from your home.

As a homeowner, you’ll most certainly have to deal with maintenance tasks all year round. Ignoring gutter inspection can mean a hefty price to pay in the future. If you want permanently clog-free gutters and the peace of mind that comes with it, turn to high-quality gutter leaf guard systems that keep debris out of your gutters and allow water to flow through.