Is Winter Coming? Get Your Gutters Ready

Blog

The cold temperatures of winter will bring plenty of ice and snow to your roof. You may not realize that this also puts a lot of stress on your home's gutters. It is important that you take the necessary steps to ensure your home's gutters are capable of withstanding the additional weight, as well as verify that melting snow will be able to exit through the downspouts. Here are some tips for winter gutter preparation.

Inspect The Gutters

You should give your gutters a visual inspection to verify that they are not damaged and are in working condition. The late fall is your last chance to easily make repairs because the winter weather will make it difficult to get out a ladder and climb up to your roof.

For homes that have been hit by hail, be sure to check for physical tears or holes in the gutter material. Damaged sections of gutters should be replaced immediately. The water can leak through holes in the gutter material and cause damage to parts of your home near the underside.

Clean The Gutters

You should also be prepared to clean all debris that is stuck in your gutters from the fall. You can use a brush to scrub debris that is stuck to the bottom of the gutters and then rinse out the remaining debris with your garden hose. This is another time you can check for leaks since the dripping water will be an easy way to help identify a problem.

Make sure that you clean out debris that could be stuck within the downspout. It helps to force a powerful stream of water directly into the downspout from the top, which should flush everything out at the bottom. This will help prevent ice dams from forming from trapped water.

Install Leaf Guards

Leaf guards are a very cheap method to keep all of this debris out of your gutters. The best time to install them is right after you repair and clean your gutters in the late fall, and if you are already up on your roof doing that, it will be really convenient.

Leaf guards are a mesh screen that attach on top of the gutters. They don't allow any debris to enter the gutter, and the rainfall should push debris off the gutters and down to the ground.

If you need professional help with any of these things, contact a local company that specializes in gutter installation and repair, such as Innovations Siding & Windows.

Share

24 August 2017

thinking through the window buying process

One thing I disliked about my house when I bought it was the fact that the windows were all so small. My house is in a beautiful country setting with no neighbors anywhere to be seen, so I couldn't understand why anyone would want to block the scenery out of the home. I started looking for oversize windows that I could use to bring the stunning country setting inside the home. I find all sorts of windows that would accomplish what I wanted and created a blog to help me choose what windows would be best for my home. Maybe, my thought process can help you find the perfect windows for your home.