Water damage has the highest impact on your property’s integrity since it affects your foundations and the walls. The gutters are a vital part of the protection of your property from water damage.
These might, unfortunately, become the primary contributor to water damage without the correct maintenance and installation. Gutter cleaning is essential but not as easy as a ladder and a brush or vacuum cleaner.
Thankfully, you can now minimize the need for gutter cleaning and keep your seamless rain gutters working as they should with the right protection system. These systems keep falling debris out of the gutters and rainwater flowing through them. The following are your gutter protection system options.
Gutter Covers
These are the most popular choice for the protection of your gutters. Covers will fit over your gutters’ tops and generally have a perforated surface for the penetration of water. The back of a gutter cover might be open so that water slides off the roof and into the gutters.
These gutter protection systems can be made of copper, steel, vinyl, or aluminum based on your desired curb appeal. Alternatively, you can match the material of the covers to that of your gutters to generate a harmonized look.
Gutter Screens
These work like gutter covers. They are fitted over the top of your gutters and primarily avert the infiltration of large debris. Depending on the mesh size used for the screens, these gutter protection systems can also filter small debris. Gutter screens are generally cheaper compared to covers though they have a lower curb appeal compared to the latter.
Gutter Guards
This term is usually used to describe anything installed on your gutters’ top and to keep debris out of them. Gutter guards are however perforated metal sheets that will be snapped over your gutter.
Most are designed for high-flow gutters and will allow the inflow of copious amounts of water while blocking considerable debris. To this end, gutter guards are generally used in places with heavy rainfall where gutter screens and covers might cause an overflow of rainwater from the gutters.
Gutter Downspouts
Few people consider downspouts as a part of their gutter’s protection. The downspout is, however, vital to direct water from your building’s foundations and walls. In most cases, the downspout will be vertically mounted on your building’s sides.
There are, however, now new downspout designs that feature gutter chains directing water from your foundation and boosting your curb appeal. You can include a collection trough at their bottom for rainwater harvesting.
Gutter Inserts
These cover and protect your gutters while allowing the penetration and flow of water. The types of gutter inserts include foam inserts made of polyurethane or polypropylene foam and gutter cups resembling a large plastic cage-like structure. Gutter inserts are low-cost and easy to install, but rodents and birds might tear them to shreds.
These protection systems seem easy to install. A few property owners are thus fooled into using their tool kits and some installation knowhow to install their gutter protection systems. They should, however, be professionally installed for their efficiency and to avert damage to your gutters.
