Believe it or not, gutters and downspout systems do a lot to protect the structure of your home and keep some of its most crucial features intact. It’s odd that such an unlikely feature could be effective enough to prevent soil erosion, foundation cracking, and roof deterioration. But they absolutely can! Learn about how gutters protect your home in this brief guide.
Maintains the Longevity of Your Roof
If you’re trying to figure out why gutters are an essential part of your home, you’ve come to the right place. And one of the strongest arguments for the fundamental nature of this home feature is that it maintains and optimizes the longevity of your roof. We think that’s pretty important. After all, your roof provides shelter and keeps the structural integrity of your home intact.
Without a sound gutter system to keep rainwater and debris from collecting on your roof, you’re putting that integrity at risk. With no drainage path, water, waste, and a myriad of other things build upon your roof’s surface. This causes water infiltration, shingle rot, and severe damage to your roof. Thus, having a solid gutter system is essential to keeping this vital feature of your home functional and intact.
Prevents Erosion in Your Landscaping and Soil
Gutters aren’t just beneficial to your roof. They also protect your yard’s soil and landscaping from erosion. This protection has to do with the way gutters allow water to drain through a designated route to your driveway or garden. Essentially, gutters are there to lead water as far away from your home as possible. Without anywhere else to go, rainwater can scatter throughout your yard.
This may seem inconsequential. But the truth is, it can damage your flowerbeds, soil, and lawn. It causes depressions in your landscape, oversaturated soil, and—in general—a huge mess. And spring showers are just around the corner. Working on the gutters is an important maintenance task, whether you’re repairing existing systems or installing new ones.
Protects Your Home’s Foundation
Of course, we can’t discuss why gutters are an essential part of your home without mentioning how they protect your home’s foundation. Gutters and downspouts create a vital pathway for water to drain away from your home. When you don’t have a working gutter system, it causes influxes of water to form rivulets down the side of your exterior.
As a result, water starts to collect on the slabs of your foundation or seep into it. Later, this can lead to water infiltration, cracking, and severe damage to the structure of your home’s foundation. Of course, this is costly, hazardous, and overall, an issue that you don’t want. Thus, make sure your gutters are draining correctly and well-maintained. After all, they are an integral feature of your home.
