Have your gutters been overflowing, and are you trying to identify the cause? This article is for you. It will provide you with a guide on identifying the cause of gutter overflow.
Gutter overflow is hard to identify unless it's raining because that is the only time you can see the leaks clearly. A faulty gutter system might cause a flood and ruin your building. The first thing to do is specify the root cause of the overflow to fix it.
Gutter Overflow: How to Identify the Cause
Gutters are a staple in any building as they help protect your walls and fascia from water damage. Sometimes, your building's gutter might get clogged and overflowing or leak when it rains. One thing to know is that if left unattended, the problem might worsen, and you will be prompted to get new gutters, which are even more expensive. The good thing is that some gutter overflow issues are fixable if the problem is resolved earlier.
Several factors cause gutter overflow, and they are:
Clogged Gutter Overflow
It is the most common cause of gutter overflow. Sometimes debris like leaves, twigs, or anything else that might find its way onto your roof may get washed down to your gutters and cause clogging. This build-up causes blockage in your gutters and an overflow in your gutters. It is a simple issue to fix because you must remove all the debris causing the blockage and flood.
Wrongly positioned gutters
If there was a mistake during the installation of the gutters, it might cause an overflow once the rains come. If the gutter angle is too steep or too tilted, it may cause water to go backwards and cause an overflow. Ensure you seek professional help if you notice this problem in your gutter.
Heavy Rainfall
If your gutters are too small for the rainfall, they might overflow. Heavy rain may cause your gutters to overflow if they are small.
Investing in more oversized gutters is advisable if you live in an area that receives heavy rain. Heavy rainfall might even cause your drains to bulge or break.
Your Gutters Are Loose
Your gutter might detach from the fascia. It causes water to spill and overflow when it rains. When this happens, you should look for a professional to examine the issue. It is sometimes caused by loose or inadequate and sometimes loose brackets.
Your Gutters are Small
Your gutters could be too small to hold all the water coming to them. Your building's roof could also be large and receive huge volumes of water going to the gutters. These will cause your gutters to overflow since they can't hold all the water. The good thing to do is change your gutters and get larger ones to hold all the water from your roof.
Using fewer gutters and downspouts
If your building doesn't have enough gutters or downspouts, this might cause overflow. In the long run, these damage your gutters system and prompt you to replace them, which could be costly.
The best thing to do is ensure your gutters are large enough to hold all the water from your roof. It is essential as it ensures water from your roof is moving and is distributed evenly on your gutters.
Damage from weather conditions
Your gutters endure and stay under different harsh weather conditions day in and day out. These extreme weather conditions may end up causing leaks and overflows.
These weather conditions might make your gutters crack or develop holes around them. If left unresolved, the issue may worsen and become more costly.
To ensure the holes don't get bigger, you should apply waterproof sealants to fix them. Unfortunately, if the holes are bigger, you may have to replace your gutters, which could be expensive.
Old and damaged gutters
If your gutters have been on your roof for a long time, they may have developed holes due to wear and tear. These holes will start leaking when it starts raining and flood your basement.
The only way to solve this issue is by replacing your gutter system. That includes the gutters, downspouts, brackets, and gutter fasteners. You could even be prompted to replace your fascia to make your new gutter system more durable.
There are a few factors to consider before getting new gutters, like your budget, durability, and quality.
How to prevent your gutters from overflowing
If you want to keep healthy gutters and avoid overflowing issues, here are tips for maintaining them:
- Regular cleaning - ensure that your gutters are regularly cleaned to remove debris that may cause them to overflow when it rains.
- Cutting tree limbs near your gutters: Ensure you are cutting tree branches near your gutters to prevent them from falling into the gutter.
- Invest in more oversized gutters. If your channels are smaller than the water volumes, replacing them with bigger ones is a good decision. It will help stop the overflow, which may ruin your building's foundation.
- Installing splash guards: splash guards are perfect for stopping the speed of the water flowing from the roof.
- Adding more gutters to your roof if a part of your building doesn't have enough gutters will help stop the overflow.
- Seeking a professional technician to help with gutter maintenance.
- Regularly inspect your gutter system for debris, holes, or cracks.
You should do it during the rainy season to ensure you find and identify the perfect spot the leak is coming from. It is because you can examine and see the leaks and the exact spots of the overflow coming from and deal with them appropriately.
You should also seek a professional technician to help you fix and repair your gutters. You should not make the mistake of ignoring the overflow and leaks as you may incur even losses. Make sure you deal with them as soon as possible. Regular maintenance is a must to help keep your gutters healthy and long-lasting.