Your gutters protect your home’s exterior from the evils of water damage, including basement flooding, cracks in the foundation, soil erosion, and siding deterioration. Gutter professionals advise homeowners to clean their gutters at least twice a year. While gutter protection can extend the lifespan of your gutter system, does your home need gutter guards? Here are some signs that leaf protectors could be a good fit for you and your home.
Location
It rains often here in the lower mainland. When assessing whether or not your gutters need guards, consider where you live and the amount of annual rainfall in the region. Adding leaf guards to your gutters might lessen the accumulation of debris that enters the gutter system from the roof. It could also reduce the need for home maintenance and the occurrence of rust and corrosion.
Constantly Overflowing Gutters
One of the most common signs that your home could benefit from gutter guards is a constantly overflowing gutter system. Overflowing is typically the result of clogged gutters, However, if gutters and downspouts are the right size for your home and function the way they should after each gutter cleaning, two gutter cleanings per year might not be enough to prevent clogs.
Microclimate, a contributing factor to gutters overflowing, is a climatic condition that is unique to your property. If there are lots of trees near the roof or winds are strong due to the orientation of the house or the gutters are vulnerable to rapid debris build-up, leaf protectors, covers, or another type of gutter protection system could reduce the frequency of cleaning the gutters during the year.
Regular Gutter Maintenance
If there never seems to be a good time in your busy schedule to clean the gutters even once a year, installing gutter guards would be helpful in managing debris buildup.
For homeowners with mobility issues or fear of heights who find regular gutter maintenance challenging, some type of leaf protection would also be useful.
Trees or No Trees
A popular belief of homeowners is they don’t need leaf protection if there are no trees on the property or they are not growing anywhere near the roof or overhanging the gutters. But don’t underestimate the power of the wind. Windstorms, a windy day, or even a gentle breeze can carry bits of twigs, leaves, seed pods, blossoms, and pine cones a fair distance before depositing debris into your gutter system.
If you live in an area with lots of trees, the installed gutter guards should be able to handle the debris load. The type of trees growing on your property can impact the kind of gutter protection you might or might not need. For example, maples, oaks and conifers shed their leaves and needles frequently, while evergreens such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar have thin needle growth. Depending on what type of trees grow on your property or if you live near a park or in a wooded area, gutter protection could provide additional security for your home exterior.
