Your gutters and downspouts are always on standby to divert potentially harmful stormwater away from the house, hour after hour, year after year. Even though your installation may have provided decades of dependable, largely trouble-free service, every installation has a shelf life.
Your home's underappreciated savior is personified by the gutters and downspouts. They provide significant defense against rain, a natural foe of any man-made construction when they're working properly. In doing so, gutters shield a variety of potentially serious, costly moisture-related issues while essentially remaining out of sight and out of mind. Although high-quality gutters with proper maintenance should last for many years, this is not to say that they will always be there.
Cracks
Gutter cracks serve about the same purpose as a bucket with a hole in the bottom. Be careful that while bigger cracks are easily visible on dry, clear days—at least with the aid of binoculars—when inspecting your gutters and downspouts, tiny fractures may only become apparent during a storm. Cracks, regardless of size, undermine the goal of a drainage system and demand careful consideration. Small cracks can be fixed, but significant cracking necessitates replacement.
Seam Pressure
The seams where two horizontal sections meet are frequently where standard gutters are most at risk. Both leaks and separations occur frequently here, and both types of failure eventually result in a variety of unfavorable effects, both within and outside the house. Although gutter seams can occasionally be repaired, many homeowners are choosing seamless gutters to avoid all the hassle.
Taking Care of Peeling
Unbelievable as it may seem, faulty gutters may destroy an excellent paint job. Look for paint on your outside siding that has bubbled up or peeled off as a result of too much moisture. Check the condition of the closest gutter if you come across an area of damaged paint. You most certainly have a leak if even your gutter paint is peeling. Consider gutter replacement rather than repair if paint flaking affects more than one or two spots.
Rot
Peeling paint might not even be one of your concerns when damaged gutters enable rain to fall over the house uncontrolled. Exterior wood trim components like window sills and door jambs lose their ability to block out the weather if they are allowed to decay. As a result, a seemingly unrelated issue—like water-damaged drywall—could actually be the result of poor storm drainage. It's definitely time to replace your gutters if they consistently give you problems.
Mildew
There is a logic behind why downspouts end around six feet from the house. In the basement, moisture buildup near the foundation typically leads to the development of ugly, harmful, and frequently fairly unpleasant mildew. The most frequent reason for mold and mildew to appear in a previously dry, mildew-free area underground is faulty gutters. The next logical option is a gutter replacement if such issues persist despite repair attempts.