Contrary to popular belief, gutters are not your best defense against water that is trying to make its way in to your home and cause costly damage. In fact, if you live in an area that experiences all four seasons, then it is likely that for a quarter of the year, your gutters are completely useless.
“People have too much faith in them,” warns Vincent Boccia of Boccia Inc., a waterproofing and masonry company in Garden City, New York. In some cases, Boccia suggests that it is safe to even get rid of your gutter system all together.
The need to be cleaned. A lot: Most people fail to realize just how much gutters need to be cleaned and how quickly they can become clogged. Having an obstructed area of your gutter can cause excess water to back up or run over the edges instead of down the piping as originally designed. Boccia recommends cleaning your gutters at least eight to 12 times a year. He also advises that it is not enough to climb a ladder and clean out the gutter every month or two and assume that your are completing the recommended cleanings for the year. Properly caring for a gutter takes a lot of awareness on the homeowner’s part. In the spring, you may only need to clean your gutter once or twice and it will work fine. However, once October rolls around, you may need to clean it four or five times before the month ends depending on how many leaves get trapped.
Only a nine-month solution: If the area in which you live is subjected to the elements of winter, then for those three to four months, your gutters may be rendered useless because of the amount of ice that is the frozen in the system. The harsh conditions can also cause weathering of the piping, which may cause them to leak.
Gutters might be draining water to weak spots: The first thing that a water specialist would assess about the condition of your gutter is the location where the water is finally emptied to the ground. If your gutter is dispersing water at the base of the house where a corner meets, get the gutter moved immediately. The buildup of water in that particular area can make your house susceptible to water leaks because of the slight space in the concrete foundation where the wall and floor meet. It should be moved instead to an area that will allow water to drain away from the home entirely.
Get rid of gutters all together. If you have a gutter system that you clean properly but you still are getting water in your home, or if you are just fed up with constantly having to clean and replace them, then there are ways to still protect your house. Boccia recommends completely waterproofing your basement from the inside and out. On the inside of your home, a sub-floor drainage system should be installed which acts like a wet vaccuum, suctioning up any water or humidity before it enters the home. On the outside, a waterproof seal can be placed on the foundation walls to fill cracks and act as a protective membrane.
Once your house is sufficiently waterproofed, it should be able to weather a hurricane. At that point, feel free to throw away your gutters and bask in year-round protection.
