| By :
John Markus
Gutters that are working properly will stop all sorts of drainage issues around your house. These include erosion of your soil, to leaks in your basement, to very serious problems with the structure of your house. All of these happen when you have water damage, and often it is because of a gutter that is not properly sloped. Checking the Slope You should use a level to check to see if your gutters are sloping properly. They should be sloping toward your downspout so that the water will easily flow. If the water does not run down to the downspout, you will get corrosion. This will cause small leaks that become big holes over time. Keep in mind that there is no hard and fast rule on how much the gutter should be sloped. As long as you have slope that allows the water to run down to the downspout, you are in good shape. A good rule of thumb is that your pitch should drop about 1 or 2 inches along a 40 foot piece of gutter. You can measure from the edge of your roof from both sides of the gutter, if you really want to be certain. Adjust Your Hangers If you are finding that your gutters do not have enough slope, the fix is quite easy. You just need to fix the hangers. You will need to lower them a bit where needed so you get the proper amount of slope. If you want, you can take out the fastener that is keeping the hanger in position, you then want to lower it as much as needed and hook it back up to the house. Just by doing this, you will fix your gutter. Improving Your Gutters If you have some issues with your gutters overflowing or getting clogged, you probably do not need to replace them. There are a lot of things that you can do to boost the performance of your gutter system. First of all, check for any clogs in your gutters. The biggest culprit for gutter clogs is leaves. You should take a look at the trees near your house. Make certain that there are not any branches that are getting near your gutters. This will cause leaves to drop in your gutters, but also the branch could knock up against your gutter and knock it off. You should trim back any branches that get near your roof. This will only cause you problems during a storm. If you have already trimmed back your branches as much as is prudent and you still get leaf problems, consider putting in gutter guards. The cheapest way to go is to use a gutter screen. You can install these on the tops of your gutters by just following the instructions. This is a great and inexpensive way to keep objects such as leaves out of your gutters. By following these simple tips, you can assure that your gutters will work well for many years to come.
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