When You Need Gutter Repair VS Gutter Replacement

Your gutters are essential to your house. Your gutter system protects the roofing, the foundation, and the siding. When is it time to get new gutter installation, and when is it better to get gutter repair? This can be a difficult decision, and it comes up with a lot of things in life. Every individual case is different, and you should always consider having a roofer take a look at the situation and give you advice, but here are some things to help you as you consider.

When You Can Get Gutter Repair

Gutter repair is probably possible if any of these things are true.

1. Only one seam is leaking. If there only seems to be a problem between two guttering sections or at an elbow joint, it’s possible that some gutter repair to securely fasten the two bits will be all you need.
2. You have copper gutters. Copper gutters are really expensive, so if it’s at all possible to get gutter repair, you should. Bring in some specialists to take a look and see if it’s not possible to get a minor fix.
3. There are some holes, but just a few. If you can clean the openings and cover them with a good sealant, you might even be able to do it yourself. If the holes or cracks are pretty large, though, you should call for gutter repair. They might require riveting and metal flashing.
4. You have damage in just one part. If a tree limb came down and destroyed one or two of your sections, you can just get gutter repair on these bits as long as the rest of the gutter is sound.
5. Your problem is confined to the hangers. Sometimes, gutter hangers start to pull away from the roof or bend. If the gutters themselves are in good shape and just the hangers have a problem, you might be able to get away with a simple gutter repair.

When You Need Gutter Replacement

Sometimes there’s just nothing to be done. You have to get your gutters completely replaced. Here are some signs that it’s time for gutter replacement.

1. The gutters are sagging noticeably. This can throw off the whole pitch of your gutters, which renders them utterly ineffective to do their job of protecting the roof and foundation. This is almost impossible to fix, and it’s much better to have new, correctly pitched gutters installed.
2. The hangers refuse to stay fixed. If the problem seems to be confined to the hangers, yet the hangers refuse to stay screwed in properly, you’re probably going to have to get things replaced. Most likely, the boards they are screwed into have begun to rot away.
3. You’re making little repairs all the time. It’s one thing if you have to get up there once or twice a year and repair something. If you find yourself having to call for gutter repair frequently, though, that’s probably a sign it’s time to replace the system.
4. There’s water damage to your landscaping or your basement. The first thing to do is check that your gutters aren’t clogged. If they aren’t, they probably need to be replaced before you get a serious problem in your basement.
5. A tree fell on your seamless gutters. Seamless gutters are great invention and most of the time perform better than other types. The only time when they can be less than ideal is if a tree or big branch falls on them. If the gutter has seams, the damaged parts will probably break away from the rest, which can be saved. If you have seamless gutters, it’s probably best to replace it all.

Your gutters are essential to your house and your investment. Know when to maintain, repair, and even replace your gutters and you can spare yourself some grief later down the line.