Fundamentally, gutters collect rainwater from the roof and channel it to the ground through a downspout. During rain, water descends from the roof slope to the gutters. As water accumulates, it travels through the gutter system to the downspout. The downspouts carry water from the gutters to the base of the house.
The purpose of a house's gutters is to protect it from rainwater. Gutters work by diverting water from your home and its foundation. When gutters are removed, damaged, or clogged, that water must go somewhere and, given the chance, the water can ruin just about any part of your home. For homes in most regions of the country, rain gutters and downspouts are needed to collect and transport rainwater.
Without them, water would erode the soil around the foundations, splash the coating and likely leak into the basement or mezzanine. Most of the gutters that are installed today are seamless aluminum K-type gutters (also called rolled) that do not rust or leak and are formed in a single continuous piece in place. Many homeowners take care of their battered and leaky gutters because they simply don't see the reward of having new gutters outweighing the effort required to replace them. Roofing professionals evaluate the condition of your gutter system during roof replacement, as this is one of the most convenient times to upgrade your gutter system.
Rain gutters prevent costly roof repairs, as well as water from damaging other parts of the house and even moving the foundations. For gutters longer than 40 feet, it's best to tilt the gutter downward from the center to a downspout at each end. If the gutters are sunken, leaking or visibly damaged and the downspouts are broken or missing, it's time to think about replacing them. Gutter joints and joints are where leaks are most likely to start (especially in older gutter systems).
Next, we'll show you how to install semicircular reproduction gutters that are exact replicas of the size and style of gutters found in older homes. While arguably the roof is one of the most important aspects of the structure of your entire home, one of the most important and little known aspects of the roof itself is the rain gutter.