Seamless Gutters and Your Foundation: What They Protect and When to Fix Them

Most people think of gutters as an accessory, something that hangs on the edge of the roof and collects leaves. In reality they're a drainage system, and a roof sheds a lot of water in a hard rain. All of it has to go somewhere. When gutters do their job, that water gets carried away from the house. When they don't, it finds its own way, and the route is rarely kind to your home.

What gutters protect

Start at the bottom. Water that pours off the roof edge and lands against the foundation soaks the soil beside it. Over time, wet soil can erode, settle unevenly and push moisture toward basement walls or crawl spaces. Gutters and downspouts gather that roof water and send it out and away, which gives your foundation a drier perimeter to work with.

Siding is next. Water running down the face of the house from an overflowing gutter stains siding, works in behind boards, and can encourage rot and mold in the lower courses. The fascia, the trim board that gutters attach to, is especially exposed. A leaking joint dripping on the same spot for a season can rot a fascia board quietly while everything above it looks fine.

Landscaping takes a hit too. Concentrated water from an overflowing gutter can wash out mulch, pit flower beds and drown plants beneath the drip line. If you've got a bare trench in front of your foundation plantings, look up before you buy more mulch. Even a small overflow adds up over a season. The same spot gets soaked every storm, and the soil there stays soft long after the rest of the yard has dried out.

Why seamless matters

Traditional gutters come in short sections joined with seams, and each seam is a place where sealant can fail and water can leak. Seamless gutters are formed from a continuous run of material cut to the length of your roof edge, so the only joints are at corners and downspout connections. Fewer joints mean fewer places to leak or pull apart. Seamless doesn't mean maintenance-free, though. The corners, downspout connections and hangers still deserve an occasional look, and that's where most small failures begin to show.

Superior Roofing installs seamless gutters in various materials and colors, alongside siding work, and handles gutter repair, cleaning and maintenance as well. Material and color are worth thinking about together with the roof and the trim, since gutters run along the most visible edge of the house. Copper against brick and slate is one look. White or black against a modern farmhouse is another.

Signs your gutters need attention

You don't need a ladder to spot most gutter trouble. Walk around the house and look for these:

• Water dripping or staining along the seams or from the bottom of the gutter
• Gutters sagging, pulling away from the fascia, or sloping the wrong way
• Sections that have detached, with loose hangers or spikes backing out
• Water spilling over the front edge during rain, even when the gutter isn't visibly full
• Stains on the siding or soil washed out beneath the roofline

The best test is to watch your gutters during a real rain. Stand outside, or look out a window, and see where the water goes. It should move along the gutter and out the downspout, not spill over the edge or sheet down the wall. Look at where the downspout discharges, too. Water that drops right beside the foundation is going to end up in the wrong place, so extensions or splash blocks that carry it farther away make a real difference.

Cleaning and maintenance

A clogged gutter is an overflowing gutter. Leaves, pine needles and the granules that shed from shingles after a hail season all collect in the trough and block the downspout. Cleaning gutters out in the spring and again in the fall, and after any big storm, keeps water moving. Flush the downspouts with a hose to make sure they're clear. And be careful on ladders: set them on firm, level ground, and if the gutters are high or the roof is steep, hire someone.

Maintenance also means checking the hangers and fascia, tightening or replacing loose hardware, and looking over the gutters after storms. Gutters take a beating in hail and wind, and dented sections and pulled hangers are common afterward. That's one more reason a post-storm inspection should cover the gutters and downspouts, not just the shingles. Superior's free roof inspections include the gutters, downspouts and drainage.

If your gutters are leaking, sagging or overflowing, Superior Roofing handles seamless gutter installation, repair and cleaning. Call the Springdale office at (479) 684-6060, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, to talk it through.