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4 problems roof and gutter maintenance can prevent!
It’s easy to forget about the health and wellbeing of your roof, gutters and downpipes during the summer months. Then, when winter rains finally come, suddenly water is overflowing the gutters – or worse still, leaking through the roof and into your home!
Regular maintenance can help prevent some gutter problems, but you might end up needing a roof or gutter replacement if things are left unchecked.
How to spot roof and gutter problems
It can be difficult to spot problems with your roof or gutters early because they’re up above our line of sight. Unfortunately, this may mean your home will suffer other damage before you realise there’s a problem. Some of these might include:
Overflowing gutters
This is a sure-fire sign your gutters are not working properly. They may be clogged with leaf litter, weeds, or have animals nesting in them. The good news is that it can be fairly easy to fix blocked gutters – you usually need nothing more than a sturdy ladder and a few spare hours to scoop any blockages from your gutters. You’ll even explore the different types of gutter cleaners on the market, designed to make this job easier.
However, blocked downpipes can be a little trickier to deal with. You can try to clear any debris with water by flushing the pipe, but you may need to use a plumbing snake to physically push any debris out.
If access to your gutters is awkward, or you don’t want to climb up and down ladders, it’s worth hiring a gutter cleaning service to take care of this important maintenance chore for you. How often you should have this done will depend on the volume and frequency of your rainfall, as well as how much vegetation is around you. But it should be done at least once a year before your wet season as an absolute minimum.
Leaking gutters
No matter what type of gutters you have, leaks can be caused by a number of things. Over time, gutters are exposed to wind, rain, scorching sun, all of which can take their toll. This can lead to your gutter material cracking or splitting, corroding, or shifting, all of which can contribute to leaks.
Signs to look out for when it comes to leaking gutters are:
- Peeling paint on the exterior of your gutters
- Water pooling, or wet, mossy patches on the ground beneath your roofline
- Discolouration or watermarks beneath your eaves or running down your exterior walls
- Rusted gutters or visible holes and cracks in your gutters
- Rotted fascias, door or window frames where water is leaking down walls
- Damaged paint or masonry on the exterior of your home
- Mould or mildew on interior walls where water is running into your roof cavity
Left untreated, leaking gutters can cause hundreds, even thousands of dollars of damage to your home. Routine maintenance can pick up issues early so damaged sections can be repaired or replaced.
Gutters that are sagging or pulling apart
Over time, temperature changes can cause your home, including gutters, to expand and contract. This can cause fixtures to break or fall out, joins to loosen, or even alter the pitch of your gutters affecting the flow of water to downpipes. Gutters heavy with wet debris can then add further stress to your gutters, causing them to sag or pull away from your roof.
Regular gutter maintenance should check for loose gutters, including brackets and fittings. Caught early, this can be a relatively quick and affordable home maintenance job that can delay the need for a full gutter replacement.
Internal water damage
Internal water damage is a sign of a more serious problem that indicates water is leaking into your roof space. This may be due to blocked or damaged gutters, or damage to your roof. If you see any of the following signs of water damage, it’s time to call a roof plumbing service to determine the source of the leak:
- Water dripping or leaking through the ceiling or skylights
- Water stains on your ceiling or walls
- Mould or mildew on your ceiling or walls, particularly if they are not in wet-areas such as bathrooms or laundries
- Rust marks on walls or ceilings, or rusted ceiling or wall vents
- Damp patches on floors or carpet showing signs of mildew
If you’ve kept up with your gutter maintenance, chances are you’ll need some form of roof repair. You may have rusted sheeting, a cracked roof tile, or your flashing may be damaged. Even if you can’t see any obvious damage to your roof, it’s important to have your roof and gutters thoroughly inspected to find and fix the problem.
Chiswick Plumbing Sydney roof and gutter services
Your roof is leaking and your gutters are worse for wear. If you need a roof plumber in Sydney for gutter repair and installation, Chiswick Plumbing can help. We can carry out gutter installation and repairs, and check the overall wellbeing of your roof, anywhere across Sydney.
We offer 24/7 emergency plumbing services to provide the help you need, when you need it. Call 1300508157 night or day.
Avoid the drama and book in a maintenance call with us today.
