Benefits of installing guttering and downpipes

When you’re choosing guttering and downpipes, it’s important to understand they’re not all created equal. It may be tempting to just find the cheapest option, but this can be an error. You want quality materials to ensure your rainwater management works effectively. Aside from choosing the highest quality, there are some aesthetic choices to make.

Firstly, there’s round downpipes. They have a classic, timeless feel and suite most modern homes as well as more traditional architecture. Alternatively, you can choose square downpipes. They offer a sleek, modern look, and they fit nicely up against the walls of your home.

One of the key reasons to install quality guttering and downpipes is to stop water from pooling around your home. When the wet weather comes, it’s annoying enough without having to walk through puddles in the main traffic areas of your house.

When you consider the parts of the home that are usually right under the edge of your roof, they’re definitely areas you don’t want pools of water. Areas such as porches and doorways are much better when they’re dry. So, if you’re guttering is damaged or ineffective, you’ll find water won’t drain and instead end up in pools for you to walk through.

Many homes have a downstairs area or basement, and these parts of the home are naturally more susceptible to flooding. With poor quality gutters and downpipe installation, leaks are common around the sides of your home. When water is allowed to pool close to the walls of your home, there’s an increased risk of the water seeping through into the lower parts of your house.

Flooding in the home can cause extensive and very costly damage, both to the structure of the home and any belongings you might keep downstairs. So, get those gutters fixed up and don’t risk coming home to find a swimming pool in your basement.

Much the same as the downstairs flooding problem, water damage to foundations is also a big risk when your gutters aren’t doing their job. When large amounts of water are allowed to pool around the sides of your home, it starts to erode the soil. Once this occurs, water seeps down into the foundations and this is never a good thing.

Water damage to foundations can seriously affect the structural integrity of your home, and result in incredibly costly repairs. However, this is exactly what can happen with leaking gutters or ineffective downpipes.

It’s not just your house that suffers when your gutters don’t work. Your yard can also be affected by poor rainwater management. Firstly, if the run-off of your rainwater isn’t controlled by downpipes, water will find its own way to exit your yard. On flat parcels of land, this may mean the water pools in certain parts of the yard. On sloped lots, you’ll find the water runs off in its own way, creating unwanted trenches across your property and damaging gardens.

Gutters and downpipes, when installed correctly, are designed to manage rainwater safely and avoid damage to your yard.

The importance of buying and installing quality gutters can’t be understated. As we mentioned, before, most homes have gutters and downpipes. It’s rare to find homes without them, but that doesn’t mean they all work well. Using cheap materials increases the risk of damage, which ultimately results in leaks and further damage to your home.

Strong, durable guttering is essential, so even if it costs a little more, it’s worth getting the best. You wouldn’t go for cheap and nasty sheets of metal roofing, so don’t take the risk with all the associated parts of your roof.

Getting high-quality, durable products is just the first step to proper rainwater management. The next step is installing everything properly to ensure everything works the way it should. Rainwater management around the home is a complex matter, and it’s not just as simple as installing some gutters on the edge of your roof.

When it comes to downpipe installation, Professional roofing experts understand the importance of controlling the flow of water properly. For example, if you have underground drainage in a courtyard, your downpipes should be installing so as not to interrupt the flow of water. This is how flooding occurs, when two sources of water are both competing to leave your property.

Always consult experts before undertaking roofing tasks like this, because you’ll certainly benefit in the long-run.