7 Ways Rain Can Damage Your Roof

When you are all snug and comfy in your home, a rainy day isn’t such a bad thing, right? It gives you a chance to slow down and spend time doing things you love to do. You won’t feel so relaxed and secure though if you haven’t been keeping up with your roof maintenance.

When you don’t take care of your roof properly, a heavy rain storm can bring a lot of problems to your doorstep. Even if you bought a quality roof system, it will eventually fall apart and cause rain roof damage if you neglect it.

When your roof has been neglected, rain can damage your roof in several ways:

1. Leaks

When there are bald spots on your roof because in desperate need of repair, rain can seep into your roof and cause water damage inside your home, inside the walls and ceilings leading to the need for expensive repairs.

2. Stains

When you are having roof leaks from rain roof damage, you will also start to notice water stains on your ceilings. This is a big head ups that a larger roofing problem may be brewing.

3. Wood Rot & Mold

Your roof joints are made of wood. When a roof is installed, flashing is installed to prevent water from saturating the roof joints, however, when this flashing is damaged and not replaced, the rain can cause wood rot and mold.

4. Cracks

Rain, that is freezing rain, in the colder, winter months can also be quite problematic. Freezing rain not only saturates your roof but then freezes it. When this happens, your roof can expand and crack, leading to little openings for water to seep into your home.

5. Ice Dams

Rain roof damage can also come from an ice dam which is a dam of ice that can collect around the eaves of your house, blocking the water from running off the roof and leading to damage to the roof and inside your home.

6. Damaged Gutters

Rain roof damage can also come from damaged gutters so you should have them checked out a couple times of a year and make sure you replace them before they get to damaged.

Luckily, rain gutters don’t have to be a hassle to replace. Rain gutters come in both DIY and professionally installed variety. DIY rain gutter systems are available in vinyl, sheet metal and aluminum at any of your local home improvement centers so you can put up the gutters yourself. Or you can have a professional gutter company come in and do the installation for you.

Look for these common measurements:

• U” shape or a “K” style
• Channels are usually 4, 5, or 6 inches in diameter
• Typically matching downspouts are 2-by-3-ince or 3-by-4-inch rectangular or 3- or 4-ince round pieces.

For the least hassle, it is always best to go with one of the larger systems because they are less likely to clog. And if you have a lot of trees on your property, that could be a godsend.

If you are going the DIY route then vinyl gutter systems are the most popular and easily found at any local home improvement store. If you’d like the gutters to be a particular color than aluminum gutters are your best bet because they can come in over 25 different colors. Another option is to use galvanized sheet metal. It is a lot more durable than the aluminum which is a plus, but would need to be painted the color you desire. While not used very often any more, gutter systems can also come in wood for older, historical houses.

If you decide to get your gutter system professionally installed, one of your options will be seamless gutters which prevents any leakage from seams. These types of systems are usually made from aluminum, copper or factory-painted steel.

Here are some things to avoid if you are going to install the gutter system yourself:

• Avoid choosing the wrong size gutter. Because your gutters need to be able to be large enough to drain away all the rain from your home, finding the right size is crucial. If you go too small, the gutters will only get overloaded in heavy downfalls leading to a lot of water damage to your home.
• Avoid hanging the gutter hangers too far apart. The gutter hangers are the way you mount the gutter system to your home so they need to be spaced properly. If you leave too much space between the hangers, the rain gutters will actually sage causing the water to pool instead of flowing through. If this keeps happening and you have a lot of water pooling in different sections of the gutter system, the extra pressure is going to make the system separate from your home. The rule of thumb is to place the gutter hangers about every three feet or so, unless where you live there is a lot of snow and ice, then every 2 feet is better.
• Don’t ignore the pitch of the rain gutters. The angle at which your rain gutters are hung is an important detail when it comes to a successful installation. Both too much of an angle and not enough of an angle can affect the speed at which the water flows through the system. In this case, moderation is best. Experts recommend that you allow for a ¼ inch slope towards the downspouts for every 10 feet of gutter. The most important thing to remember is that the gutters should never be level.

7. Clogged Gutters

A clogged gutters can also cause roof problems and water damage. Using TheSpoutOff system can help. TheSpoutOff are rain gutter outlets that can be easily added to a new gutter system and they are designed with larger openings which prevent leaves and debris from getting clogged up in the gutters. They also make it easier to check on your gutters because it comes with a removable downspout that allows you to inspect the system from the ground instead of having to climb a ladder.

Another great plus is that these outlets are easy to keep clean through the removable downspout that allows you to check on the outlets without having to climb a ladder. With TheSpoutOff, a fear of heights or balance concerns will no longer keep you from properly taking care of your home and it is a lot cheaper than hiring a professional cleaner to come regularly to clear out all the debris.

The SpoutOff can be retrofitted to your current gutter system or it can be added to a new one, depending upon your needs. The instructions are relatively easy to follow so it is something you can easily install yourself, but any local gutter company can do it for you as well. Never have a clogged gutter again.

For more information on rain roof damage and how to deal with a clogged gutter, contact The SpoutOff today.