Hello clients and friends! Most of you know me, but if not, I'm Jacob Tankersley; homebuilder, husband, father, hunter, business owner & entrepreneur. My family consists of 2.4 children and a Golden Retriever.
We actually do have a Golden Retriever, Drake, but just 2 kids--one boy, one girl. Just a joke I like to make about the 2.4, because in so many ways we are the "Typical American Family." However, I can tell you one place where we try not to be typical--and that is in our homebuilding company. I think it's good thing--and others seem to think so, too.
Today's topic of conversation? Water and its danger to your home, PART 1.
Nobody thinks much about the water that routinely pours on the outside your home, until it comes INSIDE your home. There is always a fine balance of managing and efficiently moving water away from all the areas of your home you don't want it to be. Today, we are going to focus on your gutters.
If water backs up in your gutters, it is obviously not good. Gutters' sole purpose is then rendered useless, and a myriad of problems arise. Backup can happen when leaves and particulate build up inside. The dangerous thing about water build up in gutters during the cold months is this: when it sits there, it can freeze. Frost can then get up under your shingles. The trapped frost, snow, or dew underneath the shingles can usually find a way to get into your house, causing leaks. This can can also lead to rot on fascia board and soffits. Especially if we get this big blizzard in late March that the Farmer's Almanac is predicting, (three different people have alerted me of this fact), then you are NOT going to want to mess around with stopped up gutters.
If the trapped water doesn't freeze, but rather overflows, it can fall on the side of house and cause discoloration or deterioration to the side of your home, as well as do harm to landscaping and create erosion. When water falls right down the outside of your house, it is not moving away from your home properly. It needs to be directed at least 5 feet away from the house, otherwise, it can pool at the base of your home and cause settling of the foundation and damage to the structure of your home.
Take steps to protect your gutters from rainwater backup. Clear out your gutters THIS WEEK in preparation for April showers, and then cover potential trouble areas with gutter shields to keep out the leaves. By October, you will be thanking me for it.
If you need someone to do this for you, call us, and we can refer you to a few good handyman companies.
