Self inflicted gutter wounds Part 1

Keeping your rain gutters clear of debris is a pretty obvious need. If you want to avoid clogs, which can lead to water damage and expensive repairs, you need to remove debris that finds its way into them.

One thing you don't want to do is contribute to them becoming clogged.

The following are some pictures of what we have found on clients' homes as we were cleaning debris from their gutters. We aren't assigning blame; we are trying to prevent the same mistakes from happening to you!

This picture shows a fairly common error. The screws used to secure the downspout to the drains, whether they are underground or above ground, are way too long. You can see that they are protruding so far into the middle that they will eventually catch debris, which will end up accumulating to the point of a clog occurring. Easy fix to avoid issues: use shorter screws!

Here's another common issue that leads to trouble. Trying to fit an end that is too big into another downspout or downspout extension by crimping the ends inward can lead to problems. Reducing the size of the hole that debris needs to travel through is never a good idea. In fact, we always recommend bigger is better when it comes to downspouts. Unmodified, this is an adequate size elbow to use. Don't cause yourself unnecessary problems by trying to fit incompatible sizes together.