Once you have gutters and downspouts installed, proper maintenance of the gutters and downspouts is essential. Are there trees overhanging your home? If there are, it is wise to trim them back for numerous reasons; however, specifically pertaining to gutters, to prevent leaves from gathering within the gutters which will cause the gutters to eventually become obstructed and clogged up. Leaves and debris in gutters will prevent water from draining properly from gutters and downspouts. When this occurs, the biggest risk when heavy rains come is the water drains into the gutters from the roof and the gutters overflow. If this occurs, it’s like you don’t even have gutters installed in the first place. If overflowing of gutters is prolonged without correction, leaks and water damage will occur at the edges of the roof and along the roof drip edge (fascia).
The downspouts are the other part of the gutter system. Downspouts coming down the sides of the home should be strategically located. The base of downspouts should turn out onto splash blocks or discharge into drain tiles which drain the water away from the home. Drainage swales can also be installed in areas that are like shallow drainage ditches which will funnel water out away from the edges of the home.
The base of downspouts is where you can have the ability to first manage surface water runoff on the property. With the downspouts kicking out and discharging water a few feet away from the edges of the home. Then at the termination of downspout leaders, removing water away even further away from the home by proper incorporation of drainage measures such as those mentioned above including sloping the ground down away from the home, drainage swales, drain tiles, surface water intercept drain, and so forth.
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