Common Siding and Gutter Problems and How to Fix Them

Siding and gutters are among the most important features of a home. They protect your home from the elements and help keep it in good condition for your comfort and safety.

However, it’s also not so rare for these features to become damaged or blocked, especially if they’ve already served you a good amount of years, leading to a variety of problems that can put you at some risk.

What are the most common siding problems?

#1. Pest invasion

Pests especially like to eat timber siding. They can range from birds looking for food to insects and woodworker bees trying to find a safe place to live and food to eat. Termites and certain beetles can tunnel their way through the wood, which makes your siding much less effective at protecting your home. But it isn’t just wooden siding that can be damaged; other siding materials that rest on wood structures below are also at risk.

How do you eliminate the serious problems regarding pest invasion?

Use insecticides or about 170 degrees hot water flowing through a nozzle to keep infestations from wrecking your siding. Individuals can also get rid of pests without hurting the trees by using eco-friendly merchandise on nearby trees or standing water that may be the origin of these pests.

#2. Failure to subject to regular maintenance

Most siding components are sold as being “low-maintenance”, however that doesn’t entail that it no longer has to be checked, especially after inclement weather or storm damage. The troubles will get worse over some period, and you’ll end up in an “emergency” circumstance. If you have a regular maintenance plan with a skilled siding contractor, you can catch small siding and gutter problems before they turn into big ones.

How do you solve maintenance problems?

An examination is recommended every year and after potentially harmful weather, especially when there are strong winds. You can also confirm it yourself every so often to see if there are any cracks in the caulk, nails sticking out, or other strange things. If you see anything, call the person who does your siding.

#3. Moisture seeping in

The purpose of your home’s siding is to keep water out. No matter what kind of roof you have, moisture is a big problem when it gets ruined, often in ways you’ll even fail to see. When the siding buckles and warps, this is a sign that moisture is getting into your home.

How do you get rid of moisture problems in sidings?

Caulking and sealing with siding or gutter sealant are the best ways to avoid moisture from coming in through the siding. You can also use a waterproofing spray on serious problem areas. If you have wooden siding, make sure that it is properly stained or painted so that water does not seep in and damage it.

#4. Bad installation technique

Not every contractor is the same. Some people are not equipped with the right knowledge and experience to put up siding the right way, which can make it last much less long and trigger certain siding and gutter problems.

How do you avoid bad installation problems?

Do your end of research and find out who the best contractors are in your neighborhood in Birmingham, AL. Chat with friends, relatives, and neighbors to find out who they would recommend. Make sure that the people on your quick list of possible candidates can support their business with a lot of references.

Now that we have glided through the common siding issues, let us move over to the concerns revolving around gutters!

What are the most common gutter problems you might encounter?

#1. Passage blockade

So far, this may be the most frequent guttering issue. While your rain gutters are wonderfully suited to collect roof-runoff water, they also perform an excellent job of collecting other debris. Leaves, sticks, moss aggregates, and anything that can be thrown or driven into them might cause clogged gutters and/or leaky gutters if allowed to accumulate over an extended period of time. When this occurs, the gutters are unable to remove rainfall, causing it to gather behind the obstruction until it overflows, thereby making an inadequate gutter system.

How do you fix blockades?

The answer to this issue is rather simple: climb up and remove anything that has led to clogged gutters. Obstructions can develop in the downspouts, the long tube headers, or the hopper heads and can be difficult to clean. Using the above-mentioned approach, you will have no trouble resolving this issue and getting proper drainage.

#2. Sagging gutters

When the load within the gutters exceeds the capacity of the receiver module, the gutters begin to droop. This can be triggered by obstructions, as discussed previously, an accumulation of snow during wintertime, or faulty system installation itself. Drainage support brackets must be put at about 1 meter apart (or tighter if you possess a relatively steep roof or live in a region susceptible to blizzard conditions) and not more than 200 millimeters from any joint or curve. If the gutters lack sufficient support bolts, sagging will be a significant issue and it can even lead to other siding and gutter problems.

How do you get rid of a saggy gutter system

Depending on the cause of the gutters’ sagging, one of three solutions is available:

1. Opt to do gutter cleaning to eliminate any material that may be producing a weight-building obstruction or merely accumulating there and putting unneeded strain on the connections and reinforcements for the water to flow properly.
2. Install gutter covers made of galvanized steel or something to prevent snow from slipping from your roofing onto your gutters. When the snow begins to accumulate, it may become quite heavy, and the additional weight on your guttering can place a great deal of pressure on the reinforcing brackets, which must be taken out ASAP. During the winter, unfortunately, one of the primary causes of gutter sagging (and potentially collapse) is snow that slowly falls from the roofing as it softens and hangs/covers the drains. Installing a specific type of guard at the border of the roof system will prevent snow from accumulating but will still enable meltwater to enter the gutters.
3. If your guttering does not appear to have enough supporting brackets, installing additional ones can assist distribute the weight. Do some research on tutorials regarding gutter installation for directions and obtain some from hardware stores.

#3. Visible damage on the body

Because they are fairly exposed and susceptible at the perimeter of your roof, drainage systems can be compromised in a number of ways. Depending on the substance they’re constructed of, they could be fractured, dented, broken, or twisted out of position, which can contribute to further issues such as leakage and clogs. Most of these additional issues, such as drooping gutters, loose gutters, bending out of form or splitting under the pressure of obstruction, can also cause further damage.

Whichever the origin of the destruction, whether it was triggered by heavy rainstorms overwhelming the network or by a set of ladders leaning against the gutters and causing such to break, it must always be repaired as rapidly as feasible to prevent subsequent cases of siding and gutter problems.

How do you fix any kind of damage?

This is dependent on the level of injury and gutter section involved. If, for instance, just one portion of guttering has a fracture, you may simply have to replace or at least repair that one area. In contrast, if severe precipitation has forced a current run of downspout to crumble, breaking supports and distorting gutter slope, it may be necessary to repair and strengthen the whole stretch to get a gutter system to drain properly. Ultimately, you should always restore broken parts if you have the means to afford them. A temporary fix may cure the issue, but it might lead to a larger, more expensive issue in the future, which is why getting new gutters can be the solution.

“What if I can’t do any kind of repair on my own? What can I do?”

If you don’t have the time or skills to commit yourself to repairing such damages, there’s no need to worry at all! After all, most common problems should be handled by the right circle of people who are adept with the ins and outs of such systems.

And lucky for you, we know just the best contractors in Alabama. If you aim to resolve all of the siding and gutter issues in your property, upgrade your existing systems, or install siding and gutter protection, then don’t waste time and go seek the guys in Under One Roof for they excel at siding and gutter services in Birmingham, AL. They’re sure to get the job done quickly and efficiently so you can get back to your normal routine.

Finally…

So there you have it, some of the most common siding and gutter problems and notions regarding how to fix them. We hope this was helpful and that you now feel more confident in tackling any issues that may come up. As always, if you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please don’t hesitate to visit them. Get on it now!