1. Ever wonder how much rain is falling? Here is some perspective! Two inches of rain in a day can send over 1,000 gallons of water down from your rooftops into your gutters. Most household bathtubs hold around 42 gallons – that’s a lot of water during a major rainstorm, and that’s just one house!

2. What do you think is cited as the #1 cause of basement flooding? The answer is rainwater runoff. Water can be damaging to appliances and many other things in your basement. One suggestion from us at Storm Masters is ensuring you have the right sized gutters from your home. Gutters surely help in general, but incorrectly sized gutters can lead to additional moisture that runs right into your foundation and leaks through the walls.

3. Most standard homeowner insurance policies don’t cover the cost of flood damage. Check our homeowners policy for sure! In many cases, homeowner insurance will not cover rain flooding unless the water enters the home through a window or roof that was broken in a storm. When water enters through the walls of the house or underground due to conditions that already existed like poor gutters, the insurance company is not likely to cover your claim.

This is why good, well maintained gutters and a thorough knowledge of your homeowners insurance policy are essential. Additional flood insurance can help in this scenario, but adds an expense. Have us at Storm Masters ensure that your gutters are maintained properly and are the right size. We mentioned size before because it’s super important to know that the right sized gutters and gutter downspout sizes will have a major impact on flooding potential.

4. Downspouts come in three different types: K-Style, Round, and Rectangular. While round and rectangular are self described, K-Style means that the gutter is not symmetrical and one half has a letter K shaped side meant to avoid being damaged by falling leaves and potentially allow a larger volume of water through. The style of of the gutter downspout parts are more visually appealing though. More importantly, gutter downspout sizes need to be right to carry all the flowing water away and avoid the water backups that could result in flooding or spilling.

5. How many downspouts do you think you need? Many homeowners think that only one or two are necessary. In reality, they need one every 20 to 25 feet of roof line with more potentially necessary depending on your amount of local rainfall and the roof size. Storm Master can help you learn how much rainfall your areas gets on average and design a system with enough downspouts to let the rain flow down, without adding too many and extra cost.

6. Gutters can eventually fall apart, especially without proper maintenance. What do you think might be the most common cause of damage? Gutters have holes for their roof fasteners and these can eventually become weakened by excess weight, especially from a build up of debris or just time. Water most often comes through the holes initially placed to hold the gutters. Other causes of damage include separation caused by age or excessive debris, and fallen sharp branches in addition to accidentally stabbing the gutter while cleaning too hard. Yes, you can clean gutters with too much effort!

7. Gutter protection is readily available! Storm Master can help you install gutter protection. Gutter protection involves several options. Storm Master can install screens over your gutters to keep larger debris out but let rainwater right through. Additionally, you can add a literal cover that encloses your gutters and keeps all debris out. These also make cleaning easier by significantly reducing the chances of having large debris clog your gutters. Don’t get up on a ladder with nails or clips to install these yourself. Storm Master has the expertise needed to go up high safely and install these right.

8. Downspouts have several parts that can be customized. The purpose of downspouts is to direct water away from places where you intend to walk and away from your home. Gutter downspout parts include a splash guard which reduces the speed at which water leaves the downspout to prevent erosion. A gutter extension can also be added at various lengths to let water flow further away from the home and to the right spot.

9. Safety first! Did you know that nearly 164,000 people go to the emergency room per year due to falls off a ladder? Even if you know how to setup a ladder, accidents can still happen. Storm Master is well trained and can take this risk for you. We are also well insured!

10. Do you not have guards yet and want to clean your gutters? Consider this: your gutters can catch a large variety of things and more than a few things can simply crawl into your gutter. Your gutters could have mice, squirrels, chipmunks and quite a few insects in addition to decomposing leaves and bark. What we are trying to say is that your gutters can be pretty gross. Let us at Storm Master wear the gloves and mask, climb the ladder and remove scoop fulls of what knows what. We can even keep it if you want for a compost bin.

Conclusion

Well there you have it, a few facts about your gutters. Gutters can be a complicated part of your house full of angles, measurements, rainfall knowledge, and potentially small animals. Storm Masters is your trusted local experts on gutters and gutter protection. We know how to get the right size downspouts and to ensure a worry free experience for your home’s dry future. We look forward to serving you, your family, and your home.