When meeting with our customers, the number one question they ask is “Why are all these homes without Seamless Gutters?” We’ll It is honestly a great question, and I hear it about twice a day. Gutters have been around for hundreds of years but the first seamless gutter machines were designed in the 1960’s. My father bought his first seamless gutter machine in the 1970’s. So the lack of not having the equipment to do the job is not the issue. I believe in my own opinion, that the lack of seamless gutters in Baldwin County is due to a lack of education of the damage it does to the home. Most builders but not all would rather build a new home and invest the money that the seamless gutters cost in the kitchen or master bath to help sell the home. Seamless Gutters aren’t glamorous but they are a very important part of moving water away from your foundation. Over the years I have seen numerous damage due to the lack of seamless gutters.
In other parts of the country, gutters are part of a new construction or a remodel, it’s just insurance on the home. The purpose of seamless gutters is to move the roof water off the overhang and away from the foundation to prevent damage. Most homes with basements can see what not moving water away from the foundation can do. But for homes on a concrete slab most water damage is not seen until it’s too late. One example was a homeowner who built a concrete slab home in 2006 on a flat farmland with no seamless gutters and no drainage away from the home. About ten years later they had major cracks in their living room where water was even coming up through. The home had settled so much at the foundation that it caused major cracks in the slab. Building the home up and installing seamless gutters to move the water away would have prevented the expensive repair. Baldwin County has a lot of new homes built on flat farmland without any drainage. Seamless Gutters are a must in our area.
The average yearly rainfall in Mobile is 67 inches. That is in the top five in the whole United States. That is a lot of water coming off your home and dumping against your foundation. Seamless Gutters also help to keep your landscaping from getting damaged and washed away. Each year homeowners spend thousands of dollars on landscaping and to have it get damaged and washed away is throwing your money away. Seamless gutters also help to prevent mold, mildew, and fungus in areas where there is a lack of sunlight in your home.
Termites in our area are also a big problem. Any pest control company would advise their customers that terminates like water and to get the water away from your home would help slow the activity of terminates. Also, any brick steps or concrete driveways and sidewalks would benefit from keeping the roof water off them. Over time water off the roof washes out the mortar between the brick steps and causes the rocks to surface on the concrete.
So that is just a little education on how the lack of seamless gutters can damage your home but there are many more reasons. We have been in this industry for years and without any doubt believe seamless gutters will help prevent some of the things I have shared with you. If you would like more info please don’t hesitate to call or message me. Now use this education and get those seamless gutters installed.
