When Should I Consider A New Gutter System?
Gutters are a part of the safety system that protects your home from water damage. While inconspicuous when functioning properly, a broken gutter is an eyesore that may also cause damage to your roof, windows, home exterior, and even the interior if a leak should start. Over time, the supports on your gutter can sag, or you might see rust develop, leaving places where water can seep through onto your house. Looking at a broken or hanging gutter, you might be tempted to test out your handyman skills, but that is one project better left to one of the best gutter companies in Omaha.
10 Reasons Why Installing Gutters Yourself Is Not a Good Idea
1. Sizing is complicated.
It might seem like swapping gutters should be fairly intuitive, but there are several sizes, and choosing the right size and type of gutter is crucial to keeping your Omaha home in good repair.
Too large, and you risk a gutter detachment from the weight, while too small a gutter could lead to overflow during regular rains. A professional gutter company has the experience to best judge the right size for your home.
2. Improper angles can ruin your gutter system.
Once you have the right size in hand, hanging a gutter might not be so simple. If you get the angle or pitch wrong, you could create unintended waterfalls, leave your house looking crooked, or even unintended foundation damage.
3. It’s tricky to balance the weight with hangers.
Hangars for your gutter help handle the weight of the system when it is full of water. If you skip a few supports, you could have sagging gutters in short order, while too many can drive up the cost of you, ‘inexpensive’ DIY project.
4. Forgetting to seal the seams.
Hopefully, this is not the case for you since a seamless gutter system is a substantially better option when available.
But, if you do install gutters, getting those seams right can be a real challenge, particularly if you’re inexperienced at that type of home repair.
5. Ready to handle any hidden problems?
Gutters attach to facing boards known as fascia. If you haven’t given your gutters a regular cleaning, it might not be in good shape, and the wood behind the system can also suffer.
Rotting fascia boards may not hold the weight of a new gutter system, so what seemed like a simple project can balloon into a complex task that takes weeks.
6. Increased safety risks.
Even professionals that train in OSHA standards and safety protocols regularly fall off ladders. Injury Facts reports that falls account for 22% of preventable deaths in the U.S. and 32% of nonfatal injuries.
7. The cost of buying new tools.
Installing gutters may require a comprehensive list of tools that includes some items not often found in a standard kit, like tin snips or a downspout crimper. Buying tools can quickly bump of the cost of doing it yourself.
8. Complex tasks can increase risk of injury.
A drill or hacksaw already presents plenty of opportunity for harm and accidents, but adding in an unstable perch about 10-feet off the ground, and the possibility of an injury increases. No savings are worth a trip to the emergency room.
9. The hardware store might not have the tools you need.
Some homes, especially older homes, may come with special requirements that aren’t available off the shelf at the local hardware store.
Special orders mean individual fabrication of the parts and ups the cost accordingly. Plus, when placing a special order as a consumer. you could wait weeks or months before the part is ready. A gutter company likely has all the parts in stock or can turn to the in-house machine shop to ready any special orders in a hurry.
10. Doing it twice is costly in time and money.
If you start your own gutter project and it doesn’t go well, not only does that mean you wind up paying for all the parts and pieces twice, but it also means you have to either start from scratch and risk another miss or contact the professionals.
Either way, it is likely best to just call a local gutter company for professional advice!