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But it does have gutters...

By
Home Inspector with Superior Home Inspections - Greater Albuquerque Area InterNACHI 10041206

I can't tell you how many times I have recommended that gutters be installed on a house. They are so important and is really a part of a system that controls water run off of your roof and away from the structure and foundation of the house.

The house I inspected the other day had a full set of gutters. It was a hip style roof so they were installed all around the whole perimeter of the house... nice! The only seams were at the corners, or just before the corners, so two seams per corner. All the facia boards were rotted in all the corners. Why you ask?

Well, the gutters are nice, and seamless is the way to go, but you still must clean them out once in a while!! Keeping the tree limbs away from the roof surface will help as well, or using one of those screen cap systems to keep debris out of the gutters works well too. Especially in the fall when all the leaves and needles are falling off the trees.

Any seam will leak eventually if water is constantly trying to get through them. Water was just laying in the corners till the seams say... "Ok, I give up, come on through!" Or, the gutter fills up and overflows to the inside. Of course, if the facia boards were real wood it may have helped.

The facia boards are made of pressed wood products... it's not really wood! They repell water pretty good, but they don't like to stay wet.

In the corners and all the seams, moisture will seep in there and eventually it will break down. So, even though you have gutters installed on your house, keeping them cleaned out so they can do what they're supposed to do is important!

This one is going to end up being a pretty big job now... The existing gutters will have to be removed and all the rotted wood replaced. The system I like to recommend are seamless with only one seam in the very corner. They are made right on sight from rolls of aluminum material through a jig to form the gutters to exact length. They put them up in one piece and can pitch them correctly and put the downspouts in the correct location. 

But you still have to make sure they are cleaned out!

 

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Posted by

 
 
Fred Hernden 

 

 Superior Home Inspections

 

  505-588-9559

 

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 Albuquerque, Rio Rancho New Mexico and surrounding areas...

 

“My mission is to provide superior quality home inspections to my clients to ensure peace of mind so they can confidently make the largest investment they may ever make!"

                   

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Comments (7)

Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Fred, being good to your gutters is always sound advice! 

Jan 15, 2016 01:20 AM
Fred Hernden, CMI
Superior Home Inspections - Greater Albuquerque Area - Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque area Master Inspector

Patricia - They like to be cleaned out! These people learned the hard way...

Jan 15, 2016 01:22 AM
Joe Jackson
Keller Williams Capital Partners Realty - Columbus, OH
Clintonville and Central Ohio Real Estate Expert

Improper installation and maintenance of gutters and downspouts Can be the worst enemy your house can have 

Jan 15, 2016 01:35 AM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

We had seemless gutters installed at our place last Spring.  We've been extremely happy with the investment. Guess it's time to get John on the ladder to make sure they're debris free.

Jan 15, 2016 02:11 AM
Fred Hernden, CMI
Superior Home Inspections - Greater Albuquerque Area - Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque area Master Inspector

Joe - If they are not pitched correctly or are packed with debris... you are right!

Debbie - It is a good investment!! Take advantage with rain barrels and routing that water where it belongs... away from your houses foundation! Send that big boy up the ladder...lol!

Jan 15, 2016 02:23 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is good information to share. Thanks for sharing your experience and your photographs.

Jan 17, 2016 02:09 AM
Fred Hernden, CMI
Superior Home Inspections - Greater Albuquerque Area - Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque area Master Inspector

Thank you for the reblog Roy!!

Jan 17, 2016 11:33 PM