How to Maintain Your Roof and Gutters to Prevent Leaks
Most roof leaks start in the gutter
When somebody comes in with a leak they've usually been looking at the roof, and the roof is often fine, because what has actually happened is that a full gutter has backed water up under the edge of the sheeting or the first row of tiles and sent it inside. Gutters are the part that fills up on its own and the part nobody looks at, so that's where I'd start.
Before you get on a ladder, read this bit
Falls from ladders around the house put people in hospital every year and the gutter clean is the job that does it, so the rules are worth knowing even though they're boring.
- Set the ladder at about four up to one out, so the base sits a quarter of the working height away from the wall.
- Extend it at least a metre past the gutter and tie the top off if you're going onto the roof.
- Keep your belt buckle between the rails. Reaching past that means getting down and moving the ladder.
- Have somebody else in the house, and never do it on a windy day or a wet one.
If the roof is steep, two storeys, or made of something brittle like old fibre cement sheeting, that's a job for somebody with a harness and insurance rather than a Saturday.
What to look for from the ground
A pair of binoculars does most of the inspection and keeps your feet on the grass. You're looking for cracked or slipped tiles, sagging in the roof line, rust bleeding out of a screw head or a valley on metal roofing, and any spot where debris has piled up and stayed wet.
A water stain on a ceiling is rarely under the hole. Water runs along a batten or a rafter before it drops, so the mark inside can be metres away from where it's getting in.
Clearing the gutter properly
Scoop it out by hand with gloves on rather than hosing it, because hosing a full gutter just packs the mush into the downpipe and turns one job into two. Bag it as you go.
Then run the hose and watch the downpipe. If water backs up, the blockage is in the pipe, and a length of poly or a drain snake pushed down from the top clears most of them. Check where the downpipe ends up too, since a pipe discharging against a wall is how you get rising damp in a room nobody has looked at.
While you're up there, look along the gutter for rust in the low spots and for a gutter that has sagged away from the fascia, because either one holds water permanently and that is the thing that eventually rots through.
Gutter guard, and what it does and does not do
Gutter guard cuts the frequency of cleaning and it does not remove it. Fine leaf litter still builds up on top and eventually washes through, so treat it as going from four cleans a year to one rather than none. In a bushfire area it does a second job entirely, which is keeping embers out of a gutter full of dry leaves, and that alone is worth the money out here.
What to cut back, and what to patch
Cut back anything overhanging. A branch scraping a roof in a storm takes the coating off metal and cracks tiles, and it drops the leaves that started this whole article.
Moss holds moisture against the surface. A soft brush on a dry day gets it off, and a pressure washer does not, because the pressure drives water up under tiles and strips the granules off anything coated.
A weeping screw on a metal roof is usually a perished neoprene washer rather than a hole, so replacing the screw with a new one is a five minute fix. A gap where a flashing meets a wall wants the right sealant and a new flashing if the old one has lifted.
Shop related products
- Gutter Guard Protector, 1 Metre Length. Buy the run you need rather than a whole pack.
- Tornado Roofing Screws 12 x 50, Monument. Colour matched, with a fresh neoprene washer.
- Soudal All Purpose Silicone Charcoal 300ml. For a flashing join that has opened up.
- Colorbond Flashing 100mm Girth, 1 Bend, Per Metre. Cut to the length you need.
- Macsim Rivets 3.2mm x 4.8mm, Monument. For gutter joins and downpipe brackets.
Did you know we also keep Gorilla step and extension ladders on the shelf in store, along with Watergate and Revgate gutter guard in 10m packs. Those are not listed on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's there.
Where to get it sorted
Ladders and lengths of flashing are awkward in a car, so we deliver. It's $5 in Strathalbyn and $10 across the regional run, on goods bought from us, and the runs go Tuesdays and Thursdays. Have a look at the local delivery service.
Keep reading
- How to Deep Clean Your Home Without Damaging Surfaces
- How to Prevent and Fix Common Drafts in Your Home
- How to Clean an Oven Without Wrecking It
I put gutter cleaning off the same way everybody does, so my rule is that it happens before the first real rain rather than during it, and I'm better at keeping that rule some years than others.
Cheers,
Candeece
Stay Connected
Follow our Facebook Page: Strathalbyn H Hardware on Facebook
