Gutters are small, until the water they miss finds your foundation.
Gutters move water away from your roof, your siding and your foundation. When they fail, the damage rarely stays where it started, which is why the repair bill so often arrives under another name.
Free to check. No calls unless you ask.
Property report. No calls unless you ask.
Why it matters
Good drainage is one of the cheapest ways to protect a house, and a neglected gutter is one of the cheapest ways to cause some of the most expensive damage there is.
The service life given to aluminum gutters. Copper is given more than 50, and copper downspouts 100.
National Association of Home Builders, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, 2007
The policy's water-damage cover turns on an accidental discharge from a plumbing system, and the form states plainly that a plumbing system “does not include a sump, sump pump or related equipment or a roof drain, gutter, downspout or similar fixtures or equipment”.
ISO Homeowners 3 Special Form HO 00 03 10 00 (2000), Section I Perils, Accidental Discharge
Whether water is actually getting clear of the house is something you watch happen, ideally in the rain, from the ground next to the downspout.
What to understand
A few things worth knowing before you decide.
Where the water goes
Downspouts should carry water well clear of the foundation, not politely to the edge of it.
Tied to the roof
Gutter condition and roof condition are connected more closely than most people expect, and they fail together.
Start with your property.
Enter your address and see what we can tell you about your gutters, and the rest of your home.