Canadians, Prepare Your Eavestroughs and Homes for the Harsh Toronto Winter

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Toronto’s notoriously cold weather reaches an all-time low in the winter season. While most homeowners confidently say that they continuously take care of the necessary maintenance issues of their home, very few can say that they have thought about their eavestrough.

Eavestroughs play a more valuable part in keeping your home’s integrity intact than you can imagine. It is responsible for keeping not just your roof intact, but it protects your exterior siding from damage as well.

It’s no secret that these relatively small and lightweight instalments in your home are susceptible to easy breakage caused by heavy loads. In this case, snow and ice from the frosty weather.

Although small, these spouts are more helpful than you think. Sure, in the rainy season they channel the water from your roof neatly, but apart from that, they play a larger role. They are responsible for protecting your roofing against water damage.

It sure does sound like a stretch doesn’t it? After all, the water will still go somewhere or eventually evaporate even without the draining system. Unfortunately, water stuck on your roof could potentially seep into your ceiling or your attic, causing annoying drips and a leaky ceiling.

It isn’t any easier in the winter season. Whatever debris caught in your eavestrough will get mixed in with leftover water and could potentially turn into ice, which could effectively block the melted ice from escaping your roof. Eventually, all that trapped water will add to the ever-growing ice dam forming in your eavestrough.

If that still doesn’t convince you that it’s a big enough issue that warrants your climbing on the roof for quick cleaning, consider this: what happens when a lightweight material is forced to carry heavy loads?

The inevitability here is that it will break. At the minimum, it could cause a leaky eavestrough and that’s an even bigger nuisance than a broken one to say the least. At the most, it could cause your eavestroughs to fall, taking pieces of your roof and exterior sidings along with it.

So what should you do to prevent all these obscene inconveniences? There are several steps you could take to prevent the worst from happening. Of course, it is also convenient to know that you can always call a professional to do the job for you and ensure that your roof and eavestroughs are in the best condition possible as well.

However, if you’re hoping to prep your eavestroughs yourself, you should definitely exercise care when trying to access your roof. At any point in the year, the roof is an incredibly dangerous place to be in. There will always be a chance to slip and have an accident so never take your chances.

Now that you’ve committed to preparing your gutters for the winter, start by clearing it of any debris and water that might be stuck inside it. This is one of those steps that you should never skip.

Unless you want to go through the whole winter waiting for your roof to cave over your heads, clearing your gutters is something you need to take seriously. Remove any debris like leaves, fallen twigs, stagnant water left inside your eavestrough to prevent the cold weather from freezing them or leaving something that could block your drainage.

It is always good practice to exercise pro-activeness when it comes to maintaining your home. After all, prevention is better than cure. Save yourself the hassle of having to worry about repairing your sluiceways during the winter and make sure they’re in great shape throughout the year. You might not often think about them but they help you maintain your house a number of ways.

Although a popular choice thanks to their low cost, plastic gutters are not a very practical choice. Unfortunately, plastic has a tendency to become very brittle in colder temperatures and might break. You will probably end up needing to replace your gutters every year and end up spending more than you saved.

Furthermore, ice dams are a bane for homeowners trying to keep their roofing secure. Not only does it add unwanted weight to your sluices, but it also blocks water from draining and could cost a host of problems.

There are several ways to remedy an ice dam. However, calling in a professional would be the best course of action in most cases.

If you’re looking for a more convenient approach, you should consider having a heating unit for your gutter installed. Most of the time these are strips that can be controlled through a switch which will allow you to automatically melt the snow and ice on your gutters and some parts of your roof, making it easier to clear.

The bottomline is that your sluiceways should never be ignored. Clearing them out before the winter could mean the difference between a flooded basement and a toasty winter.

D’Angelo & Sons Roofing & Exteriors | Gutter & Eavestrough Repair in Hamilton

126 Catherine St N, Hamilton,

Ontario, L8R 1J4

905-387-3000

info@dangeloandsons.com

https://dangeloandsons.com/