Water seepage: How broken gutters and downspouts can damage your property

Every building — whether residential or commercial — require proper drainage for rainwater. As a result, owners must avoid having broken gutters and downspouts since they help keep the integrity of the property intact.

However, climbing a ladder to clean your gutter is not the most exciting thing on your list of to-dos when it comes to home maintenance. Yet neglecting to do so could have grave consequences. Here are some of them:

You compromise the building’s foundation

Gutters and downspouts are designed to keep rainwater away from your property through proper drainage. Instead of collecting on your roof or a few inches away from your foundation, they would instead bring the accumulated rainwater to be drained away from your home. If you have broken gutters, then you risk damaging the foundation. Yur foundation is probably made of cement and treated with a waterproofing coating, but having too much water can still penetrate this barrier. So if you notice cracks forming, then pay close attention — your foundation’s integrity may already be compromised.

Increased soil moisture levels and the damage they cause

You’ve probably seen houses in movies being split into half when one side of the house sinks because of a natural catastrophe. You will have to deal with that if you don’t pay attention, as your home would be settling unevenly due to increased soil moisture. This could lead to hard-to-open windows and doors, uneven flooring, and even large cracks in your walls and ceilings. These wouldn’t be a problem if you properly dealt with broken gutters in the first place.

Flooding in the basement

Assuming that the worst has happened and you have left the damage untreated for so long, then you may be at risk of having a flooded basement. After all, that water has to go somewhere — and if your gutters and downspouts are not working properly, then your basement is at risk of having rainwater seep through its floors and walls. 

All these things could be avoided if your concrete foundation has been treated properly. If you think you’re at risk of having broken gutters, then contact experts such as Boss Mudjacking immediately to assess the damage to your foundation and rectify it before it’s too late.