Canadian winter is coming to an end, and spring is approaching. This means that all the snow accumulated on your home’s roofing will now start to melt. You will need a mechanism that can catch water from melted snow and keep it away from your home to avoid any possible damage to your property. An eavestrough fitted with downspouts is exactly what you need at this point.

If you are new to this home exterior essential, this article is ideal for you to read.

What is an Eavestrough?

An eavestrough, a rain gutter, roof gutter, or surface water collection channel is a trough or channel that runs around the perimeter of a home’s roof, and collects rainwater or snow thaw runoff from the roof, discharging it, usually to downspouts or downpipes which convey it to a drainage system. An eavestrough system consists of the following components:

Eavestrough  –narrow troughs to collect water from the roof

Downspouts – vertical drain pipes from the roof to ground level

Soffit – the underside of the overhanging area of the roof eaves

Fascia – horizontal face of the roof edge where gutters are attached

Gutter Guards – filters designed to keep debris from clogging gutters

What are the Types of Eavestrough Available?

You will find a long list of types of eavestrough available in the market or with your home exterior renovator. There are two ways to classify eavestroughs – based on their shapes and on the materials they are made of.

Based on Shape

– K-Style – flat bottoms and flat backs

– Half-round – round, semi-circle shape

– Leaf Barriers – hood with a curved lip draws water into a narrow slot

Based on Materials

1) Aluminium

2) Copper

3) Zinc

4) Steel

5) Vinyl

What are the Benefits of Eavestrough?

Efficient Water Drainage

Imagine you don’t have an eavestrough system installed along your home’s roof. How does rainwater or melted snow drain from the roof? It falls directly from the roof, right? This results in splatters of water that can create dirty and muddy marks on your home’s wall. Also, water falling with force can erode the soil and even oversaturate it. Oversaturation of soil along your home’s foundation can further result in structural damages. Installing an eavestrough solves all of these issues as it collects melted snow along a well-defined passage and drains it at the desired place with the help of downspouts.

No Yard Flooding

When days will become hotter, snow will melt at a higher pace. This means that a lot of water will be available that will require systematic drainage. Water will fall from the roof randomly and flood your yard as your ground-level drainage system won’t be able to handle a high volume of water. This will also be the case when you get high rainfall. Therefore, you will need a system that can collect water and drain it at a medium speed. Also, you can have several downspouts if your yard has multiple drainage points. Doing so will only facilitate easy drainage and avoid yard flooding.

Reduced Major Damages

As mentioned above, when water free falls from the roof, it can lead to soil erosion and oversaturation of soil. These issues obviously affect the plants and bushes grown close to your home’s main structure. These plants may wither because of excess water, or their limbs may break. Apart from the impact caused to your lawn, oversaturation can lead to settling of ground, basement flooding, under the house flooding, cracks in the deck and patio, and other foundational problems. By directing water away from the house, you can avoid these problems and maintain the well-being of your property.

Prevent Roof Rotting

When melted snow doesn’t drain efficiently, it gets accumulated in different areas of your roof. And in case the snow made its way below the roof shingles, it will melt and stay there if there isn’t a proper way of drainage. This standing water can wreak havoc on your entire roofing. Water can rot the soffit, fascia, shingles, and the entire system. This can be a risky thing for your house as you never know when the roofing may fail and lead to disastrous consequences. When eavestrough is installed on a perfectly sloping roof surface, it ensures that all the water drains out, leaving the roofing system to dry in sunlight.

No Structural Damages

Another reason why you may consider installing eavestrough is that this mechanism saves your home from structural damages. Damages created by standing water on the roof aren’t only limited to the components of your roof. If water accumulates at a place for a long time, it may result in attic leaks. If not leaks, standing water can make the ceiling excessively wet. Wet ceiling results in mould growth on the inner side and visible wet patches. It can also lead to rotting and decaying ceiling. By draining melted snow efficiently, eavestrough prevents these structural damages from occurring.

Better Home Experience

Do your guests (and even you) have to pass through a mini Niagara Fall whenever they enter or leave your house? If yes, that’s a terrible experience you want them to have. When you don’t have an eavestrough installed, water falls off from the entire perimeter of your roofing, even outside your home’s main door. But when you have an eavestrough, water only comes down through a downspout. This means that you won’t have a waterfall-like experience outside your house.

So if you ask us do you need eavestrough outside your house, we will strongly suggest this mechanism. And installing an eavestrough isn’t enough. You need to clean and maintain it well so that you don’t face drainage issues and situations where you’ll have to replace your eavestrough.