When it rains, your roof can certainly take a pounding. Rainwater weighs almost five pounds per inch, which can add up to 2,000 pounds of water crashing down on your house. Therefore, it’s necessary that your gutter is as sturdy as your roof.

Copper gutters can handle the weight of rainwater for up to 50 years and aluminum and galvanized steel rain gutters can often last for 20. However, the number of years your roof gutters will help you drain the water from your roof doesn’t account for the years that the home belonged to another family. So how can you tell when you should be replacing your roof gutters?

Know the warning signs

It can be tempting to leave your gutter as is when you move into a new house. But it’s important that you look for the warning signs they may need to be replaced in order to avoid damage to your house. Clogged roof gutters, for instance, are considered the leading cause of water basement flooding.

Here are some of the signs you may need to replace your gutters:

• Fasteners show signs of damage: The pieces that hold the gutter to the roof are known as fasteners. These small metal pieces help to keep your gutter straight and level so the water drains in the right direction. Should the problems you experience with your gutter system continue even after you fix your broken fasteners, you may need to replace your gutters.
• Holes and cracks: It may be time to replace your gutters if there are a variety of holes, rusting spots, or cracks in your gutters that are unable to be fixed by yourself.
• The gutter is separating: One of the biggest signs it’s time to replace your gutters is if the gutter itself is beginning to separate. These draining systems function only when they’re attached to the house in a channel that’s unseparated. In addition to a new gutter, you may need to have new fascia boards installed if the entire gutter system is separating from the house, not just from each other.

Roofing gutters can last for years, but only if they’re well-maintained and cleaned routinely to remove any clogging. If your repairs don’t work, it may be time to replace the gutters on your new house. With new gutters, you’ll be able to know the exact lifetime of your roof’s drainage system, which will give you peace of mind.