Gutters and Kickouts: Small Details, Big Protection
As spring showers roll in and snow is a thing of the past, homeowners across Iowa start turning their attention to the exterior maintenance of their homes. One of the most important and often overlooked areas of home care is your gutter system. We have seen firsthand how neglected gutters can lead to costly damage, from foundation issues to roof leaks. In this month’s blog, we will dive deeper into why gutter maintenance is essential, how kickout flashings play an important role in protecting your home, and how to keep your exterior systems in the best shape all season long.
Why Does Gutter Maintenance Matter?
Your gutters might seem like a minor part of your home, but their job is anything but small. Here is what happens when gutters are functioning properly and what can happen when they are not:
Gutters help redirect water safely from your home. They collect rainwater from your roof and carry it away from the house through downspouts, preventing water from pooling around your foundation, seeping into basements, or causing erosion. They also help protect your foundation from excess moisture. This helps prevent cracks, settling, and even basement flooding.
Clean unobstructed gutters prevent future problems. A proper gutter system also helps preserve your roof and siding. When gutters overflow due to blockages like leaves, twigs, or ice dams, water can spill back onto your roof or down your siding. This can lead to mold growth, rotting fascia boards, and peeling paint.
Finally, winter can put your home through some of the harshest conditions. With a good gutter system, you can plan and help prevent ice dams in the winter. Why do ice dams form? In colder climates, debris-filled gutters can trap water and cause ice dams to form, leading to roof leaks and structural damage. Getting on top of this before the winter season can help prevent this problem. For more information on ice dams and their formation, check out our previous blog post!
Kickouts and The Importance of Them On Your Home
Kickouts, or kickout flashings, are a small but essential piece of bent metal, usually shaped like a “v” or elbow. They are typically installed on the roof’s edge, where a sloped roof meets a vertical wall, such as near a chimney, dormer, or where a roofline runs into siding. The purpose of kickout flashing is simple yet crucial for your home’s health: to catch water that is running off the roof and “kick” it into the gutter, instead of allowing it to run behind the siding or down the wall. It is important to see if your home has had proper kickout flashing installed; many homes do not. Oftentimes, it is the missing piece in many homes. Without a kickout flashing, water running off your roof can travel along the edge and behind the siding or stucco where the roof meets the wall. However, that water does not always show up right away, it can sit behind the siding for months or even years, slowly soaking into the wall sheathing, insulation, and framing. Over time, this moisture can cause:
Rot and structural weakening of the framing.
Mold and mildew growth, which is not only unhealthy but also difficult and expensive to remove.
Interior wall damage, like bubbling paint or drywall stains that appear well after the damage has been done.
What makes kickout flashing tricky is that problems are often not visible right away. If you are unsure whether your home has kickout flashing, especially in roof-to-wall areas, it is a good idea to check or ask a professional to take a look during your next roof or gutter inspection.
When it comes to protecting your home, the smallest components often make the biggest difference. Gutters and kickout flashing might not be the most noticeable parts of your exterior, but they quietly do the critical work of guiding water away from areas it should not be. Understanding how these systems work and what can happen when they are neglected empowers you as a homeowner. Whether you are doing routine maintenance, planning improvements, or just learning more about your home’s structure, taking a closer look at your gutters and flashing is a smart place to start.
Our goal at Andrew’s Roofing Company is not just to fix roofs, but to help homeowners make informed decisions that protect their homes for years to come. We hope we can give you some useful insights and a better understanding of why clean gutters and proper kickout flashing matter.
Are you looking for more general gutter maintenance information? Check out this short video courtesy of our Lead Exterior Specialist, Trevor Gooding. In it, he breaks down the importance of keeping your gutters clean and in the best shape for the rainy season ahead!
Have more questions? We’d be happy to answer below!
