We keep Palm Harbor homes dry

Why Palm Harbor gutters fill up fast

Palm Harbor has a lot of shade. Many neighborhoods kept the live oaks and pines that stood there before the houses went up. On plenty of streets the branches reach right over the roof. That shade keeps a house cooler, and it also drops leaves straight into the gutters. Live oaks shed most of their old leaves in late winter and spring. Pines drop needles on and off through the whole year.

Pine needles cause the most trouble. They settle in the bottom of the gutter and catch the oak leaves that land on top. Together they form a wet mat that holds water. Once that mat covers the downspout opening, rain backs up and spills over the front edge. Some of it also runs down the back of the gutter onto the wood. That is how fascia boards go soft on houses that look fine from the street.

So when we clean gutters here, we follow the water all the way down. We clear each downspout all the way through, since a clog halfway down the pipe cannot be seen from a ladder. We check the fascia behind the gutter for soft wood while we are up there. Where branches hang over the roof, we will talk with you about gutter guards and whether a larger downspout would carry the water away faster.

• Gutters emptied and each downspout cleared
• Fascia checked for soft wood behind the gutter
• Gutter guards offered where oaks and pines hang over
• Larger downspouts where water keeps backing up
• Yard and driveway cleaned up before we go

What we find on Palm Harbor houses

A large share of Palm Harbor is block and stucco homes built as north county filled in. Around the golf courses you will also find villas and condos. Closer to the water, Ozona and Crystal Beach hold some of the oldest houses in the area, and some of those are wood frame. Each kind of house wears out its gutters in its own way, so we look at yours before we suggest anything.

Older gutters were often hung in short sections joined together. Every joint is a spot that can drip, and corners pull apart once the sealant dries out in the sun. The hangers loosen in the fascia over time, so the gutter tips forward and water sheets over the front edge. A gutter can look straight from the driveway and still leak at every joint in a hard rain.

When a gutter is past repair, we replace it with long runs cut to fit your house. That leaves joints only at the corners. Hidden hangers hold the new gutter tight to the fascia. On a wood frame cottage near the sound, half round or copper gutters can suit the look of the house. If the board behind the gutter has rotted, we repair the soffit and fascia first, since a new gutter needs a sound board to fasten to.

Summer storms put water against your foundation

Palm Harbor gets a thunderstorm on many summer afternoons, and a single storm can drop a lot of rain in a short time. Your roof gathers all of that water and sends it to a handful of downspouts. If each one empties right against the house, the ground beside the slab gets soaked again and again from June into September. That is where standing water and washed out flower beds start.

You can usually spot it early. Mulch washes out of the bed under a downspout, or a low spot keeps holding water long after the rain stops. Water that sits against a slab year after year can lead to foundation damage. Some of it can also work its way inside. Moving that water farther out into the yard is a much smaller job than fixing either one.

We deal with it at the downspout. Sometimes a larger downspout in a better spot is all it takes. On flat lots where water has nowhere to run, we can bury a drain line to carry it out into the yard. The water comes back up through a pop up emitter, away from the house. Near St. Joseph Sound, we also look for rusted fasteners, because salt air is hard on metal. After a windy storm, we check for hangers that have worked loose.

Getting a price in Palm Harbor

Call (813) 539-5260 or request an estimate on this page, and tell us your address and what is going on with your gutters. We come out to look at the house and take measurements, and you get a free written estimate. The Gutter Company is rated 4.9 from 847 Google reviews. One customer wrote, "The gutters look great and blend in with the house and trim color."