Business
Gutter Systems in Buildings: Protecting Your Property from Water Damage by Dennis Isong
Gutter Systems in Buildings: Protecting Your Property from Water Damage by Dennis Isong
Gutter systems are essential components of a building’s exterior that collect and divert rainwater away from the structure. Typically installed along the roofline, these systems consist of horizontal gutters and vertical downspouts. Gutters catch water as it runs off the roof, while downspouts channel this water away from the building’s foundation.
Why Gutter Systems?
The primary purpose of gutter systems is to protect buildings from water damage. By efficiently managing rainwater, these systems prevent a host of potential issues that could compromise the structural integrity of a building and the safety of its occupants. Gutter systems are crucial in maintaining the longevity of a structure and preserving its aesthetic appeal.
10 Importance of Gutter Systems in Buildings
- Foundation Protection: By directing water away from the building, gutters prevent soil erosion around the foundation, reducing the risk of cracks, shifts, and other structural damage.
- Basement Flooding Prevention: Proper water diversion minimizes the chances of water seeping into basements, protecting against flooding and moisture-related issues.
- Soil Stability: Gutters help maintain soil stability around the building by preventing oversaturation, which can lead to landscaping problems and potential sinkholes.
- Preventing Exterior Wall Damage: Without gutters, water cascading down exterior walls can lead to staining, paint damage, and even structural deterioration over time.
- Roof Protection: Gutters prevent water from pooling on the roof, which can cause leaks, rot, and damage to roofing materials.
- Mold and Mildew Prevention: By keeping the building dry, gutter systems reduce the likelihood of mold and mildew growth, which can pose health risks to occupants.
- Preserving Landscaping: Properly directed water flow protects gardens, flowerbeds, and other landscaping features from erosion and oversaturation.
- Ice Dam Prevention: In colder climates, effective gutter systems can help prevent the formation of ice dams, which can cause significant roof damage.
- Maintaining Property Value: Well-maintained gutter systems contribute to the overall appearance and functionality of a building, helping to preserve its market value.
- Energy Efficiency: By keeping the building dry, gutters indirectly contribute to better insulation performance and energy efficiency.
Problems that Come with Lack of Gutter Systems in Buildings
- Foundation Damage:
Without gutters, rainwater falls directly from the roof and accumulates around the building’s foundation. This constant exposure to water can lead to soil erosion, which may cause the foundation to settle unevenly. Over time, this can result in cracks in the foundation walls, uneven floors, and even structural instability. In severe cases, foundation damage can compromise the entire building’s integrity, leading to costly and extensive repairs.
- Basement Flooding:
When water is not properly diverted away from the building, it can seep into basements through small cracks or porous materials. This can lead to frequent flooding during heavy rains or snow melts. Basement flooding not only damages stored items and finishes but can also create long-term moisture problems. Persistent dampness can weaken structural elements and create an ideal environment for mold growth, potentially making the space uninhabitable and causing health issues for occupants.
- Soil Erosion:
Without gutters to control water flow, rainwater cascading off the roof can wash away soil around the building. This erosion can be particularly problematic for landscaping, destroying gardens and exposing tree roots. More critically, it can undermine walkways, patios, and even the building’s foundation. As soil erodes, it can create low spots where water collects, exacerbating drainage issues and potentially leading to sinkholes.
- Exterior Deterioration:
When water runs unchecked down the sides of a building, it can cause significant damage to exterior surfaces. For wooden structures, this constant moisture exposure can lead to rot, warping, and decay. Paint will peel and bubble more quickly, requiring more frequent repainting. On brick or stone buildings, water can seep into small cracks, and in colder climates, freeze-thaw cycles can cause these cracks to widen, eventually leading to spalling (where the surface of the masonry flakes off). This not only affects the building’s appearance but can also compromise its weather resistance.
- Roof Damage:
While roofs are designed to shed water, they rely on gutters to complete the job. Without gutters, water can back up at the roof’s edge, potentially seeping under shingles or other roofing materials. This can lead to rot in the roof decking and fascia boards. In flat or low-slope roofs, standing water (known as “ponding”) can occur, adding weight stress to the roof structure and accelerating the deterioration of roofing materials. Over time, this can result in leaks and the need for premature roof replacement.
- Mold and Mildew Growth:
Excess moisture from poor drainage creates ideal conditions for mold and mildew growth, both inside and outside the building. Exterior mold can damage siding and masonry, while interior mold (often in basements or crawl spaces) can spread through the building’s structure. Besides causing unsightly stains and unpleasant odors, mold can pose serious health risks to occupants, particularly those with respiratory issues or allergies.
- Insect Infestations:
Standing water near a building becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other water-loving insects. This not only creates a nuisance for residents and visitors but can also pose health risks, as mosquitoes can transmit various diseases. Additionally, damp wood attracts termites and carpenter ants, which can cause significant structural damage over time.
- Ice Dams:
In colder climates, the lack of proper water drainage can lead to the formation of ice dams. These occur when snow on the roof melts, runs to the edge, and refreezes, creating a barrier that prevents further water drainage. As more water backs up behind this ice dam, it can seep under shingles and into the building. This not only causes leaks but can also lead to significant damage to ceilings, walls, and insulation.
- Staining and Discoloration:
Without gutters to direct water flow, rainwater carrying dirt, algae, and other debris can leave streaks and stains on the building’s exterior. This is particularly noticeable on light-colored siding or masonry. Over time, these stains can become difficult or impossible to remove without professional cleaning or repainting, affecting the building’s aesthetic appeal and potentially its value.
- Reduced Property Value:
The cumulative effect of these issues can significantly decrease a property’s value. Visible damage, such as staining or foundation problems, immediately lowers curb appeal. More insidiously, the long-term effects of water damage can lead to major structural issues that are expensive to repair. When selling a property, these problems often come to light during inspections, potentially derailing sales or drastically reducing the selling price.
- Increased Maintenance Costs:
Without gutters, buildings require more frequent maintenance to address water-related issues. This includes more regular painting, repairs to water-damaged areas, and potentially major renovations to address structural problems. Over time, these increased maintenance costs can far exceed the initial investment of installing and maintaining a proper gutter system.
- Compromised Indoor Air Quality:
The increased moisture levels associated with poor water management can lead to higher humidity inside the building. This not only makes the interior less comfortable but can also contribute to the growth of mold and mildew within walls and HVAC systems. The result is poorer indoor air quality, which can exacerbate respiratory issues and create an unhealthy living or working environment.
For personalized assistance with your property needs, contact Dennis Isong, a top Lagos realtor specializing in helping Nigerians in the diaspora own property stress-free.
Contact: +2348164741041
Business
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
By femi Oyewale
Business
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
In celebration of the season of love, Adron Homes and Properties has announced the launch of its special Valentine campaign, “Love for Love” Promo, a customer-centric initiative designed to reward Nigerians who choose to express love through smart, lasting real estate investments.
The Love for Love Promo offers clients attractive discounts, flexible payment options, and an array of exclusive gift items, reinforcing Adron Homes’ commitment to making property ownership both rewarding and accessible. The campaign runs throughout the Valentine season and applies to the company’s wide portfolio of estates and housing projects strategically located across Nigeria.
Speaking on the promo, the company’s Managing Director, Mrs Adenike Ajobo, stated that the initiative is aimed at encouraging individuals and families to move beyond conventional Valentine gifts by investing in assets that secure their future. According to the company, love is best demonstrated through stability, legacy, and long-term value—principles that real estate ownership represents.
Under the promo structure, clients who make a payment of ₦100,000 receive cake, chocolates, and a bottle of wine, while those who pay ₦200,000 are rewarded with a Love Hamper. Payments of ₦500,000 attract a Love Hamper plus cake, and clients who pay ₦1,000,000 enjoy a choice of a Samsung phone or a Love Hamper with cake.
The rewards become increasingly premium as commitment grows. Clients who pay ₦5,000,000 receive either an iPad or an all-expenses-paid romantic getaway for a couple at one of Nigeria’s finest hotels, which includes two nights’ accommodation, special treats, and a Love Hamper. A payment of ₦10,000,000 comes with a choice of a Samsung Z Fold 7, three nights at a top-tier resort in Nigeria, or a full solar power installation.
For high-value investors, the Love for Love Promo delivers exceptional lifestyle experiences. Clients who pay ₦30,000,000 on land are rewarded with a three-night couple’s trip to Doha, Qatar, or South Africa, while purchasers of any Adron Homes house valued at ₦50,000,000 receive a double-door refrigerator.
The promo covers Adron Homes’ estates located in Lagos, Shimawa, Sagamu, Atan–Ota, Papalanto, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osun, Ekiti, Abuja, Nasarawa, and Niger States, offering clients the opportunity to invest in fast-growing, strategically positioned communities nationwide.
Adron Homes reiterated that beyond the incentives, the campaign underscores the company’s strong reputation for secure land titles, affordable pricing, strategic locations, and a proven legacy in real estate development.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Adron Homes encourages Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to take advantage of the Love for Love Promo to enjoy exceptional value, exclusive rewards, and the opportunity to build a future rooted in love, security, and prosperity.
Business
Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital
*Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital*
*BY BLAISE UDUNZE*
Despite the fragile 2024 economy grappling with inflation, currency volatility, and weak growth, Nigeria’s banking industry was widely portrayed as successful and strong amid triumphal headlines. The figures appeared to signal strength, resilience, and superior management as the Tier-1 banks such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, UBA, and First Bank of Nigeria, collectively reported profits approaching, and in some cases exceeding, N1 trillion. Surprisingly, a year later, these same banks touted as sound and solid are locked in a frenetic race to the capital markets, issuing rights offers and public placements back-to-back to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion recapitalisation thresholds.
The contradiction is glaring. If Nigeria’s biggest banks are so profitable, why are they unable to internally fund their new capital requirements? Why have no fewer than 27 banks tapped the capital market in quick succession despite repeated assurances of balance-sheet robustness? And more fundamentally, what do these record profits actually say about the real health of the banking system?
The recapitalisation directive announced by the CBN in 2024 was ambitious by design. Banks with international licences were required to raise minimum capital to N500 billion by March 2026, while national and regional banks faced lower but still substantial thresholds ranging from N200 billion to N50 billion, respectively. Looking at the policy, it was sold as a modern reform meant to make banks stronger, more resilient in tough times, and better able to support major long-term economic development. In theory, strong banks should welcome such reforms. In practice, the scramble that followed has exposed uncomfortable truths about the structure of bank profitability in Nigeria.
At the heart of the inconsistency is a fundamental misunderstanding often encouraged by the banks themselves between profits and capital. Unknown to many, profitability, no matter how impressive, does not automatically translate into regulatory capital. Primarily, the CBN’s recapitalisation framework actually focuses on money paid in by shareholders when buying shares, fresh equity injected by investors over retained earnings or profits that exist mainly on paper.
This distinction matters because much of the profit surge recorded in 2024 and early 2025 was neither cash-generative nor sustainably repeatable. A significant portion of those headline banks’ profits reported actually came from foreign exchange revaluation gains following the sharp fall of the naira after exchange-rate unification. The industry witnessed that banks’ holding dollar-denominated assets their books showed bigger numbers as their balance sheets swell in naira terms, creating enormous paper profits without a corresponding improvement in underlying operational strength. These gains inflated income statements but did little to strengthen core capital, especially after the CBN barred banks from using FX revaluation gains for dividends or routine operations. In effect, banks looked richer without becoming stronger.
Beyond FX effects, Nigerian banks have increasingly relied on non-interest income fees, charges, and transaction levies to drive profitability. While this model is lucrative, it does not necessarily deepen financial intermediation or expand productive lending. High profits built on customer charges rather than loan growth offer limited support for long-term balance-sheet expansion. They also leave banks vulnerable when macroeconomic conditions shift, as is now happening.
Indeed, the recapitalisation exercise coincides with a turning point in the monetary cycle. The extraordinary conditions that supported bank earnings in 2024 and 2025 are beginning to unwind. Analysts now warn that Nigerian banks are approaching earnings reset, as net interest margins the backbone of traditional banking profitability, come under sustained pressure.
Renaissance Capital, in a January note, projects that major banks including Zenith, GTCO, Access Holdings, and UBA will struggle to deliver earnings growth in 2026 comparable to recent performance.
In a real sense, the CBN is expected to lower interest rates by 400 to 500 basis points because inflation is slowing down, and this means that banks will earn less on loans and government bonds, but they may not be able to quickly lower the interest they pay on deposits or other debts. The cash reserve requirements are still elevated, which does not earn interest; banks can’t easily increase or expand lending investments to make up for lower returns. The implications are significant. Net interest margin, the difference between what banks earn on loans and investments and what they pay on deposits, is poised to contract. Deposit competition is intensifying as lenders fight to shore up liquidity ahead of recapitalisation deadlines, pushing up funding costs. At the same time, yields on treasury bills and bonds, long a safe and lucrative haven for banks are expected to soften in a lower-rate environment. The result is a narrowing profit cushion just as banks are being asked to carry far larger equity bases.
Compounding this challenge is the fading of FX revaluation windfalls. With the naira relatively more stable in early 2026, the non-cash gains that once flattered bank earnings have largely evaporated. What remains is the less glamorous reality of core banking operations: credit risk management, cost efficiency, and genuine loan growth in a sluggish economy. In this new environment, maintaining headline profits will be far harder, even before accounting for the dilutive impact of recapitalisation.
That dilution is another underappreciated consequence of the capital rush. Massive share issuances mean that even if banks manage to sustain absolute profit levels, earnings per share and return on equity are likely to decline. Zenith, Access, UBA, and others are dramatically increasing their share counts. The same earnings pie is now being divided among many more shareholders, making individual returns leaner than during the pre-recapitalisation boom. For investors, the optics of strong profits may soon give way to the reality of weaker per-share performance.
Yet banks have pressed ahead, not only out of regulatory necessity but also strategic calculation.
During this period of recapitalization, investors are interested in the stock market with optimism, especially about bank shares, as banks are raising fresh capital, and this makes it easier to attract investments. This has become a season for the management teams to seize the moment to raise funds at relatively attractive valuations, strengthen ownership positions, and position themselves for post-recapitalisation dominance. In several cases, major shareholders and insiders have increased their stakes, as projected in the media, signalling confidence in long-term prospects even as near-term returns face pressure.
There is also a broader structural ambition at play. Well-capitalised banks can take on larger single obligor exposures, finance infrastructure projects, expand regionally, and compete more credibly with pan-African and global peers. From this perspective, recapitalisation is not merely about compliance but about reshaping the competitive hierarchy of Nigerian banking. What will be witnessed in the industry is that those who succeed will emerge larger, fewer, and more powerful. Those that fail will be forced into consolidation, retreat, or irrelevance.
For the wider economy, the outcome is ambiguous. Stronger banks with deeper capital buffers could improve systemic stability and enhance Nigeria’s ability to fund long-term development. The point is that while merging or consolidating banks may make them safer, it can also harm the market and the economy because it will reduce competition, let a few banks dominate, and encourage them to earn easy money from bonds and fees instead of funding real businesses. The truth be told, injecting more capital into the banks without complementary reforms in credit infrastructure, risk-sharing mechanisms, and fiscal discipline, isn’t enough as the aforementioned reforms are also needed.
The rush as exposed in this period, is that the moment Nigerian banks started raising new capital, the glaring reality behind their reported profits became clearer, that profits weren’t purely from good management, while the financial industry is not as sound and strong as its headline figures. The fact that trillion-naira profit banks must return repeatedly to shareholders for fresh capital is not a sign of excess strength, but of structural imbalance.
With the deadline for banks to raise new capital coming soon, by 31 March 2026, the focus has shifted from just raising N500 billion. N200 billion or N50 billion to think about the future shape and quality of Nigeria’s financial industry, or what it will actually look like afterward. Will recapitalisation mark a turning point toward deeper intermediation, lower dependence on speculative gains, and stronger support for economic growth? Or will it simply reset the numbers while leaving underlying incentives unchanged?
The answer will define the next chapter of Nigerian banking long after the capital market roadshows have ended and the profit headlines have faded.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
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