Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Gutters should be replaced nearly as often as the roof, so roughly every 20 years. This is a good long while, and in the meantime, your home’s rain gutters need to do their job with very little work on your part besides gutter cleaning and annual maintenance.
If you haven’t replaced your home’s gutters lately, it’s probably about time to start looking at the options. More than likely, your options have changed a lot since the last time you shopped for new gutters, either when you built your house or the last time you replaced them.
Styles and types of materials improve drastically over a period of only a few years. This means that your next gutters will be a lot more efficient, lighter and offer better curb appeal than the current ones on your home.
Seamless gutters are one of the new options available.
What are Seamless Gutters?
One of the standout enhancements in rain gutters is the invention of seamless gutter systems.
Seamless gutters are installed in long sections, opposed to standard gutters that only come in sections between 10 and 20 feet. They are made on-site in many cases with a special machine, removing the difficulties of transporting such long, narrow materials.
Most gutter installation businesses own their own equipment and can do the entire process on their own – measure, manufacture and install your seamless gutters – in just one day!
Since they are manufactured to size, it is not uncommon to have seamless gutters that stretch over 40 feet, with the longest length of a seamless rain gutter around 100 feet with no joints. This gives homeowners the choice to have an individual piece of lightweight aluminum in any color they choose.
Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Standard gutters have been used for so long that it might be difficult to see how another option can be a lot more effective. To decide if seamless gutters are a good choice for your house, you will want to understand what sets them apart so you can understand why there is a noticeable price difference between the two.
There are many benefits of seamless gutters over traditional gutter systems:
More Attractive – With joints just at the corners, seamless gutters have a noticeably sleek look. Seamless gutter fabrication machines cut out holes for gutter downspouts, which should be present every 20 to 30 feet, so they are smooth and correctly sized. The measurements also improve the curb appeal of your house without being too overstated and obvious.
Easier Care – Less joints means there are less opportunities for debris to cling on or get stuck within the rain gutters. Water drains through smoothly with fewer clogs. As a homeowner, this will likely make you very happy, since it means you won’t be cleaning them out nearly as often. Seamless gutters usually only need 1 yearly cleaning. In contrast, most standard gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year in order to keep them working well.
Lower Chance of Leaks – Standard gutters can leak from any joint once the gutters start pulling away from the home. Loose fasteners are another problem that leads to gutter leaks. Eliminating joints along the entire length and width of your home helps reduce the risk of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).
Prevent Pests – Buildup in your gutters will attract small animals, rodents and insects that can hide within them or build nests with the debris that is present. From there, insects, birds, squirrels and chipmunks have access to your attic and will damage your roof, leading to hundreds of dollars of damage (at a minimum). Keeping that buildup out of your gutters makes them less appealing for pests.
Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then manufacturing them on site ensures that your gutters will be the correct size without having additional pieces that were cut off to match the length of the home. This is an eco-friendly process that reduces your home’s carbon footprint. Also, there is no need to eliminate the excess or see it end up in a landfill.
Longer Lifetime – Seamless gutters are made with the latest technology and the best materials available. This leads to fewer leaks, less chance of rust and a reduced risk of the gutters pulling away from the home. Longer lasting gutters also protect your home, including the exterior walls, windows and surrounding soil.
Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional
Seamless gutters typically require professional installation due to their size and the training and equipment required to build them. Most homeowners don’t have have the machinery needed to make seamless gutters, nor do they have the training on how to program these machines to make precise cuts.
Seamless gutters do cost more, but once they are professionally installed, you will immediately see their value which pays for itself due to less repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have any questions concerning the value of seamless gutters, speak to a gutter installer who offers both standard and seamless gutter systems to determine if the price difference and benefits are a good fit for your budget and needs.
Installing these extra-long gutters is not a task that a single person can handle safely. Professionals can install a section up to about 35 feet on their own, but anything longer than that will require a second person.
For gutters that are less than 35 feet, they will start in the middle and work their way to each end, securing the gutter every few feet. For rain gutters any longer, the installation team will need to start in two places (1/3 of the way from each end) and attach those places because of the length and the weight of the seamless gutter.
Paying for professional seamless gutter installation also means that your warranty will be intact in the event of an accident or storm damages.
Seamless gutter installation is not a recommended DIY home improvement project. Homeowners can damage a long gutter by mishandling it. This can damage the gutter’s appearance as well as its effectiveness. Hometown Huntington Gutters is proud to provide seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Huntington area. Call 631-364-7861 now for more information!