What Do Seamless Gutters Look Like?

Posted by Corey Zeller Comments Off on What Do Seamless Gutters Look Like? Uncategorized

What Do Seamless Gutters Look Like?

Many customers thinking about roof and siding replacements ask how they can upgrade their gutters during installation. Most of them view the gutters, siding, or roofing elements as individual items instead of an entire system that works together to protect your home.

A well-maintained home is insulated from bad weather and can displace water with ease. By stopping the ingress of the elements, you will seriously extend the life (and looks) of your home, whereas a single point of failure can bring down the whole system and, over time, cost you a lot of money.

At Proven Contracting, we are specialists in every area of roofing, gutters, and siding replacement. We know how important maintenance is for every aspect of your home.

But the most common questions we get from customers looking into replacing gutter installation service are all about looks. One common question comes from people who have heard about seamless gutters but don’t know exactly what they are. They ask:

Seamless gutters look just like regular traditional overlapping gutters, but with the benefit of having no seams to join pieces together. This is great news if you live in an area with intense weather patterns, like southern New Jersey. The seams on traditional gutters are a point of failure in many homes, but seamless gutters totally skip those issues and are made on-site to fit any length. This is why replacing roof gutters with seamless gutters can improve the look of your home.

One of the best things about seamless gutters and the custom extrusion system is that they are infinitely customizable. Clients can choose the materials, colors, and sizes to match (or accent) their homes.

During seamless gutter installation, a box truck comes with flat metal sheets in the style and gauge of your choice (.032 and .027 are standard) and are put through an extruder to be shaped into a gutter system. The “K Style” is the most efficient and most chosen seamless gutter design.

What Other Kind Of Gutters Are There?

There are multiple styles of gutters, so before you land on the de rigeur seamless “K Style” gutter (which is the most expedient, affordable, and easily customizable option), we want to explore the other available types to consider for gutter installation.

Here are some of the two most popular gutter types that aren’t seamless:

Overlapping Traditional Gutters:

These gutters come in precut segments that are joined along your roof and cut to fit different lengths. While these were the only option at one time, today, almost everyone uses seamless because they are more efficient and easier to install in custom lengths.

Half-Round Gutters:

These rounded gutters look exactly as they sound but are mostly a thing of the past. They are not as deep as “K style” gutters and are being replaced with more efficient gutters on many homes.

How Customizable Are Gutters?

Gutter systems can be made to match any home, and the customization allowed with seamless gutter installation has homeowners exploring more and more unique gutter options. Aluminum is the most commonly used gutter material, but some choose to use high-end copper on their homes.

Copper gutters are the Rolls Royce of gutter materials. Over time they will develop a beautiful weathered patina, but there are a few downsides to choosing copper. Copper is unfortunately very expensive, difficult to source, and must be installed carefully as it is prone to dents. This is also a bad choice if you live in an area, like Monmouth County that sees hail, as the hail can damage the copper’s aesthetic.

After choosing a material (likely aluminum), the customization options are almost endless. Black and white are the most common choices, but some people choose to match their siding. It’s important to remember that the more custom the gutter color choice, the more expensive it will be.

Other options you can choose from include different sizes. 4″ and 5″ will work for many roofs, but some (especially bigger and steeper roofs that need to collect more water in a heavy rainfall) benefit from 6″ or 7″ “jumbo” gutters. A 6″ gutter will collect 40% more water than a 4″ gutter.

Who Replaces Gutters?

Specialists replace gutters, just like roofing and siding. As a roofing contractor with gutter specialists on our team, we work with the best in New Jersey to ensure that your gutters are updated for value and lasting impact.

If you are interested in gutter installation in south Jersey (or doing other updates that include gutters), all you need to do is call us. Before sending someone out to measure, evaluate, and price your job, we will happily discuss any questions you might have about the process.

You’ll be able to talk through the different options, learn about the process, and discuss the best needs for your home with local gutter installers.

Gutters are technically independent of the siding and roofing, but it does make the most sense to replace them when you are repairing or replacing the facade or roof of your home.

How Long Does It Take To Replace Gutters?

The amount of time it takes to replace gutters is typically less than one day. This can vary depending on the size and location of your home. Larger homes with multiple stories, rotten fascia, or a steep grade will require more time and effort to access and replace.

If you are updating multiple segments of your home, the process is much more efficient than replacing just one segment alone. Gutters are always done last. The entire process (from consultation to finishing) can take a few weeks, depending on material choice, availability, and crew scheduling. But it’s okay to simply update your gutters for a small facelift. Doing so can go a long way to protecting your home (and adding value).

The job involves removing the original gutters, checking the fascia boards underneath, the trim, soffit (the piece of your roof that is on the underside of the eaves and allows passive air into the attic without allowing water, which helps the r-value of your roof system), and any contact points of the gutter system.

Once every piece is deemed independently sturdy, the new gutters can be quickly installed, often in less than a day.

When Should I Replace My Gutters?

There’s no right or wrong time to replace parts of your home, and it’s okay to want a refresh to improve the facade’s aesthetics or to protect it. However, we believe it’s most effective to simultaneously replace siding, roofing, and gutters.

But sometimes accidents happen, and extreme weather or outside circumstances can cause you to need an early replacement. Suppose a gutter is clearly damaged by a tree limb, severe weather, or an unforeseen accident. In that case, if they look bad and are oxidized (they’ve gone from shiny to chalky) or start falling off the siding, it’s time to speak with a contractor about replacing the gutters on your home.

The longer you leave outdated gutters unaddressed, the more likely you are to need extensive repairs.

If you are worried about your gutters or want to explore updating other parts of your home, contact us at Proven Contracting today, where we’ve served Monmouth and Ocean residents as local gutter installers for close to ten years.