Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Gutters should be replaced nearly as often as the roof on a home, 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 needed to replace your home’s gutters lately, it’s probably a good time to start considering the options. Odds are, your options have changed since the last time you shopped for gutters, either when you built your house or the last time you replaced them.
Styles and materials improve significantly over a period of only a few years. This means that your next rain gutters will be even more efficient, lighter and more attractive than the current ones on your home.
Seamless gutters are one of the newest options available.
What are Seamless Gutters?
One of the most revolutionary upgrades in residential gutters is the creation of seamless gutter systems.
Seamless gutters are installed in very long sections, opposed to traditional gutters that are only manufactured in sections between 10 and 20 feet. They are made on-site in many cases with a custom machine, eliminating the difficulties of transporting long, narrow items.
Many gutter installation businesses own their own machinery and can complete the whole process on their own – measure, manufacture and installing your seamless gutters – in just one day!
Because they are manufactured to size, it is possible to have seamless gutters that extend over 50 feet, with the maximum length of a seamless gutter around 100 feet with no joints. This gives homeowners the choice to have a single piece of lightweight aluminum in whatever color they choose.
Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Standard gutters have been popular for so long that it might be hard to see how another choice can be much more effective. To determine if seamless gutters are a good choice for your house, you need know the benefits of them so you can understand why there is such a noticeable price difference for them.
There are many benefits of seamless gutters over traditional gutter systems:
More Attractive – With joints only at the corners, seamless gutters have a noticeably sleek appearance. Seamless gutter machines even cut out holes for gutter downspouts, which must be present every 20 to 30 feet, so that they are smooth and perfectly sized. The measurements also help the curb appeal of your home without being overstated and obvious.
Easier Care – Less joints mean there are fewer opportunities for debris to get hung on or get stuck within the gutters. Water drains through smoothly with less clogs from dirt and debris. As a homeowner, this will likely make you very pleased, because it means you won’t need to clean them out as often. Seamless gutters usually only need 1 annual cleaning. In contrast, most regular rain gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year to keep them working well.
Lower Chance of Leaks – Standard gutters can leak at any joint as soon as the gutters start pulling away from the house. Loose fasteners are also a problem that lead to gutter leaks. Getting rid of joints across the entire length and width of your house helps reduce the likelihood of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).
Discourages Pests – Buildup in your gutters will attract small animals and insects that can hide inside of them or build a nest with the debris that is present. From that point, insects, birds, squirrels and chipmunks have easy access to your attic and will destroy your roof, resulting in hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage. Keeping that buildup out of rain gutters makes them less attractive for pests.
Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then building them on site means that your gutters will be the correct length without having scrap pieces that were cut off to match the exact length of the home. This is an environmentally-friendly practice that lowers your home’s carbon footprint. Also, there is no need to destroy the excess or see it end up in a landfill.
Last Longer – Seamless gutters are built with the newest technology and the best materials on the market. This leads to less leaks, less chance of rusting and reduced risk of the gutters pulling away from the house. Longer lasting rain gutters also protect your home, including the walls, windows and the soil below.
Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional
Seamless gutters typically need professional installation because of their size and the training and equipment required to build them. Individuals don’t have own the equipment required to make seamless gutters, nor do they have the training on how to set up these machines to make exact cuts.
Seamless gutters are more expensive, but once they are installed, you will understand their value which pays for itself over time via less repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have questions about the value of seamless rain gutters, talk with a gutter installer who provides both standard and seamless gutter systems to determine if the cost difference and benefits are a good fit for your budget and needs.
Installing these extra-long rain gutters is not a task that a homeowner can handle safely. Pros can install a section up to about 35 feet or so on their own, but anything longer requires a second person.
For gutters that are less than 35 feet, they will start in the middle and work their way to each end, fastening the gutter every few feet. For rain gutters longer than that, the installation team will begin in two places (1/3 of the way from each end) and attach those sections because of the length and 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. You can damage a seamless gutter by mishandling it. This can affect the gutter’s appearance as well as its effectiveness. Fishers Gutters & More! is proud to offer seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Fishers area. Call 317-434-8805 now for more information!