Benefits of Seamless Gutters

Rain gutters should be replaced almost as often as the roof on a home, so somewhere around 20 years. This is a good long while, but in the meantime, your gutters should 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 recently, it’s probably about time to begin looking at the options. More than likely, 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 a lot over a period of just 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 home gutters is the creation of seamless gutter systems.

Seamless gutters are installed in very long sections, opposed to traditional gutters which only come in sections between 10 and 20 feet long. They are made on-site in many cases with a special machine, removing the difficulties of transporting such long, narrow materials.

Most gutter installation services have their own machinery and can complete the whole process – measure, manufacture and installing your seamless gutters – in less than one day!

Since they are built to size, it is not uncommon to have seamless gutters that extend over 40 feet, with the longest length of a seamless gutter at 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

Traditional gutters have been used for so long that it might be hard to see how another option can be much more effective. To determine if seamless gutters are a good choice for your home, you need to know what sets them apart so you can understand why there is such a noticeable price difference between the two.

There are many benefits of seamless gutters over traditional gutter systems:

Better Curb Appeal – With joints just at the corners, seamless gutters have a noticeably sleek appearance. Seamless gutter fabrication machines cut out holes for gutter downspouts, which have to be present every 20 to 30 feet, so that they are smooth and perfectly sized. The custom measurements also help the curb appeal of your house without being overstated or obvious.

Easier Care – Fewer joints mean there are fewer opportunities for debris to cling on or get stuck within the rain gutters. Water flows through smoothly with less clogs from dirt and debris. As a homeowner, this will likely make you extremely pleased, as it means you won’t be cleaning them out nearly as much. Seamless gutters usually only need 1 yearly cleaning. In contrast, some traditional rain gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year to keep them working well.

Lower Chance of Leaks – Regular gutters can leak at any joint once the gutters start pulling away from the home. Loose fasteners are also a problem that cause gutter leaks. Eliminating joints across the length and width of your house reduces the risk of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).

Discourages Pests – Clogged gutters will attract animals, rodents and insects that are able to hide inside of them or build a nest with the materials that are present. From there, insects, birds, squirrels and chipmunks have easy access to your attic and are able to damage your roof, leading to hundreds of dollars of repairs. Keeping that buildup out of your gutters makes them less attractive for pests.

Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then building them on site ensures that your gutters will be the correct length without having extra pieces that were cut off to match the length of the home. This is an environmentally-friendly process that lowers your home’s carbon footprint. In addition, there is no need to destroy the excess or see it end up in a landfill.

Last Longer – Seamless gutters are made with the latest technology and the best materials available. This creates less leaks, less chance of rust and reduced risk of the gutters pulling away from the house. Longer lasting rain gutters also protect your home, including the exterior walls, windows and the soil below.

Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional

Seamless gutters almost always need professional installation due to their size and the training and equipment necessary to manufacturer them. Individuals don’t have the equipment needed to produce seamless gutters, nor do they have the knowledge of how to program these machines to make precise cuts.

Seamless gutters are more expensive, but once they are professionally installed, you will quickly see their value which pays for itself because of fewer repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have questions about the value of seamless gutters, talk with a gutter installer who does both traditional and seamless gutter systems to determine if the price difference and benefits are a good fit for your budget and needs.

Installing seamless gutters is not a job that a single person can handle safely. Pros can install a section up to about 35 feet or so on their own, but anything longer than that requires a second person.

For seamless gutters that are less than 35 feet, they will start in the middle and work their way to each end, fastening the gutter every several feet. For gutters that are longer than that, the installation team will need to begin in two places (1/3 of the way from each end) and attach those sections 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. You can easily damage a long gutter by handling it improperly. This can affect the gutter’s appearance as well as its effectiveness. Roanoke Gutters is proud to provide seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Roanoke area. Call 540-254-5920 now for more information!