Benefits of Seamless Gutters

Gutters have to be replaced nearly as often as the roof on a home, so roughly every 20 years. This is a good long while, but in the meantime, your rain gutters should do their job with very little effort on your part besides gutter cleaning and routine maintenance.

If you haven’t needed to replace your home’s gutters recently, it’s probably a good time to start looking at the options. Odds are, your options have changed since you last shopped for gutters, either when building your house or the last time you replaced them.

Styles and materials improve drastically over a period of just a few years. This means that your next gutters will be more efficient, lighter and offer better curb appeal than the ones that are currently on your home.

Seamless gutters are one of the new options available.

What are Seamless Gutters?

One of the standout upgrades in rain gutters is the invention of seamless gutter systems.

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

Most gutter installation businesses have their own machinery and are able to complete the whole process on their own – measure, manufacture and installing your seamless gutters – in less than one day!

Since 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 at around 100 feet without joints. This offers homeowners the option to have a single piece of lightweight aluminum in any color they choose.

Benefits of Seamless Gutters

Standard gutters have been popular 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 idea for your house, you should understand the benefits of them 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 only at the corners, seamless gutters have a very sleek look. Seamless gutter machines even cut out holes for gutter downspouts, which have to be present every 20 to 30 feet, so that they are smooth and correctly sized. The measurements also improve the curb appeal of your home without being overstated or obvious.

Easier Care – Less joints mean there are fewer opportunities for debris to get hung on or get stuck within the rain gutters. Water flows through smoothly with less clogs. As a homeowner, this will likely make you very pleased, since it means you won’t need to clean them out nearly as often. Seamless gutters usually only need 1 annual cleaning. In comparison, most regular rain gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year in order to keep them functioning well.

Lower Chance of Leaks – Traditional gutters can leak from any joint if the gutters start pulling away from the home. Loose fasteners are also a problem that can result in gutter leaks. Getting rid of joints along the length and width of your house helps reduce the risk of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).

Discourages Pests – Buildup in your gutters will attract animals and insects that are able to hide inside of them or build a nest with the organic materials that are present. From that point, insects, birds, squirrels and chipmunks have easy access to your attic and can destroy your roof, resulting in hundreds of dollars’ worth of repairs (at a minimum). Keeping that buildup out of rain gutters makes them less appealing for pests.

Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then cutting them on site means that your gutters will be the perfect length without having additional pieces that were cut off to match the length of the home. This is an environmentally-friendly practice that reduces your home’s carbon footprint. In addition, there is no need to eliminate the excess or see it end up in a landfill.

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

Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional

Seamless gutters usually need professional installation because of their size and the experience and equipment required to manufacturer them. Individuals don’t have have the machinery required to make seamless gutters, nor do they have the training on how to program these machines to make exact cuts.

Seamless gutters are more expensive, but once they are installed, you will quickly understand their value which pays for itself over time via fewer repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have any questions concerning the value of seamless gutters, speak to a gutter installer who does both traditional and seamless gutter systems to decide if the price difference and benefits are worth it for your budget and needs.

Installing these extra-long rain gutters is not a project 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 will require 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, securing the gutter every several feet. For rain 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 due to 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 seamless gutter by mishandling it. This can affect the gutter’s appearance as well as its effectiveness. Columbia Gutters, Inc. is proud to provide seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Columbia area. Call 410-657-6159 now for more information!