Which Gutters are Right for Your Home?
The first thing to consider when you are shopping for new gutters is, “Why?” This question will help to answer the subsequent questions you’ll have before making your selection.
In our experience as a local gutter service, here are just three reasons homeowners will be shopping for new rain gutters:
An Upgrade – Installing new rain gutters can drastically affect the curb appeal of your home, improving its look in a subtler way than painting or landscaping.
A New Home – Designing a home comes with a lot of of decisions about appearance and functionality. Rain gutters are one of them. Choosing the gutters that go on your house is important because they will need to last approximately 15-20 years.
A Renovation – If your home’s roof has experienced damage, the gutters may have to be replaced, too. Or, they could just be aging and need to be replaced.
You obviously know why you are replacing the gutters, but the reason typically has underlying motivations…
You want to sell your home.
You want to renovate without spending too much money.
Your landscaping is getting damaged by ineffective gutters.
Determining your “Why” will give you direction while you are shopping for new gutters. You’ll know if certain features are worth spending money on or if you can choose a more affordable product.
Here are the major questions you’ll want to consider when purchasing new gutters.
HOW TO CHOOSE GUTTER MATERIALS?
The fun part about purchasing new gutters is picking out the materials. Gutters will blend in or stand out against your home, depending on your personal preference.
These are the choices for materials, in order of cost:
VINYL & PLASTIC GUTTERS
Vinyl and plastic are affordable choices that hold up well in most cases, besides cold climates, where they will become brittle. Vinyl and plastic gutters are acceptable in almost every region of the country, and they come in a wide variety of colors.
METAL & ALUMINUM GUTTERS
These reasonably priced materials are both stylish and durable. Both of these materials come in a variety of colors too. They are fairly light and easy to install. Galvanized metals (coated with zinc to protect them) will resist rust and corrosion even better.
COPPER & STAINLESS STEEL GUTTERS
Of all the gutter materials, copper and stainless steel cost the most, but the most eye-catching as well. Homeowners in Vancouver who choose these options are looking for an elegant touch, and that’s what they’ll get!
WHAT ARE IMPORTANT GUTTER FEATURES?
Most of the gutter options above will offer these options below:
SECTIONAL OR SEAMLESS GUTTERS
Sectional gutters – These types of gutters are made in smaller sections, so they’re easy to install. In fact, homeowners decide to install their own sectional gutters. This type is the less expensive choice, and they have more seams, which means more sections where leaks can occur.
Seamless gutters – Seamless gutters should be installed by a local contractor because they need specialized tools. They’re more expensive to buy and to install, but less likely to leak than sectional gutters.
K-STYLE OR HALF-ROUND GUTTERS
K-Style – K-Style gutters are far more popular because they look great with virtually any style of home. They’re better for angled roofs, which are more common. This attributes to their popularity. In addition, they are not hard to install. Most homeowners are capable enough to install their own K-Style gutters.
Half-Round – Half-Round gutters are traditionally made of copper and steel, and they complement rounded roofs, popular before 1950, so they provide homes a regal, established curb appeal. However, more modern styles made out of vinyl and plastic provide the best of both worlds, because they are lightweight and highly functional. Half-Round rain gutters are a lot harder to install, but much easier to clean out, when it’s time for gutter cleaning.
DOES CLIMATE AFFECT GUTTERS?
The climate of your region may dictate a lot about what gutters you can have. As we already mentioned, some materials will not hold up in extremely cold climates.
The single most important climate factor to consider is how much work the gutters will have to do. Basically, how much rain or water are your gutters going to have to handle?
Professional gutter contractors in Vancouver can take many factors into consideration to get a good idea of the size and type of rain gutters that are going to work the best for your house.
WHAT IS THE FORMULA?
Luckily, the formula professional contractors use is not a secret. Here are the pieces of specific information you will need to decide how large your gutters should be:
Average Rainfall – This statistic can be found on the National Weather Service or the U.S. Weather Bureau website. You should also look into the maximum rainfall intensity for the city you live in. This is the max amount of rain that will occur within a 5-minute span.
Roof Square Footage – Square footage is a standard length times width calculation for standard roofs. However, you need to factor in all the surfaces of multi-faceted roofs.
Roof-Pitch Factor – A roof that is steep will collect more wind-blown rain than a roof that is less sloped. Knowing your roof-pitch factor is going to help to determine how much rainfall will be collected, regardless of the rainfall statistics found online.
DOES IT SNOW WHERE YOU LIVE?
Snowfall is going to be included in average precipitation calculations, but you definitely want to consider the potential for ice dams forming on your roof. If it snows regularly in your state, you should seek professional guidance about the type of gutters that help to prevent ice dams, which could severely damage your roof.
Of course, the final question is probably the most important …
HOW TO INSTALL GUTTERS?
You also need to ask yourself if you’re willing to try to do the work yourself, or if you want to enlist the services of a professional to install your gutters. Professional installation will ensure efficiency, instead of doing it yourself.
Most homeowners are better off paying a little extra for professional labor, to ensure that the installation will be done right. An added bonus of hiring Vancouver Gutter Solutions to install the new gutters is that we are able to help you answer all your questions about new gutters so that you are able to find the perfect style and type.