Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Gutters need to be replaced nearly as often as the roof, so roughly every 20 years. This is a long time, but in the meantime, your home’s gutters need to do their job with little work on your part besides gutter cleaning and annual maintenance.
If you haven’t replaced your gutters recently, it’s probably a good time to begin considering the options. More than likely, your options have changed a lot since you last shopped for new gutters, either when you built your house or the last time you had to replace them.
Styles and materials improve a lot over a period of just a few years. This means your next rain gutters will be even more efficient, lighter and offer better curb appeal than the current ones on your house.
Seamless gutters are one of the newest options available.
What are Seamless Gutters?
One of the major improvements in home gutters is the invention of seamless gutter systems.
Seamless gutters are installed in very long sections, as opposed to traditional gutters which only come in sections between 10 and 20 feet long. They are made on-site in most situations with a custom machine, eliminating the difficulties of transporting long, narrow items.
Most gutter installation businesses own their own equipment and are able to do the entire process – measure, manufacture and installing your seamless gutters – in only one day!
Since they are manufactured to size, it is not uncommon to have seamless gutters that stretch over 50 feet, with the longest length of a seamless gutter around 100 feet without joints. This gives homeowners the option to have a single piece of lightweight aluminum in whatever color they choose.
Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Standard gutters have been used for so long that it might be difficult to see how another option can be much more effective. To decide if seamless gutters are a good idea for your home, you need understand 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:
Better Curb Appeal – With joints only at the corners, seamless gutters have a sleek appearance. Seamless gutter fabrication machines cut out holes for gutter downspouts, which have to be present every 20 to 30 feet, so they are smooth and perfectly sized. The measurements also increase the curb appeal of your house without being too overstated and obvious.
Easier Care – Less joints mean there are fewer chances for debris to get hung on or get stuck within the gutters. Water flows through more smoothly with fewer clogs. As a homeowner, this should make you extremely pleased, as it means you won’t be cleaning them out as much. Seamless gutters usually only need 1 yearly cleaning. In contrast, some standard rain gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year to keep them working well.
Lower Chance of Leaks – Normal gutters can leak from any joint once the gutters start to pull away from the home. Loose fasteners are another problem that cause gutter leaks. Getting rid of joints across the entire length and width of your home helps reduce the chance of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).
Discourages Pests – Buildup in your gutters will attract animals, rodents and insects that are able to hide inside of them or build a nest with the organic materials that are present. From there, insects, birds, squirrels and chipmunks have easy access to your attic and are able to damage your roof, causing hundreds of dollars’ of repairs. Keeping that buildup out of rain gutters makes them less appealing for pests.
Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then manufacturing them on site means that your gutters will be the perfect size without having additional pieces that were cut off to match the length of the home. This is an environmentally-friendly process that reduces your home’s carbon footprint. Plus, there is no need to destroy the excess or see it end up in a landfill.
Longer Lifetime – Seamless gutters are built with the latest technology and the best materials on the market. This leads to fewer leaks, less chance of rust and reduced risk of the gutters pulling away from the house. Longer lasting gutters also protect your house, including the walls, windows and the soil below.
Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional
Seamless gutters almost always require professional installation because of their size and the training and equipment required to manufacturer them. Individuals don’t have have the machinery needed 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 professionally installed, you will quickly see their value which pays for itself because of less repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have any questions about the value of seamless rain gutters, speak to a gutter installer who provides both traditional and seamless gutter systems to determine if the cost difference and benefits are a good fit for your budget and needs.
Installing seamless gutters is not a project that a homeowner can handle safely. Professionals can install a section up to about 35 feet by themselves, but anything longer 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 few feet. For rain gutters any longer, the installation team will start in two places (1/3 of the way from each end) and secure those places 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 handling it improperly. This can affect the gutter’s appearance as well as limit its effectiveness. Good Clean Gutters is proud to provide seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Kentwood area. Call 616-208-5584 now for more information!