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 long time, and in the meantime, your home’s gutters should do their job with little work on your part besides gutter cleaning and annual maintenance.
If you haven’t replaced your home’s gutters lately, it’s probably a good time to start considering the options. More than likely, your options have changed since you last shopped for new gutters, either when building your house or the last time you replaced them.
Styles and types of materials improve significantly over a period of just a few years. This means your next gutters will be even more efficient, lighter and offer better curb appeal than the current ones on your home.
Seamless gutters are one of the newest options available.
What are Seamless Gutters?
One of the biggest enhancements in home gutters is the creation 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 many situations with a special machine, eliminating the difficulties of transporting long, narrow items.
Most gutter installation businesses have their own machinery and can complete the whole process – measure, manufacture and installing your seamless gutters – in only one day!
Because they are built to size, it is not uncommon to have seamless gutters that stretch over 50 feet, with the maximum length of a seamless gutter at around 100 feet with no joints. This offers homeowners the choice to have an individual piece of lightweight aluminum in any color they choose.
Benefits of Seamless Gutters
Standard gutters have been popular for so long that it can be hard to realize how another option can be a lot more effective. To decide if seamless gutters are a good idea for your house, you will want to know the benefits of them so you can understand why there is 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 sleek look. Seamless gutter fabrication machines even cut out holes for downspouts, which have to be present every 20 to 30 feet, so that they are smooth and correctly sized. The custom measurements also increase the curb appeal of your house without being too overstated and obvious.
Easier Care – Less joints means there are less chances for debris to get hung on or get stuck within the gutters. Water drains through more smoothly with fewer clogs. As a homeowner, this should make you very pleased, as it means you won’t be cleaning them out nearly as much. Seamless gutters only need 1 annual cleaning. In contrast, most standard rain gutter systems have to be cleaned 2 to 4 times a year in order to keep them functioning well.
Lower Chance of Leaks – Normal gutters can leak from any joint as soon as the gutters start to pull away from the home. Loose fasteners are also a problem that can result in gutter leaks. Getting rid of joints across the entire length and width of your home reduces the chance of leaks (which protects your windows, porches, and landscaping).
Discourages Pests – Buildup in your gutters will attract small animals, rodents 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 access to your attic and will destroy your roof, leading to hundreds of dollars’ worth of repairs (at a minimum). Keeping that buildup out of your gutters makes them less attractive for pests.
Eliminates Waste – Measuring for seamless gutters and then manufacturing them on site guarantees that your gutters will be the perfect size without having extra pieces that were cut off to match the length of the house. This is an eco-friendly process that lowers your home’s carbon footprint. Also, there is no need to eliminate the excess (which can result in harmful chemicals) or see it end up in a landfill.
Longer Lifetime – Seamless gutters are designed with the newest technology and the best materials on the market. This creates fewer leaks, less chance of rust and reduced risk of the gutters pulling away from the house. Longer lasting rain gutters also protect your house, including the exterior walls, windows and the soil below.
Seamless Gutters Installed by a Professional
Seamless gutters almost always require professional installation due to their size and the training and machinery necessary to build them. Individuals don’t have access t the equipment required to produce seamless gutters, nor do they have the training on how to program these machines to make exact cuts.
Seamless gutters do cost more, but once they are installed, you will quickly see their value which pays for itself due to fewer repairs and longer time between replacements. If you have questions about the value of seamless rain gutters, speak to a gutter installer who provides both traditional and seamless gutter systems to decide if the price difference and benefits are a good fit for your budget and needs.
Installing seamless gutters is not a task that a single person can handle safely. Professionals can install a section up to about 30 feet on their own, but anything longer than that requires a second person.
For gutters that are 35 feet or less, they will start in the middle and work their way to each end, securing the gutter every few feet. For gutters longer, the installation team will start in two places (1/3 of the way from each end) and secure those sections due to 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. Homeowners can easily damage a long gutter by mishandling it. This can damage the gutter’s appearance as well as limit its effectiveness. Mystic Gutter Cleaning is proud to provide seamless gutter installation to all homes and businesses in the Chelsea area. Call 781-230-6744 now for more information!