Which Gutters Are Right For Your Home?

The first thing to ask yourself when you are shopping for new gutters is, “Why?” This pivotal question will help to answer the following questions you’ll have before purchasing your selection.

In our experience as a local gutter service, here are three reasons homeowners will be in the market for new gutters:

An Upgrade – Switching out the gutters can drastically impact the appearance of your house, enhancing its look in a subtler way than painting or new landscaping.

A New House – Designing a new home comes with a constant stream of choices about appearance and functionality. Gutters included. Deciding on the gutters that go on your home is important because they will need to last approximately 15 years.

A Renovation – If your home’s roof been damaged, the gutters may have to be replaced, too. Or, they might simply be wearing down and need to be replaced with new ones.

You know why you are replacing the gutters on your home, but the reason usually has underlying motivations…

You want to sell your home.

You want to renovate without spending too much money.

Your landscaping is being damaged by ineffective gutters.

Determining your “Why” will often give you direction while you are shopping. You’ll know which features are worth spending your money on or if you can go with a more affordable product.

Here are the major questions you’ll have when purchasing new gutters.

HOW TO CHOOSE GUTTER MATERIALS?

The best part of purchasing new gutters is picking out the materials. Gutters can blend in or stand out against your house, depending on your preference.

These are the choices for materials, in order of cost:

VINYL & PLASTIC GUTTERS

Vinyl and plastic are economical options that hold up well in most cases, besides cold climates, where they will deteriorate. Vinyl and plastic gutters are efficient in most regions of the country, and they are available in a wide range of colors.

METAL & ALUMINUM GUTTERS

These reasonably priced materials are both attractive and durable. Both of these materials are available in a variety of colors too. They are fairly light and are not difficult to install. Galvanized metals (coated with zinc to protect them) will fend off rust and corrosion even better.

COPPER & STAINLESS STEEL GUTTERS

Of all the gutter materials, copper and stainless steel cost the most, but are the most stylish as well. Homeowners in Worcester who decide on these materials are searching for an elegant touch, and that’s just what they’ll get!

WHAT ARE IMPORTANT GUTTER FEATURES?

Almost all of the gutter types above offer these options below:

SECTIONAL OR SEAMLESS GUTTERS

Sectional gutters – These types of gutters are made in smaller sections, so they are easier to install. In fact, most homeowners decide to install their own sectional gutters on their own. This type is the more affordable choice, and they are made with more seams, which means more sections where leaks can occur.

Seamless gutters – Seamless gutters should be installed by a contractor because they need special tools. They’re more expensive to buy and to install, but less likely to leak or wear down than sectional gutters.

K-STYLE OR HALF-ROUND GUTTERS

K-Style – K-Style gutters are popular because they look great with almost any style of home. They’re better for angled roofs, which are more common. This one of the reasons for their popularity. In addition, they are easy to install. Many homeowners are capable enough to install their own K-Style gutters by themselves.

Half-Round – Half-Round gutters are usually made of copper and steel, and they complement rounded roofs, popular prior to 1950, so they provide homes a luxurious, classic appearance. However, more modern styles made out of vinyl and plastic offer the best of both worlds, because they are lightweight and highly functional. Half-Round rain gutters are much harder to install, but much easier to clean out, when the time comes for gutter cleaning.

DOES CLIMATE AFFECT GUTTERS?

The climate of the region you live in may determine a lot about what gutters you should purchase. Like we mentioned, certain materials will not hold up in extremely cold climates.

The most important climate factor to think about is how much work the gutters will need to do. Essentially, how much water are your gutters going to need to handle?

Professional gutter contractors in Worcester are going to take a lot of factors into consideration to determine the size and type of rain gutters that are going to work best for your home.

WHAT IS THE FORMULA?

Luckily, the formula professional contractors use is no secret. Here are the pieces of specific information you will need to decide how large your gutters should be:

Average Rainfall – This weather statistic can be found online on the National Weather Service or the U.S. Weather Bureau website. You can also find the maximum rainfall intensity for your area. This is the maximum amount of rain that can happen within a 5-minute span.

Roof Square Footage – Square footage is a basic length times width calculation for residential roofs. But, you want 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 less sloped roof. Determining your roof-pitch factor will help to calculate how much rainfall will be collected, regardless of the rainfall statistics.

DOES IT SNOW WHERE YOU LIVE?

Snowfall is included in precipitation calculations, but you also want to consider the potential for ice dams forming on your roof. If it snows a lot in your region, you should seek professional guidance concerning the type of gutters that best prevent ice dams from forming, which can really damage your roof.

Of course, the last question is probably the most important …

HOW TO INSTALL GUTTERS?

You also have to ask yourself if you’re going to do the work yourself, or if you are going to enlist the services of a professional to install your new gutters. Professional installation ensures efficiency, versus doing it yourself.

Most homeowners are better off paying a little extra for labor, to ensure that the job will be done correctly. An added bonus of hiring WeClean Worcester Gutters to install the new gutters is that we will help you answer all your questions about new gutters so that you find the best style and type.