Gutters play an important role for your home because they divert water so that you’re not flooded with runoff every time it rains. They also help to prevent that water from seeping into the eaves and causing leaks or other damage. A good set of gutters can improve the life of your roof and home exterior while also adding to the look of your home and keeping the worst of the runoff at bay.
One problem with gutters is that they can start to wear out over time. This is especially evident around gutter seams, where rust, debris, and the weight of water over time can cause damage. This damage can result in leaks, letting water get out of the gutter right at the roofline and potentially causing even more damage that the gutters are supposed to prevent. This is why many homeowners are turning to seamless gutters; if there aren’t any seams, then the seams can’t leak.
Understanding Gutter Seams
Gutter seams aren’t inherently a bad thing; by producing gutter in sections and joining them at seams, installers can better fit the gutter to the unique size and shape of your home while still preparing gutter sections beforehand. The problem with gutter seams is that gutters end up being under a lot of stress throughout the year. Water is heavy, leaves and other debris can get wedged in seams, and pods or seeds can actually end up in backed-up gutters and start putting down roots. This stress adds up over time, and the seams become one of the most likely points of damage aside from mounting points. Gutter screens and regular cleaning can help, but this won’t eliminate gutter stress entirely.
How Seamless Gutters Work
Unlike traditional gutters that are made as smaller pieces and then assembled to match the sides of your home, seamless gutters are custom-built to match your home exactly. Roll-forming machines are brought to the jobsite and are fed sheet metal from a coiled roll, bending the metal to the exact shape of the gutters until the seamless gutter section matches the length of one of your roof sections. This single piece of gutter is capped on the ends and has supports attached as it comes out of the machine, ensuring that the final gutter section is a single piece of strong and a structurally-sound gutter.
Installers take precise measurements and mark the location of downspouts and supports precisely to make sure that everything is right where it needs to be for the most efficient gutter you can have on your home. The gutters are sealed and mounted securely to help ensure the longest possible life without leaks, though they will still need periodic cleaning and maintenance to make sure that they remain in good working condition.
Is This Right For Your Home?
If you're thinking of having seamless gutters installed, do some research first to make sure this is right for your home. This is not a DIY kind of project, you should hire a professional installer to get the job done right. Seamless gutters may be more expensive due to the custom manufacturing involved, however, a lot of gutter installers are trending toward seamless gutter installs because they last longer. There are advantages to going seamless, and if you’re in need of new gutters it could be a great choice to make for your home.
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