The gutter maintains the quality and aesthetics of your property’s sidings, walkways, and foundation.
But gutters are not made the same, some are inferior to others. For instance, traditional gutters with sectioned structure and individual sections are highly prone to clogging. The joints between these gutters’ sections can trap leaves, twigs, and other debris, which create blockages.
A better alternative is a seamless gutter. This gutter type features a continuous structural design with minimal joints to lessen debris accumulation. Plus, they look better than the traditional ones.
In this article, we discuss why seamless gutter installation is a great decision to enhance your home’s longevity and aesthetics.
What Is a Seamless Gutter?
A seamless gutter is a rain gutter installed in a single and continuous drainage system. This gutter type is made of a single material, such as copper, aluminum, zinc, steel, and vinyl. Compared to traditional gutters, seamless gutters have fewer seams, brackets, and joints. The joints are only present around the gutters’ downspout and corners.
A seamless gutter can be installed in various styles, such as:
- Half-round gutters: This style features a half-tubed shape structure, which is commonly attached to older houses. Half-rounds often come with additional brackets for aesthetic purposes, which makes them the type of seamless gutter that is most prone to clogging.
- Box gutters: Highly more common in commercial establishments than in residential properties. They feature a flat bottom and vertical sides, which resemble a box. This structure allows for a larger capacity to handle rainwater.
- K-style gutters: Considered as the most aesthetically pleasing gutter design, a K-style gutter features a flat bottom with a decorative front that appears like the letter “K”. K-style gutters are also available in various widths (typically 5 or 6 inches), which allows for customization based on the roof’s drainage needs.
Why Install a Seamless Gutter?
Seamless gutters are highly functional and aesthetic gutter designs that fit most modern house designs. Here are some convincing reasons why a seamless gutter is worth installing to your property.
1. Decreases Debris and Blockage Build-up
With minimal joints, brackets, and seams, a seamless gutter is less prone to debris accumulation. This means that rainwater can always flow smoothly through the gutter and ensure the integrity of your property’s walls and foundations. Moreover, less blockage means less need for homeowner’s gutter maintenance and debris removal.
2. Reduces Leakage Possibility
There is one common problem among sectional rain gutters – the joints tend to move away from each other over time and form a space. This space lets the water “escape” the drainage system and leak to the home’s walls and siding.
But as seamless joints use fewer joints, there is a lesser chance of forming spaces and causing leaks. So, if you often notice rainwater pooling around your home’s foundation, you might benefit from changing your gutters to a seamless type.
3. Customized Installation
You cannot simply walk into a store and buy a seamless gutter. You need to reach out to a professional gutter manufacturer that will use a roll-forming machine on-site to produce a long, continuous, seamless gutter piece designed according to your property’s parameters. This means that your gutter is custom-fitted, which enables installation with fewer seams and joints (that in turn, reduces the occurrence of leaks and blockages).
4. Enhances Home Curb Appeal
The streamlined, uniform, and elegant appearance of seamless gutters makes it the best choice to level up your property’s aesthetics. Moreover, seamless gutters come in various colors and materials, so you can easily pick one that matches your home’s hue and vibe.
5. Long-lasting Gutter System
A standard, traditional gutter usually lasts for around 20 years. Meanwhile, seamless gutters can last up to 25 years because they are less vulnerable to leakage and blockages that can compromise material quality and integrity. And if the seamless gutter is made of steel or zinc, it can last even longer than its vinyl counterpart.
6. Easy and Hassle-Free Installation
While an average Joe cannot install a seamless gutter himself, he can simply reach out to a professional gutter contractor to attach it to your roof’s perimeter in no time. The contractor will use a specialized machine to install the gutter without any additional materials. No need to worry if the seamless gutter soon needs a replacement; you can contact them again to perform the replacement.
How To Know If a Seamless Gutter Will Fit My Home?
Seamless gutters fit well to almost all types of house designs. However, you still need to verify if your roof style allows easy attachment of the gutter. Make sure that there are no big obstacles like beams or decorations in the way. If your home is of a “historic” type, you might need to use specific material types to avoid any damage to the roof that can be induced by the roof’s weight.
It is also recommended to check if the walls are strong enough to hold the gutters. If you are in doubt, do not worry; you can ask a gutter contractor for a custom-fit seamless gutter that your walls can support.
Are Seamless Gutters Cheap to Install?
Seamless gutters are a bit pricier compared to the traditional ones. But of course, the benefits in terms of functionality and aesthetics of the gutter outweigh these additional costs, not to mention their longer lifespan.
Contractors charge varying rates for seamless gutter installation. But on average, the gutter material cost can range from $5 to $50 per linear foot. Steel and zinc are usually on the higher end of the range, while vinyl is one of the cheapest seamless gutter materials.
Meanwhile, labor costs can range from $5 to $15 per linear foot. The exact price depends on the structure of the house, the number of stories, and other relevant factors.
L.I. Metal Systems Provides Affordable and High-Quality Seamless Gutter Installation
Low vulnerability to leakages, prevents blockages, and enhances the home’s curb appeal – a seamless gutter is miles better than your typical, traditional gutters. And if it is installed by a reputable gutter contractor, a seamless gutter can operate for nearly three decades and safeguard your property’s siding, walkways, and foundation.
L.I. Metals Systems is a world-class seamless gutter contractor based in Southern California. We are a renowned manufacturer of top-notch seamless gutters to increase your home’s curb appeal and guarantee its longevity. Our professionals are all certified and skilled to install a protective gutter that will keep all the rainwater away from your property’s walls and foundation.
