Clean and functioning gutters are crucial if you live in an area that gets any amount of rain throughout the year. This important part of your roof helps deliver water away from your house and keeps it safe from foundational damage or flooding.
If you're looking to add to replace the gutters on your home after this wildly wet season we've had, we've got some tips for you!
1. Picking the Style
From rounded and shallow gutters to more rigid and shaped channels, there are countless options for what type of style you could want. The most common is a wide-bottomed gutter, which can then have a shaped front and a flat back that sits flush against your home.
You can go for whatever style you want, but remember that some, like a half-circle gutter, can handle less water and are better for somewhere that doesn't get huge torrential downpours of rain.
2. Deciding on a Color
The color of your gutters will vary based on what you want! Of course, simple colors like white will be more affordable, but you can have gutters in almost any color or style you want.
Beyond white, the most common colors are silver, bronze, black, and tan. There are countless other options out there, but consider what will look best on your home over the next handful of decades.
3. What Capabilities Does it Need?
Do you need gutters that can collect a lot of water at once? Do you need downspouts that are long enough that they can guide water far away from your property? Look at the countless styles, capabilities, and materials, and carefully consider what will give your property the best protection.
4. Which Material Should it be Made of?
The material you pick is important because it decides how much this change will cost, how long it will last, and how it will look. The main three materials are aluminum, steel, and polyvinyl chloride. Steel lasts the longest and can handle almost anything thrown at it, but it is also heavy and expensive.
Most homeowners go for aluminum because it's readily available, affordable, and comes in countless styles while still protecting their homes.
Remember to consider every single material for your roof, including even gutter screws. If you go with a defective product, you'll quickly find leaks or issues with your gutters that wouldn't have happened otherwise.
5. Does Your Home Need Gutters?
Look at your property, and consider if gutters are a necessity. If your home has never had them, look around the outside of your home, and check if the dirt has divots where rain is hitting the ground around the roof.
If you live in an area that gets less than an inch of rain every month and doesn't have a large rainy season or any torrential storm weather, you might not need gutters. Unfortunately, the climate is quickly changing across the world, so you may find that a property in a dry area is suddenly getting a lot more rain than usual.
6. Should You Install Them Yourself?
Installing gutters can cost a lot of time, effort, and money, especially if you're completing the project on your own. Although you can save some cash by completing it yourself if you've never tackled a project like this, you could quickly find yourself out of your comfort zone.
If you're installing your own gutters and make a mistake, you'll have to pay even more to get someone else to correct the error and complete the work. It's better, to be honest about your capabilities and let a professional do the real work.
7. Do You Need Gutter Guards?
Gutter guards are vital to ensure you don't have to climb on your roof multiple times every fall and winter to clear your leaves and debris from your roof and gutters. Every year there are over 160,000 ladder-related injuries that come to the ER. To save your household trouble and stress, putting in gutter guards ensures no leaves or debris build-up and makes you climb up to clear them.
If you’re already installing gutters, this is an important thing to install alongside them.
8. What Should You Budget?
There's no set price for gutters that can be applied to every home. The style, materials, and company you pick will change how much this change will cost you. On average, gutter prices can range between $4.50 to $35 per linear foot of gutter: and this is before the cost of labor. Don't be afraid to shop around and try to find a company or material that can work with your budget and needs.
Gutters Can Change Everything About a Home