Gutters are one of those things that no one thinks about or notices until they’re failing. We’ve all seen the house with gutters overflowing in the winter, bent, busted, seams leaking, or even when a run is literally hanging off. That’s when we pay attention. That’s when we understand their fundamental purpose.
When gutters work as they should, they quietly catch water coming off your roof and divert it away from your home. They’re sleek and beautiful, and part of their charm is that they’re usually a nondescript part of your curb appeal. Installing new gutters and getting the desired results (the kind where you blissfully forget they’re even there) involves a great deal of planning, calculation, and craftsmanship.
Before we even think about installation, we inspect your home and sketch out the important details and measurements we’ll need to design a custom fit and decide between 5-inch or 6-inch gutters. We take a few steps to create a comprehensive sketch of your home and outline your new gutter system.
Plan Your Downspout Locations
Downspouts should be inconspicuous to avoid detracting from the curb appeal of your home while also being placed to allow water to flow away from the structure easily.
Determine the Best Size for Your Downspouts
Industry-standard is a 2-inch by 3-inch downspout, but that’s not always the most effective size. If you have a run of gutter that is responsible for the drainage of a large roof plane (aka, roof area), you will need oversized downspouts which are 3-inch by 4-inch.
Calculate the Appropriate Pitch for Your Gutters
The pitch of your gutter is calculated to provide just enough slope to guide the flow where you want it to go and prevent water accumulation. We start the calculation in the evaluation & sketch phase and finish it on site when we install the gutters.
Decide How We’ll Mount the Gutters
There is more than one way to attach gutters and the best choice depends on your home’s design. Attaching them to the fascia is the most common. If your roof lacks fascia boards, or if they aren’t vertical, we may use roof hanger mounting straps or gutter wedges to create the proper angle.
We prepare and manufacture your new gutters on-site to the exact measurements of your home. At Gutter Pros, we specialize in seamless gutter installation. Read more about the benefits of seamless gutters.
Our specialized gutter machine enables us to create a single run of K-Style gutter as long as necessary and without any seams. K-Style is preferred because it holds more water than rounded versions and it’s less likely to bend.
In the field we come prepared to attach your gutters based on the design of your home. Whenever possible, the gutters are attached to the fascia boards with strong hangers that can withstand virtually any weather and the weight of whatever material may collect in the gutter. While hanging the gutters, we will confirm and refine the slope so the gutters can operate in peak performance year-round.
After we’ve attached your new gutters and locked in the slope, we add the outlets and then the downspouts. It’s much safer and allows for greater accuracy to perform this task from the ground (rather than on a ladder). Using our measurements and calculations from the planning phase, we cut holes in the gutters and add outlets.
The last step for most homes is connecting the downspouts to the outlets. Every downspout is secured using high-quality brackets that will hold them in place for many years.
Some homes require one extra step, downspout extensions. If your home requires these, we will fabricate custom extensions on-site to ensure that water is directed away from your home and foundation.
Curious what it would cost to have custom, seamless gutters installed on your home? Get a free estimate.
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