If you’ve seen one set of gutters, you’ve seen them all, right? Not exactly!
That’s what many homeowners might think. But in reality, there are different types of gutters you can choose from when you’re in the market for them.
Your goal will be to find the best gutters for your home. Otherwise, you might end up with rain gutters that aren’t going to look or perform up to your standards.
Today, I will provide you with a complete guide on choosing the best gutters possible for your house. It should make it so simple for you to narrow down your options in no time at all.
Keep reading on for everything you need to know to make a smart decision about your new gutters.
Start by Coming Up With a Budget for Buying New Gutters
There are some gutters that are going to cost you a few hundred dollars to install. There are others that will run you a few thousand dollars—if not tens of thousands of dollars—before everything is all said and done.
Because of this, you should try to establish a budget for buying new gutters from the beginning. You want to get your hands on the best gutters money can buy, but you don’t want to have to break the bank to do it.
It’s important for you to set a budget in stone at the start of the process. It’ll enable you to narrow down your search for new gutters a lot quicker than you might be able to otherwise.
Look for a Company to Help You Shop for New Gutters
Once you have a budget in place for buying new gutters, you can start trying to find a company that can provide you with them. At this moment, there are close to 5,000 gutter services scattered throughout the country.
Your job will be to look at the local options that exist in your area and choose the most trustworthy one of the bunch. A great gutter service will have the following qualities:
- Plenty of experience within the gutter industry
- A long list of gutter options for you to choose from
- A wonderful reputation among the homeowners in your area
- A warm and welcoming customer service department
- Prices that simply can’t be beaten by the competition
Far too often, homeowners will Google “gutter services near me” and select the first one that they can find. You’ll be making a big mistake if you take this approach.
Instead, you should do your homework on the gutter services in your area and try to narrow them down to the best one. This will be a company that can provide you with the best gutters possible in the end.
Learn About All the Different Types of Gutters
As we alluded to earlier, there is no shortage of types of gutters right now. You can pick from a wide range of different kinds of gutters when you’re in the market for them.
Some of the most popular types of gutters at this time are:
- Vinyl gutters
- Aluminum gutters
- Wood gutters
- Copper gutters
For a long time, most people have opted to go with aluminum gutters. But that doesn’t mean that you should automatically go with them. You should give some thought to which types of gutters could work well on your home so that you have an easier time finding the best gutters.
Check Out the Various Gutter Shapes That Are Available
In addition to there being a lot of different types of gutters out there these days, you’ll also quickly realize that gutters tend to come in many different shapes. You should make it a point to look for gutter shapes that are going to complement the rest of your home once your new gutters are in place.
Here are several of the gutter shapes that you’ll be able to pick from:
- Half-round gutters
- Fascia-shape gutters
- K-shape gutters
- Box gutters
At first glance, many people might not be able to pinpoint which shape your gutters are. But you’ll notice a difference if you go with one shape versus another one. It’s why you should spend some time considering which gutter shape is going to be your very best option.
Choose Between Either Seamed or Seamless Gutters
Back in the day, just about all gutters were seamed gutters. When you bought a gutter system, it would come in a bunch of pieces that had to be put together one at a time.
There are still many homeowners who choose to install seamed gutters on their homes. But nowadays, you will also have the option of buying seamless gutters for your home.
Unlike seamed gutters that are made up of many different pieces, seamless gutters are all one piece for the most part. It makes them look a whole lot cleaner when they’re hung up.
There will be an added cost that comes along with seamless gutters. But if you don’t mind spending some extra money, it could be well worth it for you to buy them.
Think About Which Color Gutters You Want for Your Home
More often than not, homeowners will hang plain white gutters up on their homes. They’ll do this because these gutters tend to be on the less expensive side when they’re white.
But you should know that you don’t have to install white gutters if you don’t want to. You can install black gutters, tan gutters, green gutters, red gutters, and gutters that are just about any other color you can think of.
You should probably steer clear of installing gutters that are going to be too bright. They might distract people from looking at the rest of your house and hurt your curb appeal.
But at the same time, you might be able to add a nice pop of color to your home by choosing the best gutters for it. These gutters will be just as functional as white ones, but they’ll also add to the aesthetic of your home at the same time.
Consider How Many Gutters You’re Going to Need
At some point when you’re shopping around for gutters, you’re going to need to ask a gutter service exactly how many gutters your home will need. Doing this will be important because it might have an impact on which gutters you can afford.
A gutter service should be able to give you a better idea as to how many gutters you’ll need by taking some simple measurements of your home. They can also tell you what it’ll cost them to tear down your old gutters to make way for your new ones.
You shouldn’t ever get too far along in the process of buying shutters without considering how many of them you’ll need. It could result in you falling in love with a set of gutters that aren’t going to fit into your budget.
Take a Look at the Other Things You’ll Need for Your New Gutter System
One thing that you should definitely remember when you’re shopping for gutters for your home is that you’ll need to buy more than just gutters. Gutters will be a big part of your home’s new gutter system, but there will also be other components that go along with them.
Some of the other parts of a gutter system will include:
- Downspouts
- End caps
- Ferrules
- Gutter nails
- Downspout elbows
- Pipe cleats
You should have a gutter service walk you through some of these different parts of a residential gutter system. It’ll ensure that you fully understand what each of them does. It’ll also give you a better indication of how many of them you’ll need, which can affect your budget.
Make Sure You’re Buying Gutters Made by a Reputable Brand
The rain gutter industry in this country is currently worth about $7 billion right now. And that number is expected to rise over the next few years and grow to about $8 billion by 2025.
What does this mean for you? Well, it means that you’re going to be able to buy new gutters from any number of manufacturers. The industry is filled with tons of companies that specialize in producing gutters.
In theory at least, this should be a good thing for you. But the reality of the situation is that you’re going to need to do everything in your power to avoid companies that make crappy gutters.
You’ll instead want to focus on purchasing the best gutters from a reputable brand. This company should have the experience and the expertise that it takes to manufacture some of the highest-quality gutters in the industry.
You should be able to take advantage of the fact that there are so many companies producing gutters. It’ll just take a little bit of hard work on your part while researching these companies and narrowing them down.
Search for New Gutters That Come With a Lengthy Warranty
The great news for those shopping for new gutters is that, once you buy them, you shouldn’t have to worry about buying them again for a long, long time. It’s not uncommon at all for gutters to last 20 years, if not even longer than that.
That being said, there is always going to be a chance that something could go wrong with your gutters shortly after you buy them. So you’ll want to purchase gutters that have a lengthy warranty attached to them.
Regardless of what gutters are made out of or who manufactured them, issues could pop up with your gutters and cause all sorts of problems for you. If you aren’t careful, these gutters might even start to wreak havoc on your roof.
When you have a lengthy warranty on your gutters, you’ll be more inclined to call to get them fixed. You’ll appreciate knowing that there aren’t going to cost you anything to repair.
But in order to enjoy a warranty like this, you’ll need to find gutters that have one. You should pay close attention to the warranty terms on each and every gutter system that you’re considering.
See What You’ll Have to Do to Maintain New Gutters
There is going to be at least a little bit of maintenance that you’ll have to do with every type of gutter. You aren’t going to be able to get away with not doing something like clearing out your gutters in the fall.
But you should be aware of the fact that not all gutters are going to need to be maintained as often as others. You should also know what you’ll have to do to maintain the specific set of gutters that you buy.
Vinyl gutters, for instance, are some of the simplest gutters to maintain. You really shouldn’t have to do much at all to them to keep them clean.
Copper gutters, on the other hand, will need to be cleaned on a regular basis to stop them from turning brown too quickly. They’re eventually going to turn brown, but they shouldn’t do it until they’re on the older side.
You should give thought to how much maintenance you’re prepared to do on your home’s gutters and choose the right type accordingly. It’ll guarantee that you don’t get stuck with gutters that will call for you to do more maintenance than you might like.
Calculate What It Could Cost to Make Gutter Repairs
As we talked about earlier, it’s going to be imperative that you invest in new gutters that have a warranty on them. This warranty should protect you from having to pay for gutter repairs down the line.
But at the same time, you should know that your gutter warranty isn’t going to last forever. So there could come a time when you’ll need to pay a gutter service to make gutter repairs for you.
When that time comes, how much is it going to cost you to fix your gutters? If your gutters were on the expensive side to begin with, you could be looking at shelling out a lot of money to bring them back to life.
You might want to ask your gutter service about some of the most common repairs associated with each of the types of gutters. You might also want to ask them how much those repairs would set you back.
You may be able to knock one or two types of gutters off your list thanks to the high repair bills that could come along with them in the future.
Shop for New Gutters That Will Last for a Long Time
We touched on how most gutters are going to stick around for a long time a little while ago. But we should also note that each individual type of gutter will last for a different period of time.
Are you going to install vinyl gutters on your home? You should be able to get about a decade out of them before needing to replace them.
Would you like to install aluminum gutters on your home? In this case, you’ll be looking at more like 25 years before you have to replace them.
Do you think copper gutters might be your best bet? They’re the most durable type of gutters of the bunch. They can sometimes last for a full century before you even have to think about replacing them.
You should think about how much longer you think you might live in your home when choosing new gutters for it. You should also remind yourself of the expected lifespans for different gutters so that you’ll know how much time you’ll be able to get out of each of them.
Pick Out the Best Gutters for Your Home in the End
After you’ve worked your way through all of the other steps that we’ve described here, you should (hopefully!) be left with one set of gutters that stands tall above all the rest. These new gutters should check each and every box for you and make you excited about the idea of installing them.
The gutters that you select should:
- Work well with the rest of your home and make it look better than it did before
- Be effective when it comes to carrying rainwater away from your home
- Fit nicely into the budget that you put into place back at the beginning
- Come with a warranty that will help you avoid repair bills
- Be an obvious upgrade from the gutters that you currently have hanging on your home
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by gutters when you’re shopping for them. There will just be so many seemingly good options for you to buy.
But you can make your search so much easier by sticking to your guns and focusing on the gutters that you know will be the best fit for your home. They’ll be the right type, the right shape, and the right color all at once while also keeping you on track as far as your budget is concerned.
Leave Gutter Installation Up to the Professionals
Compare Quotes from Top-rated Gutter contractors in your area.
In an effort to save a few dollars while shopping for the best gutters, some homeowners will take it upon themselves to try to install these gutters themselves. We’re here to let you know that this is not a good idea.
Installing gutters might look simple enough from the ground. But rather than attempting a gutter installation on your own, you should call on the professionals to help you out.
Here are a handful of reasons why you should avoid taking the DIY approach to gutter installation and rely on the pros instead:
- They’ll put your new gutters in the right places to catch all the rainwater that lands on your home’s roof
- They’ll attach your new gutters to your home in the right way
- They’ll make sure that your entire gutter system is all connected together
- They’ll steer clear of doing any damage to your home’s roof while installing your new gutters
- They’ll avoid doing any damage to your new gutters as they install them
But maybe most importantly, a gutter service will ensure that the warranty for your new gutters remains intact. Many gutter manufacturers will actually void this warranty if they find out that you installed your gutters on your own. And this is the last thing that you want to have happen.
You’ll rest a lot easier at night knowing that a group of professionals is working on your gutter installation job. They’ll perform all the necessary tasks to put your gutters in place, and they’ll test them out to be sure that they’re working like they’re supposed to.
This will leave you with a fully-functioning gutter system. You won’t have to worry when it rains one bit when you know that your gutters are on the job. You also won’t need to worry about encountering any roof or foundation issues caused by bad gutters.
Ready to move forward?
Tap here to get a free estimate from Top-Rated Gutter Contractors in your area!
Facebook
Comments