An overlooked gutter system can take you from “saving for a rainy day” to “spending on a rainy day”.
Protecting your home from costly gutter repairs is as simple as deciding which roof drainage system is right for you.
There a number of styles and materials that can help you avoid water leaks in your home. However, when shopping for the best type of gutters the first question you should ask yourself is “seamless gutters vs sectional gutters?”.
Use this seamless gutters vs sectional gutters pros and cons guide to help you get your head out of that gutter and get your feet back on the ground.
Sectional Gutter Pros
The sectional gutter has been in use since the ancient civilization in 2500 B.C, according to Eco Clean.
Sectional gutters come in 10ft – 20ft sections and connect to one another to form a larger roof drainage system.
Although the earliest gutters were made from wood and often designed into a half-round trough shape, sectional gutters have evolved and now are made from different materials like vinyl, steel, aluminum and copper.
Vinyl, is one of the material options available for a sectional gutter system. Vinyl is often used because of its lightweight capability and the ability to match any roof color.
Steel is another option for sectional gutters and is extremely strong and reliable under extreme weather such as large amounts of falling roof debris, ice and snow.
Sectional Gutter Cons
Since sectional gutter systems connects smaller sections to form larger gutter runs, its weakness lies in the material used and the points at which the gutters connect; the joints.
Rust is a big point of failure for steel sectional gutters. When steel is exposed to nature’s elements, moisture in general, it rusts. A rusted gutter will eventually leak and fail.
The weight of vinyl gutters makes it easy to install yourself but the drawback to installing these lightweight vinyl gutters is their lack of strength and durability. Between ice and snow loads and the constant impact from of the sun, vinyl gutters often warp and become brittle over time.
Rust holes, sagging or cracked/broken gutters can result in gallons and gallons of rainwater getting past your gutter system and where it will splash and collect around your home’s foundation, possibly causing damage to your home’s exterior, foundation and basement.
Sectional gutters have to be assembled on-site which takes longer to do. If you are hiring someone to install all these gutter sections, it will cost you more due to more time and labor being needed.
Seamless Gutter Pros
Seamless gutters are a single continuous piece of gutter often cut from one single-coil piece of metal, typically aluminum but also copper.
In your seamless gutters vs sectional gutters decision, there are many benefits to choosing a seamless gutter system over the sectional kind.
One of the obvious benefits is seamless gutters are stronger and more reliable than sectional gutters because it is one piece of gutter which provides added rigidity and strength.
Also, because seamless gutters are made up of one continuous piece of gutter, they substantially reduce the chances of leakages. Since most leaks happen at the gutter joints, leaks will be essentially eliminated because there will be zero joints unless you have inside or outside corners. No leaks means no mold, rot, or water damage to your home and property caused by leaky gutters.
Seamless aluminum gutters are also available in a wide variety of colors, so you can closely match an existing trim or roof color. Or you can find a color that compliments the exterior of your home.
The practical advantage of having your home equipped with a seamless gutter system is that it virtually nullifies the cost of maintenance since seamless gutters have a long life expectancy. They have the absolute minimal amount of joints and will never rust.
Seamless Gutter Con
Seamless gutters are one single-coil piece of metal and typically they are cut on-site. With longer runs of gutters, there may not be an easy DIY installation which means there will be an added cost associated with installing this roof drainage system to your home. But if you hire a professional gutter installer who installs gutters on a daily basis, you are sure to get a gutter system that is installed the right way. Hire an installer that also runs the gutters off on-site themselves, without needing to hire a supplier to do it, and you cut out the cost of the supplier middle-man, which should get you a new gutter system that not only installed the right way, but also a new gutter system installed at a reasonable cost.
Conclusion
Yes, when it rains it pours and for most homeowners, that rain has a significant affect on their property.
Water damage repairs can cost anywhere from $3500 to $25000 according to the National Association of Realtors. So as a property owner, you can’t overlook roof maintenance.
Whether your gutter intentions are to match your roof color with an easy installation or manage gutter maintenance cost over time, both seamless gutter and sectional gutter systems each have their pros and cons. Deciding which system is for you really depends on how long you want the gutters to last, how much you want to maintain them, and ultimately how much time you want to spend at the top of a ladder with your head in the gutter.
Use this seamless gutters vs sectional gutters pros and cons to narrow down what type of gutter is right for you.
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