CALL OR EMAIL US TODAY FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE – 202-276-5004 FAMILY.ROOFING@YAHOO.COM
At Family Roofing, we take great pride in our experience, expertise, quality and customer service. It is our mission to provide excellent workmanship and complete customer satisfaction from start to completion of a project. Our reputation is based on service, safety and quality, regardless of how large or small the job.
GUTTERS!!!
The entire purpose of a gutter system is to control the flow of water from your home’s roof to the ground, preventing damage to your home’s roof, exterior or landscaping, as well as ground erosion. Gutters keep dangerous built-up icy patches off your sidewalks in the winter and keep water from pooling around to attract insects in the warmer months.
There are many types of gutters for your home’s facade, including box gutters and seamless gutters, which have more of an invisible appeal. Gutters come in many materials including vinyl, steel, aluminum and copper. Each material has its pros and cons. In a lot of areas, your gutters have to withstand freezing winters, heavy downpours and sweltering summers.
There are four parts of a gutter system. First, a gutter is the horizontal section that acts as a catch for the water coming off of the roof. They are attached to the house with hangers. Because hangers are the aspect of the gutter system that bear the most stress, they’re the most common part to repair.
Second are gutter downspouts. Downspouts are the pipes that lead the water from the gutter to the ground. There are many different sizes of downspout on the market, and the bigger the pipe, the more water the downspout will be able to transfer to the ground. It’s important that the downspout can drain water quickly enough to keep your gutters from overflowing.
A downspout is the fully enclosed vertical pipe that runs along the vertical edges of your home and meets the end of a gutter section. The role of a downspout is to channel the water collected by your gutters and dispose of it on the ground level away from your home’s foundation.
The downspout strap secures the downspout to the side of your home. Straps are fasteners that attach your downspout to the side of your house. The bent metal fits snug around your downspout and is fastened with screws to your siding/brick on each side of your downspout.
Elbow
The last part of your gutter system from top to bottom is the “Elbow,” which is the bent metal (typically aluminum) attached do the end of your downspout. Your elbow connects to the vertical downspout and channels water away from your home’s foundation on to a splash block.
End Cap
Your seamless gutter runs are shaped like a trough that come in 5″ and 6″ sizes. However, at the end of a run, where the water exits using the downspout, there are end caps made of metal to seal the gutter run. These end caps are also caulked with gutter caulk.
The third part of the gutter system is its drainage. This is where the water that comes off the roof, through the gutter, and down the downspout must drain. It’s important to route the water away from your home to prevent any build up of water around your home. Proper drainage is imperative to keep your home and foundation from flooding.
Last, but certainly not least, are gutter guards Gutter guards are screens or barriers that keep leaves and other debris from clogging your gutters, causing them to clog. Gutter guards are optional, but the benefits of having them are nearly endless. Gutter guards keep you from having to clean your gutters as often and allows your gutter system to work properly. It’s a great investment to save you time, keep your gutters flowing, and prevent against damaging debris build up.
Types of Gutters:
Most Popular: Seamless Gutters
Seamless gutters are the most common gutters and preferred choice of both installers and homeowners. As the name states, seamless gutters come in once piece and are custom made on site to fit each area of your home.
This does not mean you only have one gutter, but instead, each run of horizontal gutter trough is custom measured and made for that specific area.
The pro behind seamless gutters is that in addition to looking better, the perform much better because they have no areas of possible leaking within the middle of the run.
Types of seamless gutter materials include:
Aluminum – most popular, least expensive
Copper gutters
Galvanized steel gutters
Stainless steel gutters
Least Popular: Sectional Gutters
The other type of gutters are sectional gutters and like the name states, they come in sections. These are gutters typically found at your local Home Depot or Lowes and are often made of vinyl.
Vinyl is the cheapest in price, but also in quality.
Fascia Boards
While your fascia boards are not part of the gutter parts per se, they are a vital component to your home’s rain gutter system. Fascia boards are the boards at the edge of your roof and they’re also where your gutters are mounted.
Keeping your fascia boards in tip-top shape is vital because a wood fascia board that has rotten over the years cannot have new gutters placed on it. Gutters that are installed correctly and maintained correctly are also key to preserving your fascia boards.
Fascia boards can be wrapped in aluminum to help prevent wood rot!
Ferrule
There are no longer recommended or commonly used, but the ferrule is the small piece of cylindrical shaped metal that a gutter spike goes through. The old fashioned way of using a gutter spike and ferrule to mount gutters has been replaced by a more efficient and stronger process – the hidden gutter hanger. If you see a gutter spike, which looks like a nail, sticking out of your gutter that means your gutter spike is loosening off your fascia board.
Hidden Gutter Hanger (Screw-in)
Old school gutter spikes have been replaced with screw-in hidden hangers that clip to the front of your gutter (often K-style aluminum gutters) and then are screwed into your fascia board along the back side of your gutter runs.
The screw-in hangers are hidden as in you can’t see them from the ground and they’re much stronger because of the screw element since old gutter spikes loosen easily.
Miter
In the event you have a hip roof, a wrap around porch or a corner where two gutters meet, you will need a miter. While these used to be custom cut to fit, miters come ready made and are installed to connect two seamless rain gutter runs and caulked to prevent leaks!
Slip Connector
A slip connector is like a small piece of gutter that is used to connect two sections of a gutter run. These are typically used with sectional gutters. On a very rare occasion, someone might use a gutter slip connector on a gutter repair.
Splash block
The last and perhaps your least favorite part of your gutters (if you’re like me and constantly hit these with your lawn mower) is the splash block. The splash block is something you can get for cheap at your local Home Depot. A splash block is VITAL because it prevents erosion, just look at this photo of the ground where a splash block is missing:
Gutter Problems & Solutions
There is a chance that if one or more of these different gutter parts are in disarray or not functioning, you could run into some issues.
Your best bet is to make sure you do the following:
Check your gutters annually from the ground, several times per year ideally.
Look at your gutters and make sure they’re cleaned, especially if you live in a heavily wooded area.
Consider getting gutter guards.
Call a professional if you have any questions.
Final Word:
The elements that compromise your home’s stormwater management system – aka your gutters and roof are straightforward in appearance. While you might know more about gutters now, one thing to keep in mind is that a small gutter issue can potentially compromise your entire gutter system. So while it might not seem overly vital to know everything about your home’s gutters, being mindful of problem areas, what to keep your eye out for, and knowing how to maintain your gutters is key to saving you money!
CALL OR EMAIL US TODAY FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE – 202-276-5004 FAMILY.ROOFING@YAHOO.COM
There are many types of gutters for your home’s facade, including box gutters and seamless gutters, which have more of an invisible appeal. Gutters come in many materials including vinyl, steel, aluminum and copper. Each material has its pros and cons. In a lot of areas, your gutters have to withstand freezing winters, heavy downpours and sweltering summers.
While your fascia boards are not part of the gutter parts per se, they are a vital component to your home’s rain gutter system. Fascia boards are the boards at the edge of your roof and they’re also where your gutters are mounted.
