Types of Gutters for Your Home – Family Roofing

Posted on by David Reid

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Types of Gutters for Your Home

Guttering is a vital part of any roofing system, but if you are looking to build or renovate, you may not be aware that gutters come in a range of styles, colors, and profiles.  Choosing the right one and having it installed correctly will ensure your home remains safe, retains its integrity, and continues to look fantastic for years to come.

What are rain gutters?

Rain gutters are narrow channels or troughs designed to collect and divert water to suitable drains and channel water away from a building’s base.  This prevents leaks in sub-floor spaces, protects painted surfaces by reducing water exposure, helps to reduce erosion, and provides a means to collect rainwater for later use.  Typically, they are suspended beyond the roof edge and below the projected slope of the roof.  Technically, every type of gutter is a rain gutter.  Below are the most common gutter types.

Sectional or Seamed Gutters

Sectional gutters are available in 10-foot long pieces that attach to your home’s fascia board with hangers.  They attach either by overlapping them or snapping them together with joiner pieces.

  • Sectional gutters and peripherals (corners, downspouts, gutter guards, etc.) can be found on the shelf at home improvement stores.

  • Available in vinyl and metal (galvanized steel or aluminum).  Vinyl gutters are heavy and cannot be painted, but offer the advantage of being resistant to rusting, fading, or corroding.  Plus, since vinyl gutters are soft, they do not damage easily.

  • Metal gutters, especially aluminum, are light-weight.  But metal gutters can become dented if tree limbs hit them.

  • Copper gutters tend to be a special order item and are substantially more expensive than both metal and vinyl.  A 10-foot section of half-round copper gutter can be ten or even twenty times more expensive than vinyl or metal.

  • Hangers attach to fascia board with special metal spikes.

Pros

  • Inexpensive

  • Easily available at most home centers

  • Simple to install

  • Sections can be individually switched out

Cons

  • Few styles and colors available

  • Seams need to be sealed

  • May leak

  • Vinyl gutters cannot be painted

Sectional gutters are best for do-it-yourselfers and are the most economical choice.  If one section fails, it can be removed and replaced without affecting the rest of the gutter system.

Stock colors for steel gutters tend to be white and brown, though the white gutters can be painted.  Stock vinyl gutters come in white and cannot be painted.  Should water collect in the gutter system (typically due to debris), water may leak at the seams between sections.

Seamless Gutters

For a smooth look, more color choices, and minimum leakage, seamless gutters are your best choice.  A mobile shop will arrive at your residence and technicians will perform a gutter run out: roll-forming continuous aluminum through a machine that extrudes the metal and forms it into gutters on the spot.  The process is fast; gutters speed out of the machine as fast as 45 feet per minute.  For the most part, this is a job that professionals do for you.

  • Seamless gutters have no length limit. They can run as far as from corner to corner.

  • Available in aluminum.

Pros

  • Fewer seams to leak
  • Sleeker appearance

Cons

  • Expensive

  • Not a DIY project

  • Difficult to replace portions

With no seams along the gutter’s length, it is impossible for the gutter to leak at mid-point (it can still leak over the top or at corner joints, though).  Seamless gutters preserve the smooth horizontals of your roofline and are best at matching your home since rolled aluminum comes in as many as 50 colors.  Seamless gutters cannot be created and installed by do-it-yourselfers.  As a result, they will cost more than sectional, DIY-able gutters because outside labor is involved.  Should one area of a seamless gutter fail, the entire length is affected. The entire length would need to be replaced or a section of it cut out and replaced independently.

Gutter Shapes: K and Half-Round

  • K-Shape: The most popular gutter profile is called k-shape and has a look that is similar to crown molding found in house interiors.  K-shape gutters can carry more water than half-round gutters. Due to the creases that run the length, k-shape gutters are structurally strong.

  • Fascia Shape: Fascia style gutters are tall and narrow; they encompass the entire height of the fascia.  Fascia shape gutters can be difficult to clean due to their increased depth.

  • Half-Round Shape: With their u-shaped profile, half-round gutters have more of a traditional look than k-shaped gutters. If copper is your material of choice, it will likely come in a half-round shape, as well. Half-round gutters carry less water than k-shape gutters. They extend far out from the fascia (as far as 6 inches), making them wider than they are tall (about 3 inches tall).

GUTTER MATERIALS

Gutters and Downspouts are all made from the same types of materials. Aluminum, Copper, Vinyl, and Galvanized Steel. K-Style and Half-Round are available in any material, while Box style is only available in Aluminum or Copper.

Aluminum Gutters

Pro’s

  • Cheap

  • Light weight

  • Rust Resistant

  • Easiest to install

  • Available in many color options

Con’s

  • Prone to damage by extreme temperature fluctuations (can warp)

Copper Gutters

Pro’s

  • “Patina” look

  • Heavy Duty (thicker gauge than aluminum)

Con’s

  • Most expensive

  • Heavier so they come loose more often

Galvanized Steel Gutters

Pro’s

  • Strength (Can handle large amounts of weight)

Con’s

  • Very Heavy (Gutters come loose more often)

  • Expensive

  • Rust very easily

Vinyl Gutters

Pro’s

  • Cheap

  • Easy to install (for DIY people)

  • Waterproof

Con’s

  • Cheap material (bends easily)

  • Only available in white

CONCLUSION

All the types and styles of gutters provide the same basic function.  Size of your home and roof are factors to determine what size you need.  Do your own research to find the style and type of gutter that will best suite your needs, and look the best on your home.