Your gutter and leaders system protects your home, basement, foundation, driveway, deck, and landscaping from water damage. Water coming off of your roof is caught by your gutters and channeled to down spouts. It is then brought down to ground level and away from the house. Without gutters and leaders rainwater would come down in sheets cutting a line into concrete, soil or decks. This water could also then seep into foundations and eventually basements.
There are several factors to consider when planning a gutters and leaders system.
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Gutter size:
Depending on the size of your homes roof a 5” or 6” gutter maybe needed. Most houses have a 5” K style .027 gauge gutter on them now. If you have very large roof or areas where a lot of rain water is brought to a small area a 6” gutters and leaders system may be more efficient.
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Leader Placement:
Leader placement is important to not only finding the best ways to get water away from the house. Also to keep the area around the house safe and more visually appealing. Whenever possible we prefer to keep water away from walkways to prevent icing in the event of a freeze after a rain. Another factor is to run leader pipes down the sides of the house instead of the front for aesthetics. If a gutter length is longer than 35 feet we will also recommend pitching the gutter from the middle to both ends and having 2 leader pipes.
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Leader size:
As with gutter size leader size is a very important. Most houses use a 2”x3” leader pipe. Often this size is just not enough. Pending the length of the attached gutter and the amount of roof going to that gutter we often recommend a 3”x4” leader pipe with a larger outlet tube and or 2 leader pipes.
Our knowledge and experience make us highly equipped to advise you about proper leader pipe placement. Also the size and extender products, and gutter leaf protection products.
Gutter Installation
We will inspect your property and advise you of the best arrangement for leader pipes to avoid damage from water runoff. We then make sure all fascia’s are in good shape to hold your new gutters. Our seamless aluminum gutters are formed on site to match the dimensions of your home. Through a process called extrusion, we run a roll of flat .032 aluminum through a machine that forms it into the gutter shape at a length that exactly fits your home. The gutters are installed with hidden fasteners and screws approximately every 30” apart.
We then join these custom lengths of gutter to corner pieces using high quality sealant meant to withstand repeated exposure to a high volume of water. Corners and downspouts are the only places seams occur in the entire gutter system, keeping the potential for leaks to a minimum. In addition, we ensure that downspouts are properly placed to reroute water away from your foundation and landscaping. Thus preventing soil or cement erosion from running water.
Half Round Gutters:
An alternative to standard K-style gutters are aluminum or copper half round gutters. Half round gutters add a beautiful finished touch to a new roof project. Often seen with a slate or cedar shake roof half round gutters can also look and perform great with an asphalt roof system.
Gutter Cleaning:
Keeping your gutters cleaned is a very important way to insure your gutters are working properly. If your gutters are clogged with leaves and debris they will be more apt to overflow.
We do not recommend the use of a permanent leaf protection system. These systems are not 100% effective against debris entering the gutter and often stop the water from getting into the gutter. If debris does get into these systems it is almost impossible to get out. We use a removable heavy duty screening that is screwed into the top of the gutter with back end slid under the first shingle roof. If debris does enter it is easy to remove the screen and then the debris. If no screen is used, gutter cleanings should be done at a minimum of 2 times a year. We offer a gutter cleaning maintenance program for this certain issue.
If your gutters and leaders need maintenance, or if you have any questions. Then don’t hesitate to contact your local Roof Pro Contractors online or give a call at 1 (800) 766-3776.
