What To Know About Installing New Gutters
If your old gutters leak, sag, or are falling down, it's time to start looking for a new gutter system. You might be able to install new gutters yourself, or you can eliminate a lot of stress and hire a contractor to do it. Here are a few things you need to know about installing gutters.
Gutters Installed By A Contractor
The advantage to hiring a contractor to put in your new system, is you can get traditional or seamless gutters. If you install the gutters yourself, you have to buy them in sections at a home improvement store and join the pieces together. A contractor can do that too, or you can opt for seamless gutters that are custom made. The contractor brings a gutter extrusion machine to your property and creates the gutters right before installing them. This ensures they are the perfect length, and it eliminates seams that develop leaks.
DIY Gutter Installation
Installing gutters is more complicated than simply hanging the gutters from your roof. Two problem areas that are common with DIY installation are spacing the hangers and adjusting the slope. Don't space the hangers too far apart or the gutters will sag under the weight of rainwater. If you're short on the number of hangers you need, it's best to stop work and go buy more rather than space them too far apart. Putting them too close together doesn't cause any problems.
When you look at gutters from the yard, they look level, but it's just an illusion. They are actually at a slant. They have to be so the water will flow them and drain through the downspout. Therefore, you have to be very meticulous about getting the right slope on the gutters. If they are level, they won't drain, but if the slope is too steep, the gutters will look odd from the ground.
In addition to mastering these two hurdles, you must also seal the seams to make them watertight. You'll probably have to cut the gutters to the appropriate length too. All these tasks may be too much to attempt on your own.
Gutter Size
If you install gutters yourself, you have to make sure you buy the right size. There is a formula to follow that considers the size of your roof, the pitch of your roof, and the intensity of the rainfall in your geographic location. Buying gutters too big is better than buying them too small. You want gutters that can handle heavy rain without flowing over.
Installing new gutters yourself may seem like a complicated process, and it can be. If you don't think you can do it, hire a contractor rather than letting your gutters leak. Leaky gutters can cause a wet basement and other foundation problems, so they should be repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
To learn more about gutters, contact a company like Superior Products