Gutter Installation CT Roofs
SHUDDER AT THE THOUGHT OF CLEANING YOUR GUTTER?
Are your gutters in CT clogged with leafs and debris? Constantly leaking? Sagging and bowing? Get off that ladder and get your head out of the gutter: replace your old CT gutters with an attractive, modern debris-free gutter system! The need to channel rainwater is nothing new. As soon as humans started putting roofs over their heads, they needed gutters. In dry climates, gutters were a critical tool for collecting scarce rainwater for drinking and irrigation. In wet climates like Connecticut, channeling rainwater away from the home is important to protect the home’s foundation and roof. A large portion ct roof repair involves fixing water damage caused by improper gutter installation.
EVOLUTION OF GUTTERS
The earliest American gutters were made of wood. Old-growth cedar was the preferred material, but, being rare, it was more common to see gutters made of other, less weather resistant materials like hemlock or young cedar. To help extend the life of wooden gutter systems, they were often lined with zinc. This is almost unheard of today, except in cases of historical restoration. As the industrial revolution took hold in America, steel gutters replaced wood. Later, aluminum extrusion technology derived from aerospace manufacturing was adapted to produce seamless aluminum gutters.
PROBLEMS WITH CLOGGED GUTTERS
If you are a homeowner, than you already know that gutters don’t always function as they should. A clogged gutter that prevents water from flowing freely can result in serious structural damage to your home, basement flooding, and moisture damage that can cause your roof, siding, and trim to mold and rot. If water spills behind your gutter, it can damage the fascia and soffit. Having proper gutters installed is a critical part of ct roof maintenance.
Gutters in CT don’t love the foliage the way the rest of us do (and we don’t really like it either when we are scooping it out of our gutters.) People have tried all kinds of things to prevent clogs in ct gutters, from placing screens over the gutters, to climbing on ladders and clearing out the gunk a couple times per year. The idea of a screen was pretty novel, but if debris builds up on the screen to the point that water can’t even pass through, there is no point in having a gutter at all. Gutter manufacturers experimented with other solutions, like hoods and helmets that can be placed over the existing gutter:
Gutter Hood Gutter Helmet Gutter Screen
Images via www.murochwalker.com, www.dejeka.wz.wc, www.kinsmangarden.com
Hoods, helmets and screens are typically installed over the gutter and under shingles, which makes the roof vulnerable to water damage from any backflow, spill, or flooding.
Eventually these little fixes evolved into gutter systems with build-in hoods or hood/screen combinations. Most ‘clog-free’ gutter systems are made of only one piece, but there are two problems with a one-piece configuration:
1) The gutters are difficult (or impossible) to clean and service
2) If the gutter is damaged, the whole section needs to be replaced.
TWO-PIECE GUTTER SYSTEMS
The newest state-of-the-art integrated shutter systems consist of two pieces: the trough, and a hood that prevents debris from entering the trough.We think aluminum is the best material for gutters in ct, but it can be damaged by hail or falling tree branches. If that happens, it’s likely that only the top or bottom will be damaged. The advantage of the two-piece system is that you only need to replace the portion that is damaged.
The two-piece system can also be taken apart easily for cleaning or service and is designed to minimize/eliminate the need for cleaning, but if a section of your ct gutter is damaged during a serious storm, for example, debris may enter the system before you get around to fixing it. Mother nature often surprises us in Connecticut with unforeseen events. It’s a good idea to have the option of cleaning and there is no drawback to having a two-piece system as long as all the components are attached securely. Certain snap-on hoods have earned a bad reputation for two-piece systems because they can also snap off.
ROOF WARRANTY
Traditional ct gutters attach to the shingles or roof, which can actually void the roof warranty. In the event of a ct roof repair, gutters attached to the roof structure would need to be removed and replaced.
If you’re looking to update your gutter system, call us today! No matter how good a gutter system is, its functionality is highly dependent on the installation itself. Some are trickier than others. This system is designed to be simple for the homeowner, but the gutter installation requires skill. The experts at Fiderio & Sons (Roofing Contractor Connecticut) have vast experience with gutter installation in Connecticut. We cannot emphasize enough what significant role gutters play in maintaining the integrity of ct roofs. Roof Installation is very expensive relative to the cost of replacing gutters. As fall is coming to an end, chances are your gutters could use a little TLC anyway, so give us a call for a free estimate, roof maintenance tips, or other ct roofing help. The following guide includes information on other projects you should tackle this season.
