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Using this simple guide, you should be able to get your head out of that gutter and find out which system is best for you!
Sectional Gutters
Sectional gutters come in 10ft – 20ft sections and connect to one another to form a larger roof drainage system. Although the earliest gutters were made from wood and often designed into a half-round trough shape, sectional gutters have evolved and now are made from different materials like vinyl, steel, aluminum, and copper.
Sectional Gutter Pros
Sectionals are purchased as component systems and can be self-installed in pieces, which explains why the majority of DIY gutters are sectional. Though a professional can install them, you can choose to quickly cut gutters into fitting sizes using a hacksaw. With this, you can save some money over having a contractor install a system.
Vinyl is one of the material options available for a sectional gutter system, often used because of its lightweight capability and the ability to match any roof color. Steel is another option for sectional gutters and is extremely strong and reliable under extreme weather such as large amounts of falling roof debris, ice, and snow.
Sectional Gutter Cons
Since sectional gutter systems connect smaller sections to form larger gutter runs, their weakness lies in the material used and the points at which the gutters connect; the joints. Rust is a big point of failure for steel sectional gutters. When steel is exposed to nature’s elements, moisture in general, it rusts. A rusted gutter will eventually leak and fail.
The weight of vinyl gutters makes it easy to install yourself but the drawback to installing these lightweight vinyl gutters is their lack of strength and durability. Between ice and snow loads and the constant impact from the sun, vinyl gutters often warp and become brittle over time.
Sectional gutters have to be assembled on-site which takes longer to do. If you are hiring someone to install all these gutter sections, it will cost you more in the time and labor needed.
Seamless Gutters
Seamless gutters are single continuous pieces of gutter often cut from one single-coil piece of metal, typically aluminum but also copper. In your seamless gutters vs sectional gutters decision, there are many benefits to choosing a seamless gutter system over the sectional kind.
Seamless Gutter Pros
Seamless gutters are stronger and more reliable than sectional gutters because it is one piece of gutter that provides added rigidity and strength. Because they are made up of one continuous piece, they substantially reduce the chances of leakages. Since most leaks happen at the gutter joints, leaks are essentially eliminated because there will be zero joints unless you have inside or outside corners, which eliminates the chance for mold, rot, or water damage to your home and property caused by leaky gutters.
The practical advantage of having your home equipped with a seamless gutter system is that it virtually nullifies the cost of maintenance since seamless gutters have a long life expectancy. They have a minimal amount of joints and will never rust.
Seamless Gutter Cons
Seamless gutters are one single-coil piece of metal and typically they are cut on-site. With longer runs of gutters, there may not be an easy DIY installation which means there will be an added cost associated with installing this roof drainage system to your home.
If you hire a professional gutter installer who installs gutters on a daily basis, make sure to hire an installer that also runs the gutters on-site themselves. Without needing to hire a supplier to do it, you can cut out the cost of the supplier middle-man, which should get you a new gutter system installed the right way at a reasonable cost.
When you’re ready to make a decision on which gutter type is best for you, be sure to call Neal Roofing And Waterproofing in West Palm Beach to help make the decision easy!