Gutter Options

and

Debris Management



Gutters do a great job of moving water, but when more than just water gets into your gutter, problems start to pile up.

As debris blocks your outlets, water can't drain, and will overflow, potentially causing damage to your foundation, siding, fascia board and even your roof.

However, lets put this in perspective. This sort of damage doesn't happen overnight. In most situations it takes years for problems to occur. Problems that can be prevented with a properly installed system and routine maintenance.

Debris management: Funnels vs Screens

No matter what you do, you need to clean your gutters.

We offer two ways to make your maintenance easier, and to protect your gutters:

Screens:

  • Screens are quicker and easier to clean off than scooping out a gutter.
  • Screens hold the debris at the roofline, letting the water filter through into the gutter.
  • Screens help keep the outlets clear of debris so the water can flow properly into the downspouts.

For both existing gutters and new installs, we offer screens from a Canadian company called Alu-Rex. These screens offer a good blend of protection vs function. The company also offers a 40 year no-clog warranty.

The "T-Rex" from Alu-rex is a continuous hanger style screen

  • The T-Rex is installed in place of hangers, forming a "continuous hanger". As well as providing protection from debris, this greatly increases the strength of the gutter, helping it handle additional loads such as snow sliding off of a metal roof.
  • Screens do have their downsides. By adding a barrier to debris, you also add a barrier to water. High volume rains (thundershowers) can sometimes overwhelm the screen and flow excess water over the lip of the gutter.
  • Its also important to note that while the wind will blow some debris off the screens, in areas with heavy tree coverage the debris willform a mat on top of the screen that needs to be swept off. This does take much less time than cleaning out a regular gutter.
  • Eventually (over many years) small debris will work its way under the screen and build up inside the gutters. To help with this situation, we put in access panels to facilitate cleaning under the screen when needed.

Downspout Funnels:

  • Funnels allow you to easily rinse debris out of the gutter using a hose.
    • In many cases, you can use a hose wand from the ground without even getting on a ladder!
  • Funnels allow debris to rinse into the downspout, helping to keep the outlet clear and preventing overflows.

Standard gutters drain into a downspout thru an outlet. This is typically a 2 inch hole with a plastic outlet with filters on top. This style of outlet will develop dams from a suprisingly small amount of debris, requiring cleaning every 6 months to ensure proper functionality. Removing the filters reduces daming, notably in areas without nearby trees to add leaves and needles to your gutters.

Putting in a much larger opening (ie a Funnel) leading to the downspouts will encourage debris to flow into the downspouts and get caught by a cleanout box.

Even if debris builds up in the gutter and doesn't get swept down by the rain, the downspout entrance will stay open so water can continue to flow, preventing standing water and overflows.

Note that on houses with perimeter drains, funnels are not recommended without a cleanout.

Clean-outs:

A clean-out in the downspout catches debris from the gutter, before it enters your underground drains. 

Clean-outs are usually installed with gutter funnels or "pop in" outlets, which allow material in the gutter to get pushed into the downspout and then caught by the clean-out.

This changes how you clean your gutters, allowing you to quickly and easily empty each cleanout box from the ground rather than having to climb a ladder to the rooftop level.

Clean-outs can add noise to a gutter system, as the water patters on the screen as it drips down from the gutter.

Screws:

The screw has replaced nails as the method of choice to hold your gutters against the fascia board. However there are a number of different types of screws out there, and which one is the right choice for your gutters? 

In our experience fasteners need to be:

- Strong enough to hold up against the weight of a gutter full of water and debris, as well as sometimes snow and ice. The weight of snow sliding off of a metal roof will usually deform the hanger before it breaks the fastener.

- Corrosion resistant enough that after 20 years they are still able to hold the gutters up.

- Not too expensive.

- Quick to use and install.

Stainless steel screws are an excellent choice for the first two, but are more expensive and take longer to install. We recommend stainless steel screws when your structure is near to the ocean.

Our choice for most applications is the 1.5 inch roofing style screw. These are strong, and have excellent corrosion resistance. While they are more expensive than a common zinc screw, they stick better to the driver, making them quick and reliable to install.


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