Gutters & Gutter Guards
When you look up at your home’s roof line and realize you don’t have gutters, the first thing most people ponder is if they need them at all. The second question that creeps into their minds is if they need gutters around the entire home. The third and most important question they have, how much will that cost. Here I aim to answer all those questions and help educate along the way.
Do I Need Gutters
The easy answer is most likely yes, your home could benefit from having gutters. Gutters keeps rain water from running off your roof and creating a trench around your home. This could lead to foundation issues and is just generally unsightly. Even if you have rock or pavement around your entire home, the constant rain dripping in the same spot can erode the base of flag stone patios and discolor concrete. Besides the the effects the water run off can have around your home, you may also notice the exterior walls of your home being discolored or growing algae because the water is not discharging far enough away from the house off the roof.
Where Do I Need Gutters
Gutters can only go on level parts of your roof line and are attached to the drip edge and fascia board along the outside of your eaves. Gutters should really be installed on all level parts of your roof line, especially where roof valleys are. Roof valleys channel water and can be like a waterfall constantly hitting the same spot and heavily eroding the top soil.
If you or your neighbors have tree that overhang the roof, its a good idea to invest in gutter guards. Gutter guards keep leaves from settling in the gutter. Debris in your gutters lessens the volume of water they can handle, clogs down spouts and can lead to the rusting out of the gutter due to standing water. You don’t have to install gutter guard on every run of gutter around your home, but its a good practice to completely cover an entire segment of gutter, opposed to leaving a section partially covered. This can lead to debris being shoved under the gutter guarded gutter and is very laborious to clean at that point.
How Much Do Gutters Cost
Gutter prices can range wildly, but most contractors charge between $4-6/ft for 5” standard gutters and $2-3/ft for gutter guard to be installed. When you are ready to get bids for the gutters, it’s a good practice to measure all the level areas of your roofs perimeter, so you can make sure your paying a fair per/ft price. Take into account that downspouts should be installed roughly every 25’ of continuous gutter. So if one side of you your home is 75’ long, you will likely need 3 downspouts along that side.