# Need new gutters



## Scott_K (Mar 28, 2005)

How much should gutters cost ? Are there specific brands/features I should look for ? This is for new construction.

Front:
2nd Floor approx. 16 Feet, a peak in the middle and then about a 2 foot gutter required at the end of the house.
1st Floor Mansard approx 26 feet

Back:
2nd Floor approx 26 Feet.

Thanks,
Scott


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## pipeguy (Nov 22, 2004)

Scott_K said:


> Are there specific brands/features I should look for ?
> Thanks,
> Scott


I had these installed in 1995. They've been great. Very little maintenance

http://www.leafguard.com


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 7, 2004)

If you want the best appearance contact your local seamless gutter co. They manufacture on the site.
I installed some WeatherGard??? plastic gutter that I bought at Lowe's just before getting pounded by 2 hurricanes and not a scratch. Downside is that it only comes in 10 ft lengths and the connectors show.
I have owned quite a few homes and no one has ever said "nice gutters". LOL


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## pipeguy (Nov 22, 2004)

Teetorbilt said:


> If you want the best appearance contact your local seamless gutter co. They manufacture on the site.I have owned quite a few homes and no one has ever said "nice gutters". LOL


The LeafGuards are seamless aluminum and are rolled on-site. Teetor's right about nobody else appreciating your gutters. I will say this however - my neighbor suffered a critical injury from a fall that happened while cleaning his gutters out. I live within the drop zone of numerous maples, poplars, pines and oaks and have NEVER once, in almost 10 years, had to clean out my gutters. The extra expense (about $5 a foot if I remember correctly) was worth it to me.

Go with 3 x 5 downspouts no matter gutter you use. It'll help clear debris from the gutter.


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## Grumpy (Dec 12, 2003)

Leaf guard are a gimick IMO. Never clean again, guaranteed? Yes, because you can't open the solid one piece gutters, and if you do you void the warranty. Extra expense, at $5 a foot?! Umm here the leaf guard system is $24 a foot and a regular gutter system is $5. Leafguard, and similiar system work GREAT in mild rains. IN heavy rains I have witnessed the water cascade over the gutter as if it wasn't even there. That defeats the purpose of even having a gutter.

K style are standard shape. They are also sometimes called Ogee. 5" is standard sized. Aluminum is standard material. I prefer .032 because it is more durable than .027 and there is really no cost difference on the average sized job.

You definetly want a seamless system. This means you have one long gutter from end to end or from corner to corner (depending on your roof style). I'd never install plastic/vinyl. You couldn't pay me to do it and put my good name on it. 

If you have more money than you know what to do with you might consider a 16 or 20 oz copper gutter system, which will last in excess of 100 years.

3x4 (5? not avilable in this area) downspouts are a bonus, there is very very very little cost increase. Infact I never charge more for over sized downspouts. Usually you don't place over sized (3x4) in front of a house for purposes of curb appeal.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 7, 2004)

Grumpy, The only reasons that I opted for the plastic were 1) my brother, in Cocoa Beach, has had them for 20 yrs. and they don't corrode (he's beachfront). The UV doesn't seem to have affected them either. 2) they were cheap, DIY and kept me from running through a rain curtain when I got home.
BTW, aluminum gutters can take a whuppin' in a hurricane, saw lots of them at the recyclers.


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## pipeguy (Nov 22, 2004)

Grumpy said:


> Extra expense, at $5 a foot?! Umm here the leaf guard system is $24 a foot and a regular gutter system is $5.


In '95 I paid $15.25 / foot downspouts inclusive. Your right about more extra expense. I was getting quotes from $6.50 to over $8 / foot for standard gutters then. I had 115 feet of gutter installed.



Grumpy said:


> Leafguard, and similiar system work GREAT in mild rains. IN heavy rains I have witnessed the water cascade over the gutter as if it wasn't even there.


Since I actually have the gutters on my house (and don't have a chip on my shoulder about how much the competition charges for them) I've taken the opportunity in numerous downpours to check their effectiveness. I've never seen water run over the gutters as if they weren't there. I have seen spillover in spots (haven't identified why the spots change from storm to storm) of as much as what seemed to be up to about 25% of the flow down the roofline. I've never had a problem with water against the foundation. 



Grumpy said:


> 3x4 (5? not avilable in this area)


I stand corrected. 3x4 is what I should have written.

The LeafGuards have never sagged, clogged or filled with ice and snow. In '95 the gutters I replaced were 12 years old, rusted, leaking and falling off the house. The LeafGuards are almost 10 years old now and look as good as the day they went on. $1000 divided by 10 years is $100 / year. Half that in another 10. I'm OK with that expense for leaf free gutters.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 7, 2004)

I believe that I am the only person here with a Doctorate in hydrodynamics. I have viewed the website and understand the concept of LeafGuard.
There are so many variables that your arguments make no sense.


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## pipeguy (Nov 22, 2004)

Teetorbilt said:


> There are so many variables that your arguments make no sense.


Which arguments?


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## Grumpy (Dec 12, 2003)

Teetorbilt said:


> I believe that I am the only person here with a Doctorate in hydrodynamics. I have viewed the website and understand the concept of LeafGuard.
> There are so many variables that your arguments make no sense.


 Forget your degree and theories for a minute. Now go inspect a leaf guard in a heavy rain or after a year under a pine tree and we will talk. 

Like communism, it looks good on paper, but put it to practice and it's another story. It's just not a perfected science yet. That's all.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 7, 2004)

Broadleafs should clear the LeafGuard gutter as well as many windblown leaves. During rain with smaller leaves and pine needles, I can see where the cohesive effect of water flow would actually draw the leaves into the gutter. If large leaves were softened by a days rain prior to a heavy rain, they would flow in as well.
Icicles should flow into the gutter as well as they are liquid until it has the time to freeze. Much of this would have to do with a fine temperature margin but that is what causes iciles in the first place.
Personally, my biggest problem is the long-leaf pine. They tend to roll down a roof and would have no problem following the radiused section into the gutter. Right now my only problem is the neighbors water oak, Francis and Jeanne eliminated almost all of my other problem trees.


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## Grumpy (Dec 12, 2003)

It's important IMO that if you have guards of some kind on your gutter system, they be seperate from your gutter system. In other words removeable, because you will probably need to clean your gutters again some day.


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

*Grumpy*

Grumpy. Sorry I deleted this original post because i didn't carefully read what you wrote above. you are correct those leaf guard gutters are big money in the chicagoland area.


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## Scott_K (Mar 28, 2005)

Wow !
Thanks for all of the feedback!! I didn't realize gutters were so complex. 

Thanks Again,
Scott


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## Neil_K (Oct 30, 2004)

copied from Leafguard's guarantee "is guaranteed not to clog with leaves, pine needles, acorns or other organic debris, or we will clean your gutters for free*! In addition, the baked enamel paint finish is warranted not to chip, peel, or crack for twenty years. "

The * is "for as long as you own your home".

Not too shabby. Anyone had to have them cleaned?


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## pipeguy (Nov 22, 2004)

Neil_K said:


> Anyone had to have them cleaned?


Mine could use a good pressure washing (exterior) but have never accumulated debris - not even the usual shingle wear stuff. It'll be ten years in November since they were installed. Mine have performed well.
Here's one thing to consider about the LeafGuards - if they get damaged (dented or deformed) they probably won't work. Potential sources of damage include falling tree limbs, wayward recreational items like arrows and baseballs, and roofing contractors. Just a thought.


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## Neil_K (Oct 30, 2004)

Good points about the damage. Especially with 9- and 7-year old boys that kick, throw, hit anything round against whatever may bounce it back.


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## AaronB (Jan 29, 2005)

20 bucks a foot, seamless copper, soldered joints, add total footage with downspaouts included. The only waay to go.


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