# Gutters 1 piece vs. Multiple Pieces



## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

Every joint is a leak. In addition, there is no continuity, so one section can settle slightly, but enough to cause an accumulation of dirt, leaves, and roofing granuals.

Aluminum and plastic expand and contract a lor, which means it become difficult to keep things tight without leaks.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

troyce1 said:


> I am putting all new gutters on my roof, and I've had several people come out and the price for gutters has ranged from 1500-2300 for one piece gutter installation.
> 
> *I am thinking about just getting the pieces from Home Depot and having about 3 pieces on each side*, the cost would be significantly less, any thoughts?
> 
> Are once piece gutters that much better?


You would regret it every time it rains after just a few seasons, plus the HD gutter stock is significantly thiner at my local HD than what I install.

Ed


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## troyce1 (Oct 9, 2008)

Well 1900 just seems crazy to me (and that was one of the lower quotes), this is from the roofer that it looks like I am going with.

Are there any cost effective DIY methods, are are pro one-piece gutters the only good way to go.

We have 2 33 foot runs on each side of the house.


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## Speedball (Nov 2, 2008)

Wow, those seem like steep quotes. 
Continuous gutters do look very nice and are much less prone to leaking in the future with less joints.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

troyce1 said:


> Well 1900 just seems crazy to me (and that was one of the lower quotes), this is from the roofer that it looks like I am going with.
> 
> Are there any cost effective DIY methods, are are pro one-piece gutters the only good way to go.
> 
> *We have 2, 33 foot runs on each side of the house.*


So, are you saying that you have 66 feet total on the entire home or 66 feet on each side, equaling 132 feet?

If you have just 66 feet total, plus just 2 downspouts at 1 story high, then the price seems excessive.

Is he including any type of Gutter Guard Leaf Inhibiting system with that price?

*Specs should be:*


.032 seamless aluminum
screwed in hangers, preferrably hang-tite or ray-tec, space no farther than every 24" on center.
Oversized 3" x 4" downspout piles, extended a minimum of 3' to 5' away from the foundation, or up to the perimeter edging on the landscaping.
A continuous pitch from high spot to low spot in the gutter trough down to the drop outlet.
As far as the DIY, you can see if any of the roofing supply houses deliver a coil and gutter maching to run off your exact lengths required and then ask more questions if that option is potentially available.

Ed


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

troyce1 said:


> I am putting all new gutters on my roof, and I've had several people come out and the price for gutters has ranged from 1500-2300 for one piece gutter installation.
> 
> I am thinking about just getting the pieces from Home Depot and having about 3 pieces on each side, the cost would be significantly less, any thoughts?
> 
> Are once piece gutters that much better?


As stated, stick with one piece systems.

AS Ed stated, an alternative is to contact a gutter supply company. Check online with a local company. Order the parts and the lengths you need, and attempt to install it yourself.

FWIW: That is what we do: 

I measure out a home, contact my supplier with the lengths and the parts I need. They can also be ordered in various colors. He then sends a truck out to the location, and rolls out seamless sections based on the measurements I provide. Last, we show up with ladders and install them.

Examoke of a supplier: http://www.eagleseamlessgutter.com/


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## GutterGnome (Nov 19, 2008)

Just my 2 cents, but if you are installing new gutters I would think about using something that is "free-hanging." Something like snaplock or something like that. The benefit is that you are not driving a ferrell through your gutters and fascia boards, which leads to more leaking later on.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

wow! those ARE high quotes! i got quoted 3 bucks a foot! INSTALLED! plus 15 each downspout. for my 100 ft i need all around, it comes to around 400 is all! and it's one piece and better quality than HD. i'd for sure call around for a better quote.

DM


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

If you have a lot of trees around, consider the larger gutters and 3x4 downspouts that move more than twice the water. I live in a townhouse and the old gutters were replaced with seamless gutters and big (3x4) down spouts. They flush out the water and everything better than my toilet.


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## troyce1 (Oct 9, 2008)

Well, I guess the next appropriate question would be how to decide gutter size.

I have a 16 sq roof, steep 12/12 pitch on most of it.
I have gotten quotes for 5 in with 2x3 downspouts and 6 in with 3x4. I looked online to find a gutter size calculator, to no avail.

As stated 2 - 33 ft runs, one on each side of the house.

Input?


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

Go to this link:

http://www.egutter.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.2610/.f

Then click on the PDF download for; "Proper Gutter Sizing PDF"

Ed


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

Hey gutters aren't freekin cheap. Especially if your going with leaf guards. I put new gutters on my house 3 years ago no leaf guards it was a 1,000 dollars. I have two down spots on front and back. At both ends. I'm sure the price of aluminum has gone up since then


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## G-Money (Dec 2, 2008)

I would get seamless aluminum gutters with the hidden hanger clips. Seamless gutters don't have seams to allow water to find its way through the seams and look dirty over a short period of time. The hidden hanger clips are screwed into your fascia board and not nailed. Wood is going to expand and contract which causes the nails to loosen and eventually pull out of your fascia boards. That doesn't happen with the hidden hangers being screwed in the the wood of your fascia boards. I would also recommend mastershield gutter protection to go on your gutters to prevent having to clean your gutters and have water management. That is the most important aspect of gutter protection is water management. You will also enjoy the aspect of not having to clean your gutters. This will be a little more expensive than a do it yourself system from your local lumber store but will be a viable answer to preserving your home from water damage and your time in cleaning gutters.


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## troyce1 (Oct 9, 2008)

I have a steep roof 12/12 i think, so I dont know what kind of gutter protection would work best, w/o the water overshooting the gutters.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

troyce1 said:


> I have a steep roof 12/12 i think, so I dont know what kind of gutter protection would work best, w/o the water overshooting the gutters.


Due to cohesion, the water on a 12/12 pitch roof primarily just drips directly off of the roofing shingles granulated surface and straight into the gutter trough.

Depending on if you have plumb fascia boards to secure to with regular hidden hangers, or if you will have to use t-style hanger straps will have some impact on the results.

If they have to be hanging gutters, then the amount of gap between the rear upper side of the gutter to the shingles will matter.

Ed


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## G-Money (Dec 2, 2008)

troyce1 said:


> I have a steep roof 12/12 i think, so I dont know what kind of gutter protection would work best, w/o the water overshooting the gutters.


The mastershield gutter protection system has a hydro vortex technology that creates a powerful vacuum to force water into the gutter. You can hold the mastershield straight up and down, run water on it and the water is still sucked into the system. The pitch of your roof won't matter with mastershield.


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## mikey48 (Dec 6, 2007)

If you are using multiple gutter lengths overlap them using gutter sealer and rivet them together. I think I overlapped them at least a couple of inches, maybe more. The gutters will fit into each other. Mine have been up for over 10 years with no leaks. The gutter conectors they sell are crap.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

mikey48 said:


> If you are using multiple gutter lengths overlap them using gutter sealer and rivet them together. I think I overlapped them at least a couple of inches, maybe more. The gutters will fit into each other. Mine have been up for over 10 years with no leaks. The gutter conectors they sell are crap.


With the significant availability of contractors who own seamless gutter machines, there is rarely ever a reason to use sectional pieces of gutters.

They Will Fail at the additional joints, both from the gutter sealant becoming aged and brittle and also from expansion and contraction.

I have to take a picture later today, to show how the melting snow does not go into the covered gutters, not the master-shield brand, but the amount of icicles is amazing, unless it warmed up too much and they melted or got knocked off by the home owner. 

Ed


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## troyce1 (Oct 9, 2008)

I dont think they sell the "Mastershield system" directly to homeowners, they only install.

Everything I google say gutter guards (in general) are the biggest ripoff ever.

I'll call around but if anyone knows somewhere that sells these directly to owners, please let me know.


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