When we say Gutter Helmet is the permanent solution to your gutter protection needs, we mean it. There’s a reason…
Helmet Heat by Gutter Helmet is an exclusive self-regulating heating cable designed to keep ice and snow from building up…
Tired of leaky gutters? Ready to replace gutters that sag off of your roof?
If you’re simply in the market for seamless aluminum gutters, then you really have to do your homework before replace your existing gutters. As mentioned above, there are no recognized industry standards, no required licenses, no professional certification programs, and no nonprofit trade associations for gutter installers.
Read other articles on this site about types of gutters and common gutter problems. Familiarize yourself with the options suited to the specific needs of your home. And then ask yourself: Is price your only consideration?
When you come right down to it, all that’s needed for a new seamless gutter system is an installer who can (1) rip off the existing gutters, (2) bring a machine to your front yard, (3) crank out the needed lengths of aluminum, (4) attach them to your fascia boards, and (5) haul away the old discarded gutters. Anyone with a pickup truck, gutter machine, ladder, screw gun, and caulk gun can do that.
But what if the workmanship is poor? If the screws pop? If the caulk gets brittle? If the aluminum is too thin? If the hangers are too widely spaced? If the metal sags or warps and pulls away from the fascia boards? If the size of the gutter and number of downspouts is insufficient to drain your roof? If the pitch of the trough isn’t right? If the corners aren’t smoothly mitered? If the downspouts aren’t snugly joined to the gutter trough? If the gutters and downspouts come from different manufacturers so that the colors fade differently?
For the sake of saving some money, do you want to risk finding out that your gutter installer is no longer in business? The gutter business attracts many people who may learn how to do gutter installation but are less skilled at the “business side of the business.” They offer low prices to generate work but then discover they can’t survive. Stories are rife of “one-man shows” who install by day, make sales calls by night, and lack the time and energy to get truly organized.
In general, then, look for gutter installers who take a professional approach to all that they do: professional in making sales presentations and giving estimates, professional in their workmanship and safety procedures, professional in the way they run their businesses. Don’t be afraid to visit their premises and look around. After all, your goal is to install new gutters that will give you a long-lasting solution.
