Why one-piece gutters
Gutters formed on site from a single roll of aluminum have no joints along their length, only at the corners and outlets. Joints are where sectional gutters leak, sag and pull apart under ice, so fewer joints means fewer problems. The gutter is cut to the exact length of each run, which also looks cleaner on the house.
We form them in the driveway from heavy-gauge aluminum in the color that best matches the fascia and trim.
Sizing for Colorado weather
A summer thunderstorm over Broomfield can dump a lot of water in a few minutes, and a standard five-inch gutter on a large roof will simply overflow. We size the gutter and the downspouts to the roof area and pitch, and on big roofs we go to six-inch gutters and oversized downspouts.
Where the downspouts discharge matters just as much. Extensions that carry water away from the foundation prevent the basement and crawlspace problems that show up in our clay soils.
Ice, snow and gutter attachment
Ice in the gutter is inevitable here. What matters is that the gutter is hung on hidden hangers screwed into solid fascia at close spacing so it does not tear loose under the weight. Spike-and-ferrule hangers from decades past are a common failure on older Broomfield homes.
Ice dams at the eaves are a roof ventilation and insulation problem, not a gutter problem, but a properly installed gutter with ice and water shield behind it limits the damage while the root cause is addressed.
Gutter guards
Broomfield has enough mature cottonwoods, ash and maples that gutters clog every fall. Guards reduce cleaning but do not eliminate it, and some types make ice worse by holding snow at the edge. We install the styles that have held up in our climate and are honest about what they will and will not do.
Whether guards make sense depends on the trees around your house and how comfortable you are on a ladder.
Replacing gutters with a new roof
The best time to replace gutters is during a roof replacement, when the drip edge is being installed and the fascia is exposed. It avoids damaging a new roof later and lets us set the gutter at the right height relative to the new drip edge.
If your gutters were dented in the same hailstorm that damaged your roof, they are typically part of the insurance scope and can be replaced at the same time.