New Year, New Gutters
If you are thinking about kicking off the new year by giving your home or business a much-needed new set of gutters, congratulations! You’ve made a great choice. However, before you get started, there are a few things you need to know.
The Type of Gutter Matters
You might be tempted to go with the absolute bottom-dollar guttering you can find. Vinyl, aluminum, or possibly some other material can be fashioned to make a serviceable piece of guttering. However, you need to be aware of certain drawbacks of these material choices.
For one thing, certain materials simply don’t stand up to the test of time and the elements. You don’t want to invest in new gutters only to have to turn around and do it all over again a few short years down the road. You’re lucky if aluminum gutters will last 20 years.
The cheaper kinds of gutters don’t stand up to incidental impact—such as a blow from a falling branch or a misplaced ladder. Vinyl guttering may look nice, but if you lean a ladder up against it when temperatures are low, you may very well end up cracking or even shattering it.
Finally, you want to use guttering that holds its value. Remember that your home is an investment. Every dollar you put into it, you want to get back when it’s time to sell. To this end, it makes no sense to spend a lot of money on new guttering only to take a hit when you go to sell the property.
For long lasting, quality gutters, consider copper or zinc
Without question, the best material to use for your gutters is copper or zinc. These materials are precious commodities, meaning they hold their value. What’s more, they are well suited to stand up to the ravages of time. In fact, a properly installed copper gutter will last 150 years!
In addition, these materials are strong, meaning that you don’t have to be as worried about what happens if you’re trimming a tree and you accidentally drop a branch on your gutter. While a gutter made out of aluminum may very well dent or fold under such a situation, chances are good that a copper gutter will come through without any appreciable damage.
If you are thinking about replacing your gutters—or adding gutters where you currently don’t have any—you should really consider your options. Saving a few dollars now might seem like a good idea, but in the long run it can cost you money. It’s better to do the gutters the right way now and forget about them as opposed to taking a shortcut and then worrying every time something happens.
We are here to help you with all your zinc or copper guttering needs. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask us. We are excited to help you out, and we can’t wait to work with you!
