Author: Vedran Cvitanovic, DVC
Aluminum
A: 5" gutter is what majority of contractors install these days on residential
properties. 6" gutter is used on commercial properties and in most cases
6" is too large (esthetically bulky looking) if installed on a house
smaller than 6000sq. ft.
A: Your
two choices are nails and hanger brackets.
Nails are the economical system currently
used by all major builders in GTA when building new houses. Nails will eventually
start coming loose and are not the best option.
We at DVC Aluminum install our gutters with premium
quality hanger brackets. In our opinion, this is the best fastening system
currently available on the market. The advantages of this system:
1.
Brackets are screwed in so they don't come loose.
2. Brackets
are installed on the inner side of gutters which makes them hidden/invisible.
A: If
your house is surrounded by trees, we at DVC Aluminum advise purchase of strong, reliable, quality leaf guard that will
prevent leaves from entering the gutters. It's very important to initially
install good leaf guard (with new gutters or on top of recently cleaned
existing gutters). If low quality leaf guard is installed and fails to
perform you will be faced with a bigger problem. We carry samples of hanger
brackets and leaf guard to all our free estimate appointments. This
way you can see and touch the product and there are no surprises.
You may
have been introduced to a product that serves as both leaf guard and gutter
fastener. It's a leaf guard that clamps on top of gutters and it gets
attached to fascia board with screws (holding and attaching the gutter as
well). We at DVC Aluminum have carefully
considered the advantages and disadvantages of this product. Overall it's not a
bad product, but currently it's not the best bang for your buck. Simply
installing hanger brackets and high end leaf guard will do the job and save you
money.
A: Large amounts of ice in the gutter are caused by
insufficient insulation in the roof system. Heat goes up through the roof, heats
up the snow which melts and turns into ice inside the gutter. Another cause
of ice in the gutter can be improper gutter slope. If water sits in
your gutters in the summer, ice will be there in the winter.
A: New houses that are currently being built by all major
builders in GTA feature the 2.5"x2.5" (small square) downspouts. Even
though these downspouts are called "small square", in 99% of
installations this kind of downspout combined with 5" gutters works
well. We
at DVC Aluminum like to install the 3"x3" (large square) downspouts on
your property for one simple reason. Large square downspouts allow more water to
flow faster as we try to avoid any possible gutter overflow caused by heavy
rainfalls. It is also possible to go with even larger downspouts
(4"x3"), but if you opt for this kind your colour options become limited since not many
suppliers carry it. Also, these 4"x3" downspouts may appear bulky on small-mid size houses.
A: It's always better to have more downspouts than
less. If more downspouts are being installed it's easier for contractors to
configure a proper gutter slope. Good slope ensures water will not be
sitting in your gutters. Unfortunately, some home owners are limited with
the amount of places where downspouts can be installed. In this case we try our
best to find available spots in order to install sufficient amount of downspouts
and get water away from the house.
I think that covers most frequently asked gutter related questions.
Don't hesitate to email me at vedran@dvcaluminum.com
if you have a question that I did not cover. Thank you.
Vedran Cvitanovic
DVC Aluminum :: Your local
siding, soffit/fascia and gutter professional!
www.dvcaluminum.com
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