Are seamless gutters worth it?

Usually, yes, if you are paying someone to install new gutters anyway. A seamless gutter is one piece along each straight run, so the joints that leak and pull apart on sectional gutters mostly disappear. It is not a different kind of drainage: it still needs the right size, slope, hangers and downspouts. And it is not a do-it-yourself product, because it is made on your driveway by an installer's machine.

What "seamless" means

Installers carry portable machines that produce seamless K-style and box gutters right on the jobsite, from raw coil to finished product.^[1] The crew measures each run, feeds painted metal coil through the machine, and gets one continuous piece from coil to install, with no pre-fab joints.^[1] New Tech Machinery, one of the makers, calls its 5-inch K-style machine the residential gutter industry standard and sizes its 6-inch machine for larger homes and light commercial work.^[1]

Seamless still has a few joints. Corners are mitred and sealed, the ends are capped, and each downspout outlet is cut into the gutter. What goes away is the joint every 10 feet along a straight run.

How sectional gutters go together

Sectional gutters are sold as parts for the buyer to assemble. Amerimax's installation sheet lists gutter in 10-foot lengths, joined with seamers or slip-joint connectors,^[2] and SeamerMate sealant goes on the end caps, the corner mitre joints and all connecting points.^[2] For its 6-inch gutter, 6-inch sections connect by cutting 3 inches off the top lip and sliding them together.^[2]

That is a perfectly workable system, and it lets a homeowner replace one damaged length on a single-storey eave. The catch is that each joint depends on its sealant, and joints are often where leaks start: sealant ages, and a knock from a ladder or a limb can open a seam.

When seamless is worth it

• You are hiring the work out. Seamless needs an installer with a forming machine anyway. If a bidder offers both, ask for seamless and sectional priced side by side on the same footage, so the difference is in writing.
• Your runs are long and straight. The longer the run, the more joints you avoid.
• You want fewer leaks to chase. Fewer joints means fewer spots to reseal over the life of the gutter.
• You care about the look. A run without a seam line every 10 feet looks cleaner from the street.

When sectional makes sense

• You are doing the work yourself on a low, single-storey eave.
• You are patching or extending part of an existing sectional system.
• The budget is tight and the runs are short, so there are few joints anyway.

What seamless does not change

Seams are only one way gutters fail. The Building America Solution Center, run for the U.S. Department of Energy, notes that the gutter's profile, K-style or half-round, is principally aesthetic, with no substantial difference in performance,^[3] and that gutters come in vinyl, aluminum, galvanized steel and copper.^[3] It adds that vinyl and aluminum can crack or dent from impacts from ladders and tree branches.^[3]

Whatever you buy, the same installation basics decide how it works:

• Slope. Gutters should slope at least 1/16 inch per foot of run toward the downspouts.^[3]
• Hangers. Amerimax calls for one hanger every 24 inches, or every 18 inches in heavy ice and snow areas.^[2]
• Downspouts. The Building America guide says downspouts should end at least 5 feet from the foundation.^[3]
• Fascia. A gutter, seamless or not, is only as solid as the board it is screwed to.

Seamless gutters on a rotten fascia, with too few hangers or one small downspout, will sag and overflow like any other. For the drainage side, see how to adjust gutters so they drain properly.

Warranties

Ask about two warranties, not one. The coil maker may warrant the paint finish: Englert, for example, offers a 20-year limited finish warranty on gutter material installed by authorized designers and installers in accordance with its specifications and maintenance instructions.^[4] The installer's own workmanship warranty, covering leaks at corners and outlets and hangers pulling loose, is a separate promise and belongs in the contract.

Hiring the job in Virginia

The Board for Contractors' consumer guide says that if the work you are considering is valued at $1,000 or more, a valid Virginia Contractor's License is required,^[5] while under the Code of Virginia a Class C licence covers jobs with a single contract over $1,000 and under $30,000.^[6] The statute is what governs, and the two differ only at exactly $1,000, so check the licence of anyone quoting a job near that figure or above it. The guide advises you to get at least three written bids or estimates using identical plans and specifications.^[5] The Board's regulations call for a written contract for residential work that lists the total cost, the down payment and payment schedule, the materials and work, and the contractor's name, address, licence number and class of licence.^[7]

Virginia's Home Solicitation Sales Act covers a sale in which the seller personally solicits it at your home and you give your agreement there.^[9] In that case you have until midnight of the third business day after you sign to cancel in writing.^[8] The Act does not cover a sale made pursuant to prior negotiations between the parties.^[9] There is also an emergency exception. If you asked the seller to provide goods or services without delay because of an emergency, you lose the right to cancel only when all three of these are true: the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning of performance before you gave notice of cancellation; in the case of goods, the goods cannot be returned to the seller in substantially as good condition as when you received them; and your emergency request was in a dated writing you personally signed that expressly states you understand you are waiving your right to cancel.^[8] Outside that exception, any waiver of the right to cancel is void.^[8] For what drives the price, see how much new gutters cost in Virginia.

Stop and call a pro if

• The gutters are above the first storey, or reaching them means getting onto the roof.
• The fascia behind the old gutters is soft or rotten, or water has been running behind the gutter.
• Clean gutters overflow in ordinary rain, so the system needs resizing, not just replacing.
• You want seamless gutters at all: forming them takes an installer's machine.

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