While gutters play a critical role in protecting your home from water damage, they also have a significant impact on the overall appearance of a home’s exterior. What will they be made of? Which gutter profile? What color? With so many options, how do you know if you’re making the right choice? To choose the right gutters for your home, take these factors into consideration.
Gutter Material
Gutter materials include vinyl, aluminum, steel and copper. Vinyl gutters are the least expensive; European gutters look beautiful and will last a lifetime; continuous aluminum gutters are cost-effective and low maintenance. Although cost is certainly a deciding factor, when choosing the right gutters for your home, select a gutter material that is:
- suited to the climate conditions of the local region
- complements the architectural style of your home
- durable and long-lasting but easy to maintain
Gutter Styles
Gutter style, also referred to as a gutter profile, is the shape of the outside surface of the gutter section. It is one of the elements that defines the personality of your home. The two most popular gutter profiles are K-style and half-round gutters. Other gutter styles include crown mold, two-step and colonial. In order for the gutter style to effectively contribute to the character of a home’s exterior, it should match or complement its architectural style.
Gutter Color
Select a colour for the gutters that will bring together all of the elements of your home’s exterior. If it’s too different from the tone of the roof, entry door and window trim, the gutters might clash, negatively affecting the aesthetics of the house’s exterior.
Gutter Size
When the gutters are too small, there is the risk of constant overflowing. If gutters are too large for a particular structure, they can ruin the smooth, continuous line of the eavestrough. For the gutter system to work efficiently, gutter size should be based on several considerations such as:
- annual rainfall for the area in which you live
- square footage of the roof
- steepness of the roof
