As we’ve mentioned several times in our home painting and gutters blog, gutter systems are an often overlooked, but vital part of a well-kept home in Texas — or anywhere for that matter.
Without a properly installed gutter system, a home’s foundation, driveway and other important locations can deteriorate much faster over time.
That being said, in the first part of this gutter guide we’re going to review some of the various materials used when making gutters and what our top pick is for homes in North Texas.
Rain gutters have been used to channel water away from structures dating back to the Roman era and have been made out of several types of materials. Here’s a short list of those materials:
Many of these materials are no longer used for making gutters, though some older material gutters still exist on historical structures, particularly in Europe.
Modern day gutters are primarily made out of vinyl, aluminum, steel and copper.
Vinyl or plastic are probably the least expensive out of these modern materials, but don’t stand the test of time like steel and copper.
Steel and copper are generally heavier, more expensive and harder to install but can last quite long. Many times copper is used to match an older aesthetic that was used when a house was originally built.
The perfect combination of durability, affordability and aesthetic, aluminum gutters are our top choice for gutters installed on homes in Plano, Wylie, McKinney, Allen and all of North Texas.
Aluminum gutters are lightweight, but also are corrosive-resistant meaning they can last for years without any noticeable damage (short of storm damage of course).
In next week’s post we’ll review some of the different gutter shapes and styles and review our top picks for the both.