Types of Gutters and Gutter Hanging Systems
By Mark J. Donovan
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Gutters play an important role in managing the water that rolls off your roof, and the type of gutter hanging system used can make or break their functional and aesthetic appeal. In many cases gutters are instrumental in preventing water from seeping into the basement. Gutters also help to prevent you from getting drenched when walking out the exterior doors of your home. Gutters also help to protect the home’s siding as water splashing up off the ground can quickly damage sills and exterior home siding.
There are several types of gutter styles to choose from and they come in various channel widths, including 4”, 5” and 6” widths. |
Down spouts are typically available in 2”x3” and 3”x4” dimensions. It is critical to select an appropriately sized gutter channel width and downspout when buying gutters.
| If you have a large roof surface and plan to use 4” channel width gutters with 2”x3” down spouts, water cascading off the roof will inevitably overflow the gutters and defeat their purpose. In addition, smaller sized gutters have the tendency to more easily clog.
Gutters typically come in K and U shaped patterns. Gutters are also made from a number of different types of materials. There are vinyl gutters, aluminum gutters, wooden gutters, copper gutters and galvanized metal gutters. Vinyl, aluminum, and galvanized metal gutters are typically more affordable than wooden and copper gutters. |
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Gutter hanging systems include brackets, spikes, straps and hangers. Some gutter hangers mount to the fascia board and the gutter channels set down into them.
| Crossbar gutter hangers work similarly, but instead go over the top of the gutter and clip into the front of it. In some cases, spikes are used to fasten the gutters to the fascia boards. In other cases, where there is no fascia board to mount the gutter hanging brackets to, straps are installed underneath the lower level shingles to support the gutters.
When shopping for gutters make sure to evaluate the thickness of the gutters. Aluminum gutters for example can be extruded out of various gauge aluminum stock. The thicker the gauge of aluminum used in molding the gutter, the stronger and more expensive it will be. |
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So before running out and buying the first gutter system you see, make sure you first carefully evaluate all of the gutter hanging systems on the market to see what is right for your particular home and budget.
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