I just could not resist this title. This article is not a plug for the business which actually uses this name in Seattle, it just caused a chuckle. Rather like the hair stylists, Curl Up and Dye.
The main purpose of rain gutters is to protect a building’s foundation by channeling water away from its base. They also help to reduce erosion, prevent leaks in basements and crawlspaces, protect painted surfaces by reducing exposure to water, and provide a means to collect rainwater for later use.
In many building permit issuing jurisdictions, gutters are a requirement on any new building.
Water collected by a rain gutter is fed, usually via a downspout, from the roof edge to the base of the building where it is either discharged or collected. Collection systems for water carried from rain gutters may include a rain barrel or a cistern.
Excess water near the foundation of a building can cause settling. With the widely spaced columns of a pole building, a settled post can cause noticeable visual humps along the eave line. Repeated or prolonged exposure to moisture also creates susceptibility to mold, mildew and decay.
Properly functioning rain gutters channel harmful rain water and snow melt away from building foundations.
About ¾ of all rain gutters installed in the U.S. are made of seamless aluminum. At a moderate cost, they will last the lifetime of the building and are rust resistant, even when subjected to standing water for prolonged periods of time.
Seamless is somewhat of a misnomer – as seams do exist where gutters meet at corners or downspouts. It does afford fewer places where leaks could potentially occur.
This type of gutter cannot be done as a D-I-Y project, as they are formed out of flat coil stock by a gutter machine.
My personal experience is the gutter industry is very competitive. When I had the seamless continuous rain gutters and downspouts put on my own house and pole building garage, I was amazed at how reasonably priced they were.
There are lots of places to save money, when it comes to a pole building project however, in my opinion, trying to do rain gutters other than seamless is not the place to scrimp.
