Many homes in the Northern Virginia area have a standard builder-grade gutter system installed on their home. In general, most new home builders reduce costs by installing either light-weight or medium-weight 5-inch seamless aluminum gutters with the minimum number of downspouts necessary to drain water in an average rainfall. To further reduce costs, many of these systems were installed with gutter spikes spaced widely apart skipping every other truss to save on both labor and material.
While these gutter systems are functional during an average rainfall when new, they can be quickly overwhelmed during thunderstorms and as they age, the combination of thin material and poor attachment can lead to the gutters pulling away from the home. This further reduces the function and appearance of the system.
When shopping for replacement gutters for your home, consider meeting with a knowledgeable gutter installer that can assess your current gutter configuration and make suggestions for improvements such as revised downspout placement, the use of additional downspouts, an increase in gutter size and/or downspout size, screening options and, while not an aspect of function, color options to blend with or enhance your home’s trim color. When comparing prices, first determine the quality of the product based on thickness of the aluminum coil, the use of hidden-hangers and the correct spacing of the hanger system. For maximum durability and appearance with our seamless aluminum systems, Signature Roofing uses only heavy-weight .032 gauge aluminum coil and premium hidden-hanger with screw anchoring method.
For maximum performance we recommend our Signature Performance Gutter System which are designed using 6-inch gutters and 3×4 downspout configurations. Standard 5-inch gutters have a collection opening of 4.25 inches and are capable of holding 2 1/2 quarts of water per foot. Performance 6-inch gutters have a collection opening of 5.25 inches and a holding capacity of 4 quarts of water per foot – a 63% improvement over the standard system. This holding capacity combined with the increased dispersal rate of the 3×4 downspout will ensure performance in all but the heaviest of rainfall rates.