Real quick, on a scale of 1-10, if I were to ask you how important your home’s rain gutters are what would you rank them?
Two…?
Four…?
Or, perhaps eight…?
The true answer is that working rain gutters are 10 out of 10 in the importance of protecting your home’s exterior. While at times we often tend to overlook our home’s gutters, ask someone who has experienced issues with their gutters and they will tell you rain gutter issues are very noticeable.
Today, we will share with you everything you need to know about rain gutters including:
- What rain gutters do
- What type of rain gutters you can get
- How much rain gutters cost, & more!
Everything to Know About Rain Gutters
Let us assume you’re not the rain gutter expert (don’t worry, most are not), in that case, we can start by asking the most basic gutter question, however, before we do that checkout with Preston had to say about his home’s gutters!
What are Rain Gutters in the first place?
Rain gutters are long, horizontal trough-like fixtures that are attached along the edges of your roof and home that typically come in 5-inches or 6-inches. They are attached to your home’s fascia boards.
The purpose of your gutters is to collect rainwater during storms from your roof, channel the water to the gutter downspouts, and finally, the downspouts disperse the rainwater away from your home’s foundation.
In a working gutter system, this is a smooth and efficient operation. However, in the event your home’s rain gutter system is compromised, there are possible issues which include:
- Falling gutters & missing rain gutters
- Clogged gutters
- Gutter leaks
- Loose gutters
When one of these problems occur the result can be:
- Exterior water leaks
- Foundational issues & leaks
- Erosion
- Sitting water in landscaping
Are rain gutters worth it?
You can read more about the value of rain gutters here, however, unless you have a home that is designed to recycle rainwater (such as a deckhouse styled home), rain gutters are not just worth it – but they’re required for inspection and home protection.
Without gutters, homeowners experience water leaks within their walls and the very high possibility of foundational issues. Now some ask the “Are rain gutters worth it?” question in reference to the value of the gutters.
In this case, we will say that the best looking gutters might be cooper or steel, however, these cost thousands. In that case, most people opt for durable, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing aluminum gutters.
Which, we will share those gutter costs below after first discussing the best types!
What type of rain gutters are the best?
Preference goes into deciding what the best type of rain gutters are best since there are plenty of types of rain gutter materials including:
- Aluminum,
- Copper,
- Steel,
- Zinc,
- Vinyl
The most common and durable material for rain gutters – at a great price – are seamless aluminum rain gutters.
Styles of gutters include the most common “K Style” gutters and half-round gutters aka “European Style” gutters. For cost-saving and customization purposes, typically your best bet for price and durability is aluminum K-style gutters.
Copper, steel, and even ceramic type gutters are extremely expensive. They are pleasant looking and commonly seen on old mansions and in European type homes, however, aluminum gutters are the most common for many reasons.
While vinyl gutters are the cheapest, they are sectional, which means more leaks. Not to mention vinyl gutters are easily damaged, as they are naturally weaker than their counterparts. Not to mention that aluminum gutters come in a wide variety of colors in addition to being the most affordable.
How much do rain gutters cost?
Most people want to know the price of rain gutters and we make that easy. New Seamless Aluminum gutters cost somewhere between $5.50 and $6.50 per linear foot. Gutter guards cost $10 per linear foot.
- 6-Inch Gutters: $6.50 Per Linear Foot
- 5-Inch Gutters: $5.50 Per Linear Foot
- Raindrop Gutter Guard: $10 Per Linear Foot
This means if you need 100 linear feet of gutter, you would pay $550 for 5-inch gutters and $650 for 6-inch gutters. If you added 50 feet of gutter guard you would add another $500 (which is well worth it as we explain later).
These are rough averages of rain gutter pricing:
- Townhome: Aproxiamtely $1,000
- Single Family Home: $1,500 to $2,000 +
- Large Homes: $2,500 to $3,000+ depending on size, proches, etc.
Factors that determine the price for new gutters include things like the number of levels, the length of downspouts, porches/garages with gutters & hip roofs.
What color rain gutters are there?
The best thing about selecting aluminum rain gutters aside from the price and durability is the color options. Traditionally, most people select “K-Style” seamless gutters, because they can customize their rain gutter color to just about anything!
While typically eggshell and white tend to be the most common colors for homes, homeowners do have the ability to select the color of their custom seamless rain gutters. For example, black gutters are becoming more and more popular to offer contrast against the lighter siding.
The rain gutter colors listed above that Top Dog Home Pro offers include:
- Wicker
- Dark Green
- Dark Grey
- Eggshell
- White
- Ivory
- Light Grey
- Mucket Brown
- Red
- Cream
- Clay
- Brown
- Bronze
- Black
Are gutter guards worth it?
Now you know what rain gutters are, why they’re vital for your home’s stormwater management, how much they cost, and all the possibilities of color you can choose. The last question you might have is the common, “Are gutter guards worth it?” question.
Let us help you with that answer.
When we wrote this article here about the best gutter guards, what readers found out was that like most things in life, gutter guards are not all created equal.
There are certainly extremely cheap options that claim to offer your gutters “Leaf Protection,” however, these tend to cause more issues than they do help. On the other hand, there are also countless instances where extremely pricey gutter guards selected and they do a great job protecting gutters from leaves – but they don’t allow water to get in or they need cleaning!
What is the point in having a gutter guard if you have to:
- Clean the gutter guards
- Water can’t enter your gutters
So, if you make the wrong selection, there is the possibility that gutter guards are not worth it. However, there are solutions.
The perfect gutter guard should be:
- Affordable
- Durable
- Self-cleaning
- Hassle-free
Luckily, you now know about Raindrop Gutter Guards, which offer all four! Using a polypropylene material combined with a full mount surface tension guard, Raindrop provides maximal protection from leaves, requires no cleaning, and is durable as any guard! Just see below:
Not to mention, because the Raindrop gutter guard is so powerful and effective, we can offer a lifetime no-clog gutter warranty!
So as you can clearly see, the rain gutters that do the best are usually protected by the best!
As a final note on rain gutters, we would like to let you know that if you have any questions feel free to reach out! A cool tool you may want to consider using includes this gutter pricing calculator.
Lastly, here are the rain gutter areas we serve:
See our complete gutter service area page here and be sure to check out our learning resource hub! We also proudly serve the following cities for your gutter needs: Stafford, Dumfries, Woodbridge, Lorton, Springfield, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, Haymarket, Gainesville, Nokesville, and many more!
