To Improve or Not to Improve Your House With New Gutters

Gutters Should Do More Than “Frame” Your Picture-Perfect Home
They need to work right to keep water from invading your house

Not only do your gutters need to look right, enhancing the look and complementing your style, they must work right for water to stay away from your house, inside and out. Gutters fail for several key reasons. More than simply getting “old”, gutters fail because the hangers and the fascia boards to which they are attached wear out due to inferior design. That old spike and ferrule hanging system placed every 10 feet or so just isn’t capable of handling the weight of ice and snow and the expansion and contraction of the gutter metal. Placing that stress on the hangers and wood they’re attached to are destine to fail. That you’re reading this report suggests this has happened to your gutters.

But what happens if you notice gutter trouble and wait?

Gutter problems, including leaders that aren’t properly attached or discharge properly, can take awhile to seriously complicate your life. Gutter problems might first present themselves as dripping where they shouldn’t or overflowing during heavier rains. You might notice a seperation between the gutter and the fascia board or vegetation sprouting up from inside. There could be creaking or scrapping sounds when a brisk wind blows loose leaders against your house or trees and shrubs.

But inevitably gutter problems of all types result in water accumulating where it shouldn’t, like on porch steps and walkways or inside your house, usually at the lowest level. Slips and falls when that outside accumlated water freezes is bad enough and is cause for you to take action to correct the problem. But when your house is invaded by water, maybe in areas of your basement that you rarely visit, that’s when real trouble starts.

Unheathly mold, mildew, and the stale odor of water-infiltrated enclosed spaces can occur when your gutters and leaders can’t move water away from your foundation. Water always seeks its level. Any items you have in the area of infiltration can be damaged or lost. There are few homeowner shocks greater than water invasion to put a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Murphy’s Law says such events, when the time could be worse for them to occur, is exactly when they will occur, like on the weekend or holiday, when friends or family are over, or when it compounds any other issues or problems you are facing. How to avoid all this grief, anxiety, and nasty feeling in your stomach. If you’re interested in learning more about the details behind gutter failure and how Burr’s AquaMaster system solves all the problems that beset all other gutter systems, eventually, please read on…

The Top 3 Reasons Why Gutters Fail & How Burr's Innovative AquaMaster Gutter Protection Systems Overcome Them All

Reason #1
Your gutter hangers aren't sufficient for the weight of water, ice and snow, and your gutters fail.

The Solution: Burr's AquaMaster system, with its hem back gutter and hanger design, supports your gutters for the entire length, not just every 2-3 feet like with ordinary gutters.

Reason #2
The stress and fatigue when the gutter metal normally expands and contracts simply wear out your gutters and hangers, and your gutters fail.

The Solution: The AquaMaster system allows for the gutters to slide along the hem during the routine expansion and contraction of the metal. They can't separate from the fascia boards like ordinary gutters will.

Reason #3
Overflow water spills onto your fascia boards repeatedly so the wood rots, the gutter hangers fall away from the fascia and your gutters fail.

The Solution: The innovative design includes a metal apron that raises the back wall 1 ¼ inches up the fascia. If your gutters should clog with seeds, leaves, ice or snow, water will spill out the front, not over the back and onto the fascia boards like with ordinary gutters. The possibility of fascia board wood rot is greatly reduced when your gutters are AquaMaster from Burr.

With new gutters, it's all about “the look” and the value you want, and that means choices
Did you know that gutters come in:
2 different styles
3 different materials (we aren't going to mention PVC)
2 different thicknesses of aluminum
4 different hanging mechanisms
Seamless or seams
A multitude of colors

And that's just the gutters. Leaders come in 4 different styles with 2 different ways to attach them. Which options are right for you depend on the look you want and the value you want to add to your house. But if your only question is “how much will it cost and when can you start?” you're likely to be disappointed.

Seamless or seamed, aluminum or copper, “classic” or ½ round… Burr will help you decide

Oh man, COPPER! Especially if your roof is slate or wood, you must consider copper gutters and leaders. No matter what your roof is made of, you can't beat the way copper gutters & leaders will “frame” your picture-perfect home. Sure, copper gutters cost more than other material options, but you just might have to splurge a little to complete that perfect look for your home. Just decide between copper and aluminum, which comes in 14 colors, and then choose the gutter style that's best for you…

Both styles come in copper or aluminum

Burr gutter style options include seamless classic “O.G.-Style” with AquaMaster's unique 5” hemback design, or sleek-looking ½ round with seams every 20'. Inthe case of copper ½ -round, the seams are soldered, enhancing the look even further. Burr aluminum gutters are all 0.032 inch gauge versus the thinner 0.027 inch gutters installed by many builders, home centers and replacement gutter contractors who only care about price, not quality. No matter what style is best for you, they'll be custom-manufactured to your specifications on-site.

“Old fashioned” Corrugated “O.G.” or Unique Hem Back “O.G.” from Burr?

All replacement gutter contractors, except Burr, offer the old fashioned corrugated “O.G” style gutters. They're hung with hidden hangers and include the bizarre trait of having the gutters support the hangers rather than the hangers supporting the gutters. Weird but true!
Not only that, they're fixed in place with no place to go. Expansion and contraction of the metal can add and subtract ½ inch for 20' of gutter during the normal heating and cooling that occurs throughout the year. Corrugated “O.G” gutters, with hidden hangers every 2-3 feet, divide the gutter into sections. Each section is pinned at two points by the hangers. The recurring stress of expansion and contraction on the hangers and gutters can cause them to pull away from fascia, or buckle, loosening the hangers and allowing moisture to migrate between the gutters and fascia. That can lead to gutter failure and fascia wood rot over time.

The hanging mechanism makes the difference between your gutters hanging right or hanging down

Gutter spikes and the ferrules, the way your gutters are likely attached to your fascia boards now, are so inferior. Aluminum gutters like to twist, we call it torque, and will do so up to a quarter turn for every 25' of gutter. Couple this natural torque with the normal moisture in the fascia boards, and those spikes are eventually coming out. Then you've got gutter failure. This might be contributing why you're considering new gutters now.

The Mechanical Superiority of Burr's innovative AquaMaster design provides total home gutter protection

Burr's innovative AquaMaster hem back system includes reciprocal interlocking “J” hooking all along the back of the gutter and along the back of the apron, which is attached to the entire length of the fascia board. The “J” back of the gutters hang and slide on the “J” tracks of the hem apron. The metal hangers then actually support the gutters by attaching to the apron on the fascia with screws and hook under the front lip of the gutter. The gutters literally slide back and forth along the apron during expansion and contraction so no loosening or buckling can occur.
The possibility of fascia board wood rot is further reduced because the metal apron extends up onto the fascia 1 ¼ inches above the gutter, providing added protection for the fascia. This is a key component of the superior mechanical design of the AquaMaster system.

The right leaders with the right fasteners complete your “look”

To complete the clean look you desire Burr routinely uses hidden pipe cleats with the very best rust-resistant zinc screws painted to match your gutter/leader color. However, pipe bands are available for architectural and other decorative purposes.
Leaders come in 2 x 3” or 3 x 4” corrugated, or 3” or 4” smooth round or 3” or 4” corrugated/flute styles. There is some flexibility with the number of leaders required and their locations. Typically you need one 2 x 3 leader for every 600 sq. ft. of roof. However, your Burr consultant can explain all your options for size and placement so your leaders can complete the look and add the value you desire to your home.

Leader failure can cause gutter failure

The #1 cause of leader failure, when they separate from the side of your house and then from the gutters, is the loosening and rusting of the screws used to attach them. Burr only uses the very best zinc red rust protected screws from Raytec, the leader in leader screws. Almost all other installers use screws plated with the very thinnest coating of zinc, the type designed for indoor use, which only lasts between 24-48 hours in an industry standard salt spray test. Raytec screws, designed specifically for outdoor use, are plated by an innovative process that rates 200 hours in that very same test. Raytec engineers have distinguished themselves by developing the “Gold Standard” for leader screw durability and are further evidence that Burr is your smart choice for gutters and leaders too.

Fascias can be a problem, but not with Burr

Just like with roofing projects, wood problems can sometimes only be identified after the project's begun. Burr only uses the most rot-resistant wood available, pre-primed redwood, or new high tech, rot-proof Azek composite trimboards, if your fascia boards need to be replaced.If your fascia requires painting along with your house-painting project, Burr will coordinate your old gutter removal and new gutter installation with your painting contractor. Burr will remove your old gutters and leaders, wait for the completion of your painting project, and return to manufacture and install your new gutters.