Seamless Gutters, Leaf Guards, Decorative Rain Chains, Downspouts, Cost, Options and More!

First and foremost, congratulations! I heard the great news that you are finally in the process of developing your brand new home and you have the opportunity to design your entire home – inside and out!

While that’s such a beautiful moment to be grateful for, some part of you might be a little on edge at the thought of all the thousands of parts, brands, designs, textures, equipment, or even colors that you have to pick from. But HEY! Stop it! It’s a blessing – remember! You should be jumping up and down as you are planning your home improvements – I mean it’s your home!

When it comes to building, improving and/or remodeling your home, whether with the help of a professional contractor or DIY style, there is one facet this is absolutely crucial and you can’t miss or fail here. This one facet protects your home and keeps your home safe and you dry. Do you know what we are talking about here? It’s Gutters!

Gutters are the protectorate that keeps your home, roof and you clean, mildew free and dry! Now, Gutters can be quite complex, but for you it’s easy! Why?

You’re here and we are going to break it all down for you in this Ultimate Buying Guide for Homeowners on Seamless Gutter Costs. We are going to talk about the best seamless gutters, costs, and the pros and the cons.

By the end, you will be dancing outside but this time, in front of your brand new beautiful home that has your favorite seamless gutters! Are you ready for this journey? Well, let’s go!

Why Seamless Gutters?

I am very excited to share all this amazing information with you. With that being said, you are probably wondering why I already decided that the gutters are Seamless.

The answer is simple: Seamless Gutters are the only way! While there are other options, in the real game of protecting your home, there is only one: Seamless Gutters.

Why? Well here’s the situation if you were to buy a regular and basic gutter, the reality is after a couple of years the risk of your gutter failing increases as weather will wear the joints and seams, which then in turn causes you to fork of the Benjamins to your local Home Depot or Lowe’s.

If you were to put down a couple extra dollars and buy the higher quality gutter, you are investing in your home and future.

With Seamless Gutters, they are custom, have no joints and the material is built to last! So instead of the increasing risks, why not just by Seamless? The advantages are clear, evident and obvious!

Picking Out The Perfect Material

Now prior to getting into any anything, I am sure you are already thinking about costs and materials – that’s natural, it’s okay. With that being said, I figured I would give you a briefing on the different types of materials you can get your seamless gutters in.

Now with each of the materials I will provide you with, they all depend on your preferences and what you are willing to so spend.

Now let me give you a little heads up on pricing too. So the prices will vary depending upon where you make your purchases.

The numbers provided are the guides to what you should be expecting to pay. So if you are shopping somewhere and they are charging $20-$30 more than the price in this guide, you know what to do right?

Aluminum (The Most Common)

The first up on the list is Aluminum and it’s in fact the most common of the three.

Truth be told that over 80% of installations on homes with Seamless Gutters are from this material. Why? It’s the most cost-effective and super effective at their job.

What’s unique about Aluminum Seamless Gutters is you can customize them according to your home and style. For an example, with aluminum, you have the opportunity to select different thicknesses of the material and even primary and secondary aluminum.

If you are unfamiliar with the difference, it’s just that secondary aluminum is a bit cheaper and made from weaker materials.

The recommendations for this one is to try to stick with primary aluminum instead of secondary because it’s worth the extra pennies and always try to stick with the thickest material, it’s the most durable.

Now let’s get into pricing. Depending on where you go and how you decide to install it, you are looking at roughly $10-$12 per ln. ft. (measured in linear feet) installed, depending on the size of your home.

Now before you might gasp at that, hey, remember this is an investment! This is your home not a shack down the street. Invest it well and watch your home prosper and gleam in the golden light.

Steel (Industrial Purposes)

Now, if you read up on Steel Seamless Gutters, you might learn that they aren’t that common for your home. The reason behind this is that Steel Seamless Gutters are actually used for larger buildings such as large commercial complexes, stores or even industrial space metal complexes. They would not benefit your home much at all – in fact it would not be much of an investment.

If you didn’t know steel will rust and the purpose of your gutters is to handle and process rain water, leaves and the snow. What do you think will happen to your expensive steel seamless gutters after a couple seasons? That’s right rust and then you’re ready for replacement.

In our opinion, if you are looking at steel, look away! To put up some steel seamless gutters, you are looking at hefty prices around $60-$80 per 10 ft. section. You tell me, have you looked away yet?

Cooper (The beautiful one of the bunch)

If you are a lover of ascetics and seeking a beautiful finishing touch to your home – check out copper seamless gutters. Copper Seamless Gutters provide the same benefits of aluminum in terms of durability and life but at the same time offer a beautiful look that will not only captivate your eyes, but also all of those who drive by your beautiful custom home.

The best case for copper seamless gutters is for those who own brick mansions with slate roofs or for those who own modern custom homes – so if you fall into that category, totally check out copper seamless gutters.

Now I know you are probably itching to learn about the cost, right? Well for copper, we are looking at a mere $25-30 per ln. ft. installed, which is not bad at all! You want style? You want flair? Look no further!

Other Options

Now, if you are not happy with either of these options, there are still some other options that are less common because only a select few actually utilize these materials.

In our opinion, there are three other main options. Two of the three options you have are zinc and vinyl – they are less common because they do not provide the same utility as the other materials.

The third, other option is contacting a custom builder and developing and creating your own gutter system. In a world of technology, if you have a pretty penny, you can purchase and create gutters to your complete preference. The choice is yours!

The Best Option

Okay, okay, now that we have discussed several different materials when it comes to seamless gutters – I am sure you are awaiting to hear what the best option is, right?

Well, in our opinion, it all comes down to style and flair; it’s either aluminum or copper. While there are many options, those are the true options for you.

All of the other options provide no benefit compared to aluminum and copper. With seamless gutters made from aluminum or copper, you are investing in longevity, beauty, safety and happiness. Just like in the stock markets – you don’t want to invest in something that rusts in the future! Invest in aluminum or copper ya’ll!

What You Are Not Thinking About – Yet!

You know those moments you are shopping at the store and all of the sudden as you are about to check out, the cashier brings to your attention a ton of sales and deals and all of the sudden you find yourself spending a couple hundred more than expecting? Well, I am here to prevent that from even happening to you!

This is all about the 101 of gutters right? It’s the ultimate gutter guide! So now that you picked out your brand new gutter material, there are a few things that you are probably not thinking about yet.

For an example, have you thought about enhancements for your gutter? There are a several enhancements that will allow for a more peaceful fall, winter, spring and summer clean-up. What I am going to do for you is bring to your attention several of the most popular enhancements and you can decide if they apply for you.

1. Gutter Leaf Guards

What are Gutter Leaf Guards all about? Well Gutter Leaf Guards are simply a mesh guard or solid guard that will protect your beautiful new seamless gutter from getting clogged up with leafs and other fall-like excess.

Now, the best option is to purchase one that will not corrode or begin to diminish overtime – just like your seamless gutter! They can get a bit pricey, but they are totally worth it in the long run. The pricing can vary here, depending on the material and who installs it.

If you are installing a gutter leaf guard by yourself, you are looking at the more affordable range of $200. This price is determined by the quality of the product you buy and what resources you might need to install the product by yourself.

Now, if you are planning on going with a contractor, your price range jumps up the scale! Through this route, you are looking at roughly $1000 or more for an installment rate.

To give you a little math on this; gutter guards roughly cost $6-$7 per lineal foot. If you are to think about the square foot of an average home, an individual is looking at roughly 200 feet of pure seamless gutters. With that being said, with professional installment, you can be looking at $1,500 here with this example.

2. Downspout Screens and Strainers

These are investments that are super cheap but are totally worth it to prevent any future maintenance issues in the future. They both coexist with each other – one redirects the yuck that is flowing in your beautiful new gutters and the other is one that prevents any of that yuck from clogging up in your drain!

In total, you are looking at $25 for the both of them – tell me, is that not worth it? Would you rather get dirty and have to fix it or just buy the materials now and never get in that situation in the first place?

Decorative Rain Chains

Now there is one more fascinating aspect about downspouts that I want to bring to your attention. There are decorative options to Downspouts and they are called Rain Chains.

Rain Chains are one of the hottest new trends happening right now and they are stunningly beautiful. The purpose of the Rain Chain is the same exact thing as Downspouts except they are decorative.

Rain Chains will not only drain the water from your gutter to the ground but it will create waterfall-like effects with ambient noises. There are all different styles of rain chains you can pick from and the prices vary depending upon the type of material you buy.

If you are totally intrigued by this option, here is more info for ya! 😉

3. Wire Mesh Screens

I know one thing you are totally not thinking about right now is all your bug friends that are just waiting, eagerly to eat away at your brand new gutter system.

How do you prevent that from even starting? A wire mesh screen! If you are willing to invest in this one, you are looking into spending roughly $1.5 per ln. ft. Trust me – it’s worth it. Unless you want unexpected bugs!

4. Heat Tape

Now, I am not sure where you might reside but if you live in an area where snow seems to accumulate, do you know what you need to protect your gutters and home?

Heat Tape! It’s simple. Heat tape cable will protect your seamless gutter and downspouts from breaking down due to ice dams. With a heat tape cable, you simple activate it when there is a buildup of ice and voila! Ice be gone! It’s that simple and totally worth it! For this, you are looking at an extra $80 for a 120 ft. cable.

5. Water Collection System

In this day and age, everyone is joining the movement in conservation and preservation of our planet. With that being said, you can join this movement by building a water collection system.

What this enhancement is about is purchasing a rain barrel or collection system that will collect all the rain water in your beautiful new seamless gutter so that you can eventually use that rainwater, instead of your own water, which ultimately racks up the bills causing you to spend more money out of that purse or wallet that you want to open to money rather than shell away.

Doesn’t the sound free water sound nice? Now, when it comes to these systems, there are all different styles, materials and designs!

If you are curious about pricing – it totally varies. In our opinion, there is a beautiful rain barrel/water collection system kit that you can find any a variety of home improvement stores for little over $200.

DIY or Super Hero Install-man To the Rescue?

So now knowing a bit about the materials and the different enhancements you can purchase, I am sure you are already wondering – can I install this myself or should I give a ring to the local super hero install-man? For the pun, that just means your local home improvement company.

Now when it comes to the debate of whether or not – you are looking at a major gap in pricing.

Lucky for you, we are going to weigh these options for you as well! I mean we live in a world of “Do It Yourself” or DIY, but is that the best option? Well to be honest, there is only one option: a contractor.

In fact, if you are looking for seamless gutters, truth be told, you can only hire a contractor to install these styles – it’s the smartest and wisest way.

In our opinion, if you are going to be buying seamless gutters, why not make the process of installing just as seamless and have someone install it for you? Right?