Seamless Gutters for Northwest Arkansas Rain

Northwest Arkansas gets real rain. Spring storms drop it fast, and a summer thunderstorm can leave the yard under water in a hurry. Your roof collects all of that water, and your gutters decide where it goes. When they work, you never think about them. When they don't, water finds its own way down: over the fascia, behind the siding, into the flower beds and, eventually, toward the foundation.

Here's how seamless gutters differ from the older sectional kind, and what to look at when you're deciding on either.

Seamless versus sectional

Sectional gutters come in short pieces, usually joined end to end along the roofline. Every joint is a seam that has to be sealed, and every seam is a place where sealant can age, dry out and start to drip.

Seamless gutters are formed from a single continuous run, cut to the length of each side of your house. The only seams are at the corners and the downspout outlets, where they have to be. That's the whole advantage in one sentence: fewer joints means fewer places to leak.

• Fewer leak points, because long runs have no joints in the middle
• Lower maintenance, since there's less sealant to inspect and redo
• A clean, custom-fit look along the fascia, with no repeating seam lines
• More ways to match your house, since seamless gutters come in a variety of colours and finishes

Custom fit is the real point

Seamless gutters aren't bought off a shelf. They're made to measure for your house, so each run fits the roofline it's going on. That matters on homes with long straight eaves, where a sectional system would have a lot of joints, and on homes with odd corners and dormers, where a precise fit takes care.

Roofing & Gutter Experts installs seamless gutters across Springdale, Fayetteville, Rogers, Bentonville, Bella Vista and Centerton. The Seamless Gutters page describes them as built for heavy rain and storms, and as a custom-fit option with durability and curb appeal in mind.

Colour and curb appeal

Gutters run along the whole edge of the house, so they're a much bigger part of its look than most people realise. White gutters on a brick house disappear into the trim. Darker ones can frame a charcoal roof. You can match the fascia, the siding or the windows. It's worth looking at a few options against your actual house before you choose.

Drainage is the job

Gutters look like trim, but they're drainage equipment. Their job is to collect roof water and carry it away from the parts of the house that suffer when they get wet. Three places matter most:

• Foundation. Water dumped beside the footing can pool and soak into the ground against the house.
• Siding and fascia. Overflow runs down the wall and sits behind the siding, where it's hard to see and slow to dry.
• Landscaping. A downspout that empties onto a flower bed can wash out the mulch and the plants.

Where the downspouts let go of the water is as important as the gutter itself. A downspout that ends right at the corner of the house isn't finished. Extensions or splash blocks that send water out onto the lawn, away from the walls, are a standard part of doing the job properly.

Pitch matters too. A gutter has to slope toward its downspout, even if only slightly, or water will stand in it. Standing water adds weight and invites debris to settle, and it's usually the first sign that a run has sagged or was hung without enough fall.

Gutters belong in a hail inspection

When a hailstorm goes through, gutters and downspouts often show it first. They're thin, exposed and close to the ground, so dents and dimples are easy to spot. Roofing & Gutter Experts checks gutters and downspouts for hail damage during storm inspections, and damage found there can help show what the storm did to the rest of the roof.

Dented gutters can still work, but a dent can also hide a crease or a pulled seam that leaks. If the storm was serious enough to mark the gutters, ask for the roof to be inspected at the same visit.

Signs it's time to look at yours

• Water spilling over the front edge during ordinary rain
• Staining or peeling paint on the fascia or soffit
• Seams that drip, or runs that sag away from the house
• Dents or dimples after a hailstorm
• Pooled water or washed-out soil along the foundation

If any of those sound familiar, the Seamless Gutters page is the place to start. It explains the gutter options Roofing & Gutter Experts installs. To ask about your own house, use the Contact page or call 479-435-3837.