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Let’s face it, most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their gutters. However, your gutters are an essential part of your house.
They drain water, leaves, and debris off of your roof. If it weren’t for gutters, your roof could be seriously damaged by rainwater. Mold can form when you do not have gutters. Gutters also protect your foundation from rainwater damage.
When gutters are full of water, they can overflow and cause water to seep into your foundation. As you can see here, water can also cause your home’s shingles to deteriorate.
Gutters tend to last about 20 years. If you need new gutters, or if you are building a new house and are looking into gutter installation, you are probably wondering how long the process will take, how much it will cost, and what kind of inconvenience you will have to deal with.
It helps to know the basic steps involved with putting in new gutters.
Remove Old Gutters
The first thing that must be done when replacing your gutters is to remove the old ones. The gutters of your home are located on the eaves. This has to be done very carefully so as not to damage the structure of your roof.
Once the gutters are off, the contractors will look for any damage to your roof. If there is damage to your roof, they will repair it before installing the new gutters.
The estimate you get from a roofing contractor should include the cost of any potential repair to the roof.
In most cases, the repairs needed will be nominal. They will usually just replace boards that are damaged. If extensive repairs are needed, the job may take an extra day or two.
Removing old gutters from a roof can be a noisy business. You may want to arrange not to be home while the contractors work.
Measure the Eves and the Roof
Once the old gutters are removed, the contractors will measure the roof for the new gutters. They will have to determine where to put the new gutters. If they do not take accurate measurements, the gutters will never work properly.
Once the measurements are done, the contracts will cut the gutter and make the corners.
The gutters have to connect perfectly to downspouts that transport water from the gutter to the ground. The contractor must cut holes in the gutters that will align perfectly with the downspouts.
Gutter Installation
At this point, the contractor will put the gutters onto your home. Either screws or nails will be used to attach the gutters to your home. The gutters are attached to the fascia boards. The job will take several workers, and it will normally take one to two days.
When the gutters are attached, they will install the downspouts. This generally only takes a couple of hours. This is the most intrinsic part of the job.
The downspouts must be installed in such a way that the water falls onto the ground. If downspouts are miss-aligned, water can get into your basement. If you don’t have a basement, it can damage the floors of the house.
Cleaning Up
After a contractor installs the gutters, there will be quite a mess around your home. In addition to your old gutter, there will be pieces of discarded metal and boards from your roof.
Part of the contractor’s job is to clean up after themselves. A good contractor will leave the grounds around the home just like they found them.
How Much Will It Cost?
The cost of gutter installation will vary depending on the size and style of your home. The total cost is generally around $3000 to $5000.
A professional gutter cleaning can cost around $300 a year. The time of year you have any contracting work done may affect the price.
Contractors are always more in demand in the summer. Hence, you may want to schedule the work for Fall or Spring. It is not a good idea to have work done during Winter in Indiana.
Indiana does not require that roofers be licensed. General contractors are licensed, and you can check to make sure they are in good standing with the state of Indiana.
Never ignore the need for gutter replacement. Water damage to your home and mold can cost thousands of dollars. Keeping your gutters up to date and clean can help keep your money from going down the drain.
