We do gutters across East Lake

Heavy tree cover fills East Lake gutters

Much of East Lake was built among the trees. Neighborhoods sit under live oaks and tall pines, with Brooker Creek Preserve off to the east. That shade helps a house stay cooler in summer. It also means gutters here fill up faster than they do on a street with young trees. Live oaks shed their old leaves in spring, and pine needles keep coming down the rest of the year.

Pine needles cause the most trouble. They clump into a wet mat over the downspout opening and hold water in the gutter. A gutter that stays full overflows at the corners and runs down the back onto the fascia board. Wood fascia that stays wet goes soft. Once that happens, the hangers pull loose and the gutter starts to sag away from the roof edge. From the ground, the first sign is usually a dark streak down the wall under a corner.

So on an East Lake house we look up at the trees before we quote the gutters. We clear every run and make sure each downspout drains to the ground. Then we check the fascia behind the gutter, because a clean gutter on a rotten board will still pull loose. Where the wood has rotted, we repair the soffit and fascia first. On lots under heavy oak or pine, we also go over gutter guard options. You decide if guards are worth it for your lot.

• Leaves and pine needles cleared from every run
• Every downspout checked so it drains to the ground
• Fascia boards tested for soft or rotted wood
• Soffit and fascia repaired before gutters go back up
• Gutter guard options explained for heavily wooded lots

Summer storms overload small gutters

Summer rain in East Lake usually comes in the afternoon, and it comes hard. A thunderstorm can dump a lot of water on a roof in a few minutes. Plenty of houses here are two stories with wide roofs, and all of that water leaves through the downspouts. If the gutter is too small or has too few downspouts, water spills over the front edge and drops beside the wall.

That water has to land somewhere. Much of the soil in Pinellas is sandy, and it washes out fast. You see it as a trench in the mulch bed under a corner, or a bare strip where the grass used to be. Water that keeps landing beside the house soaks the ground at the foundation and splashes the bottom of the stucco. Left alone, that can turn into water damage or foundation trouble, and fixing either one is a much bigger job than gutters.

We size the gutters and downspouts to the roof, rather than copying whatever was there before. On a big roof that can mean a larger downspout size, or more downspouts along the back of the house. Where water still collects near the walls, we can pipe it underground to a pop up emitter out in the yard. A catch basin is another option on a low spot. Either way, the rain comes off the roof and ends up away from your house.

New gutters should suit East Lake homes

East Lake grew as planned neighborhoods, and several were built around golf courses. Many houses are block with a stucco finish, under shingle or tile roofs. On the older streets, the gutters may be the first set the house ever had. Those joints often drip in a storm, and some sections have started to lean away from the fascia. Once a system gets to that point, patching one leak at a time stops making sense.

We replace worn systems with K-style gutters made to the length of each wall, so the straight runs have no joints to leak. Hidden hangers fasten the gutter to the fascia from the inside, where you cannot see them from the street. The old gutters come down first, and the crew cleans up the work area before they leave. If one spot on the house has always overflowed, point it out, and we plan the new layout around it.

How the gutters look matters too, especially in neighborhoods with an association that reviews exterior changes. Besides K-style, we install half round and copper gutters for houses that suit them. You pick the color with us at the estimate. "The gutters look great and blend in with the house and trim color," one Google reviewer wrote. If your association has to sign off, give them the color early. That way the install date does not slip.

Getting a price in East Lake

Call (813) 539-5260 or ask for an estimate online, and tell us what your gutters are doing. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. East Lake is a short drive north of our shop in Oldsmar. Someone comes out to measure the house and look over the downspouts and fascia. You get a free written estimate before anything is scheduled.