We measure and cut every gutter run

Every new gutter job starts with measuring

A new gutter system is decided at the estimate, long before install day. We walk every side of the house and measure each stretch of roof edge that sheds water. Then we look at how much roof drains to each stretch. A big back slope sends far more water to its gutter than a short porch roof does. Those two runs do not always get the same size gutter. We write it all down so the quote matches your house.

We also check the fascia, the board along the roof edge that the gutter screws into. A gutter is only as solid as the wood behind it. On a lot of older Pinellas houses that board is wood, and an old leaking gutter leaves it soft at the corners. Finding that at the estimate means you hear about it before the job starts, not halfway through.

Color gets picked at the same visit. We bring color options so you can hold them against your trim and fascia. Blair "measured the house, showed me color options for the gutters and helped pick the color we were aiming for," one customer wrote. Once the measurements and color are settled, you get a quote for that house. Then you decide from there.

• Every roof edge measured before we quote
• K-style or half round gutters
• Color matched to your trim
• Hidden hangers fastened into solid fascia
• Old gutters removed and the area cleaned up

K-style and half round suit different houses

Most houses around Oldsmar get K-style gutters. From the street the front has a curved face that looks like crown molding, and the flat back sits tight to the fascia. A K-style gutter holds more water than a round one of the same width. That matters here, where a summer storm can drop a lot of rain in a short burst. We hang K-style in six and seven inch sizes, and the larger size goes under steep or wide roof sections.

Half round gutters are a rounded, open trough, the shape you see on a lot of older homes. They suit a house where the gutter is part of the trim, like a bungalow with painted wood details. We install half round in widths from six to eight inch, with round downspouts to match. We also install copper gutters. Copper goes up bright and darkens to a deep brown as it weathers, and that change is part of why people choose it.

If you are not sure which style fits, look at the rest of the house. A block and stucco ranch with a flat fascia board nearly always looks right in K-style. Half round looks more at home on a house with rounded or decorative trim. When a roof sheds a lot of water onto one side, a larger K-style or an eight inch box gutter makes more sense. At the estimate we tell you which one we would pick and why.

Installation day follows the same order

The old gutters come down first. That is when the fascia behind them finally shows its real condition. If the old gutter leaked for a long time, the wood is often soft. A new gutter screwed into soft wood can pull loose the first time it fills in a storm. Rotten boards get replaced before anything new goes up. Soffit and fascia work in wood or vinyl is on our service list, so it does not wait on another company.

Next we set the slope. Each run needs a slight fall toward its outlet. Too little slope leaves water sitting in the trough, and too much makes the gutter look crooked against the roofline. We mark a straight sloped line on the fascia and hang the gutter to it. Hidden hangers sit inside the trough and screw through into the board. Where the fascia leans, wedges go behind the gutter so its front edge stands straight.

Corners are where a new gutter is most likely to leak, so we take our time on them. On a square corner we often use a strip miter: two cut ends joined, with a strip of metal over the seam. A corner that is not square, like the one around a bay window, gets a bay miter. Every miter and end cap is sealed from the inside. Skip that on one corner and you get a drip on the same patch of stucco every time it rains. When the last run is up, the work area gets cleaned before we leave.

Florida storms are hard on gutters

Summer rain around Tampa Bay tends to come fast and heavy, often in the late afternoon. A gutter sized for a gentle rain overflows in that kind of storm. The worst spot is below a valley on a shingle roof. Water from two sides of the roof pours into one short stretch there and shoots over the front edge. That is why we size gutters and place outlets by looking at the roof above them, rather than measuring the wall alone.

Wind is the second problem. During hurricane season, gusts push rain sideways and pull at anything loose along the roof edge. A gutter hung on hangers set far apart, in wood that was already soft, is the one that ends up in the yard. Hangers set close together in solid fascia keep the gutter on the house. You cannot see that difference from the ground, and it is the part that decides whether the gutter is still up after a big storm.

A lot of houses around Oldsmar and Safety Harbor are concrete block with stucco walls and a wood fascia board at the roof edge. Without a working gutter, roof water falls in a line along the foundation. It digs a trench in the sandy soil and splashes dirt up onto the bottom of the wall. After enough storms, the stucco there stains and the planting beds wash out. A new gutter catches that water at the roof edge and sends it to the downspouts instead.