Servicing Hudson Valley, NY
and surrounding areas
The main purpose of your gutter system is to direct the rainwater falling on your roof away from your home’s siding and foundation in a manner that does not erode your topsoil. It sounds simple enough. However, with random amounts of rainfall, accumulation of debris, existence of pests, sub-zero temperatures, water collection goals, and varying topography this task sometimes gets complicated.
Fortunately, there are gutter accessories to help achieve myriad goals through a variety of circumstances. We will focus on a half dozen useful items that help save water, mitigate icing, deal with leaves, manage torrential downpours, or even divert water further away from foundations with the purpose of mitigating water damage:
- Heat cables
- Rain barrels
- Gutter guards
- Leader drain leaf catchers
- Oversized leader connectors
- Underground drain connectors
Heat Cables
In the Northeast, in addition to flowing rainwater, we are sometimes challenged by frozen rainwater. When a snowstorm is followed by weeks of sub-freezing temperatures, a cycle of thawing and freezing results. Melted snow that does not drain quick enough before freezing overnight can form huge icicles or ice dams. The extra weight, clogged downspouts, and ever-accumulating ice blocks can wreak havoc on roofs, soffits, fascia, and even tear away gutters. Heat cables activated during frosty temperatures help prevent ice blocks.
Rain Barrels
You may want to capture rainwater to use for bathing, drinking or lawn watering. Some homeowners have simple barrels while others may have larger containers connected to a filtration system. Conservation is environmentally friendly and in certain instances imperative. Minor additions or modifications to a gutter system can support these objectives.
Leader Drain Leaf Catchers
Similar to the way gutter guards help prevent debris accumulating in your gutters, leader drain leaf catchers filter debris from downspouts before they enter and backup buried drainpipes.
Oversized Leader Connectors
The enlarged opening connecting gutters to downspouts or downspouts to drainpipes is designed to prevent clogs from leaves or other debris.
Underground Drain Connectors
If the soil near your home is not sufficiently pitched to carry rainwater away from your foundation, underground drain connectors can be extended for several feet to route gutter water accordingly. Essentially, the gutter downspout diverter or extension moves water a bit further from your house as warranted by your topography.
Other Accessories
There are other accessories – such as gutter brush or foam gutter guards – which are neither installed nor recommended by us. These items trap debris, retain water and promote mold – counter to the water-diversion purpose of gutters.
Accessories such as fasteners, drip edge, elbows, brackets, spout adapters, scupper boxes, conductor heads, ferrules, spikes, screws, hangers, miter boxes, or end caps are typically part of our gutter installation or repair. As such, we do not present them as “add-ons” to an existent gutter system that is designed to address specific challenges. We will cover them in other content posts – but not as a standalone service area.
We also offer splash guards, leader screens, downspout extensions, and cleaning applicators. If your project necessitates these accessories or if you are interested in implementing them, we can provide you with a quote.
Aluminum gutters are our standard installation. Accessories are available in a variety of materials to appropriately match vinyl or copper gutters. We typically do not work with vinyl gutters due to the excess weight, shorter durability, and lesser functionality of that material.
If you have further questions call us at (845) 896-4054.
