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There are very few things less fun than cleaning out your rain gutters. Regularly cleaning out these rainwater troughs is more critical than ever in Seattle. Though Seattle gets the same amount of annual rain as the United States overall—38 inches—it rains for a whopping 152 days of the year. This makes semi-annual cleaning combined with gutter guards in Seattle a must for homeowners.
Generally, Seattle and the Pacific Northwest don’t get a lot of heavy rain, but an impressive amount of fir needles and other plant debris quickly make their way into your system. When enough debris builds up, your system may become clogged and clogged gutters can lead to costly water damage.
To avoid structural damage and costly repairs, hire a reputable Seattle gutter installation company like Pacific Gutters to install gutter guards that work for your home. With proper guards, you could eliminate the need for cleaning and maintenance entirely while also giving you peace of mind that your gutters are working as they should to protect your property.
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Seattle gutter cleaning is so despised by many property owners that hiring a professional cleaner may seem preferable to doing the job yourself. First, there’s the fact that you have to get up on a ladder to do the job. Compound this with the innate messiness of the task, and you have a project that few want to take on.
Unfortunately, gutter cleaning is not an optional task. Over a surprisingly short period of time, pine needles and other tree debris will build up in your troughs. Once this happens, the flow of water is stopped much in the same way as a dam works. With nowhere else to go, excess water will overflow down the sides of your troughs before reaching your downspout.
Homeowners often learn the consequences of neglecting their gutters the hard way. Without regular maintenance, following issues will arise:
Rain gutters have one job and one job only—to carry rainwater and snowmelt away from the immediate area of your house. If you’re an avid gardener, you probably have a unique appreciation for Seattle’s consistent rainfall. We know that water is highly beneficial to plant life, but it has an opposite effect on your home’s structural integrity.
Without a gutter system, your home would sustain significant water damage to your attic, fascia boards, siding, and foundation. With enough precipitation, basement flooding is even a possibility.
The longer that damp clog made up of organic debris sits in your troughs, the more appealing it will become to damage-causing insects. The insects you have to watch out for the most in Seattle and Washington in general are carpenter ants, moisture ants, and subterranean termites.
Carpenter ants pose the greatest risk by far. When water spills over troughs, it comes into contact with your wooden fascia boards that provide a seal between your attic opening and your gutters. Over time, the boards could become wet and rotted, making them a major attractant for carpenter ants. Moisture ants are also attracted to damaged wood. Dry fascia boards? No ants.
Additionally, while subterranean termites aren’t as prevalent in Seattle as they are in the South, they’re by no means absent in the Pacific Northwest. When clogged troughs cause water to flow down to your home’s foundation, and your foundation will become wet enough for termites to survive and create an infestation.
Left untreated, clogs in troughs will continue to grow. Depending on the age and material of your system, this small amount of added weight could actually cause your troughs to bend and pull away from your fascia boards. Once bent, you may not be able to repair them. Replacement of part of or the entire system becomes necessary—and you can bet this won’t be cheap.
Seattle gutter guards are recommended to homeowners to prevent these problems from occurring. Although they prevent debris from building up in troughs, they don’t eliminate it completely. Professional or DIY cleaning is therefore still required, though less frequently.
There’s one exception to this—our Gutter Shutter system. At Pacific Gutter, we’re so confident in this system that it’s the only type of gutter and guard that our professional installer offers.
Would you believe us if we told you that there’s a way to prevent you from ever having to clean your gutters again? Believe it or not, it’s true. Say goodbye to water damage, insect infestations, and gutter replacement. Our Gutter Shutter system is the last system you will ever need.
Gutter Shutter is a total gutter system—an all-in-one gutter guard. Seattle homeowners must know that despite these methods, this system doesn’t prevent cleaning and maintenance entirely; however, they stop large debris from getting into your troughs, but they don’t prevent everything from getting through. Thanks to a reverse curve design, nothing but water will ever enter your troughs. These Seattle gutter guards come with the following additional perks:
Seattle residents have put their trust in Pacific Gutter. We are proud to be your leading experts in the installation of Seattle gutter guards. Because our Gutter Shutter system uses reverse curve technology, precise angled installation is required to ensure that only water and no debris enters your system. We employ only the best and most experienced installation professionals, so you can be confident that your service technician knows exactly what they’re doing.
Our team is dedicated to providing superior customer service. Customer satisfaction is our utmost priority. By providing you with the best Seattle gutter guards on today’s market, as well as respect for you, your home, and your budget, we’ve become leaders in the installation of gutter guards. Seattle homes When you choose to work with us, you can expect timeliness, courtesy, efficiency, and that we’ll leave your home just like we found it.
When looking at different options for guards, you’ll want to consider three main factors: material, level of filtration, and installation method.
Durable materials will, of course, last longer. Though it might be tempting to go for the cheapest option, remember that they likely won’t work as well or last as long. Mesh guards and screen guards made from stainless steel materials offer greater durability than plastic materials.
Additionally, the finer the filter, the smaller the particles it will keep out of your troughs and downspouts. Brush-type guards do a good job of preventing large leaves from clogging your system, but smaller debris tends to find its way through. A fine-mesh guard will prevent much smaller organic material from entering your system in Seattle.
Finally, consider the installation method before making a purchase. Many guards require you to attach them directly to the roof. The problem with this is that if you need to replace your roof down the line, you’ll also have to replace your gutters. Putting nails into your roof can also void your roof warranty.
The Gutter Shutter system is made to last a lifetime and attaches directly to your fascia boards, keeping your warranty intact.
No, guards do not cause ice dams. Ice dams generally occur after a snowfall. If the temperature drops below freezing, the snow exposed to warmer areas of the roof will melt and flow to areas that are colder, where water subsequently freezes and turns to ice. Additional melting snow is blocked from running off the roof and into the troughs, forcing the water to penetrate the shingles of your roof. This can lead to extensive interior and exterior damage.
The solution to ice dams is to spruce up your attic insulation. Once your attic is properly insulated, ice dams will no longer be a concern, and melting snow can drip into your troughs without concern.
Because there is such a wide variety of guards available, it’s impossible to give a price estimate or even an estimated range. The least expensive guards are usually foam guards, but they also have the shortest lifespan at only a few years. This makes them wasteful and a bit of a hassle to replace.
The most expensive guards are reverse-curve guards, but they’re also the most reliable. However, there is a higher upfront cost for these units, so it’s a reasonable price when you take into account the money you’ll save on professional cleaning and future Seattle gutter guard replacements.
Seattle homeowners who have complained about gutter guards say that they don’t eliminate the need for maintenance, and they can promote the growth of algae.
It’s true that most guards do not eliminate regular maintenance. No system is 100 percent maintenance-free, but the Gutter Shutter nearly is. It’s recommended that you run water through the system with your hose every now and again to avoid any algae growth, but even this isn’t absolutely necessary.
Because there is such a wide range of gutter guards, Seattle homes that are equipped with these experience a different life expectancy on their systems; therefore, it’s hard to say exactly how long they will last. Ones made from stainless steel mesh will undoubtedly last longer than those made from foam material. General life expectancy ranges for the different types of guards look something like this:
With a lifetime no-clog warranty and no-pull warranty, the Seattle Gutter Guard system is built to last much longer than other ones.
The frequency of maintenance will depend on the type of guard you have installed. Even the most inexpensive guards should have the ability to filter out larger debris, which is generally the culprit of most clogs. The frequency of maintenance will depend on how many trees you have, but the following ranges can act as a guideline:
Since 2008, Pacific Gutter has strived to provide Seattle gutter guards and complete gutter installations to homeowners across the Pacific Northwest. We only stand behind products and services that we truly believe will benefit our customers, which is why we are a proud partner of Gutter Shutter.
If you’re ready to invest in our Seattle gutter guard installation service, feel free to give us a call today at 206-752-6292 or fill out our online quote and service request form. Our friendly team will be happy to answer any questions you may have and set up an appointment for an evaluation with our professional installers.
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