Rutland Architectural Blog

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Rain Gutter Styles - Guttering Profiles Types

There are many rain gutter styles, rain gutter types or guttering profiles and shapes available. Many of the earliest rain gutters in the U.S. before the late 19th century were made of wood and were cut or carved into a variety of shapes from simple boxy channels to those having more ornamental carved facades. When metal roll forming machines were introduced in the early 1900's, metal gutters began to take hold of and eventually dominate the rain gutter marketplace. Most of those early metal rain gutters were being constructed into a pleasing half round shape, which still have that traditional, classical and distinctive look today. The early gutter forming machines were large, heavy and expensive so most metal rain gutters were made in factories until about the 1970's when light weight portable gutter machines were introduced and becoming popular. These light weight gutter machines could be carted around on trailers to work sites and produce the needed rain gutter on the spot. A portable gutter machine is typically set up to produce only one style of gutter and in usually only one size and sometimes two. Rain gutter styles were becoming standardized to just a few of the most popular rain gutter profiles offered by the gutter machine manufacturers. The ability to drain away a large volume of rain water led to standardization and predominance of different variations of a channel or boxy looking rain gutter.

rain gutter profiles or some of the standard SMACNA rain gutter styles pictured

Standard Rain Gutter Profiles - Styles (courtesy SMACNA)

Box gutters like in Style A above, have the largest volume for the shape and amount of gutter material used were were finding favor in large commercial, public and industrial applications by minimizing cost and maximizing water carrying capacity. Other variations of the plain industrial looking box gutter were becoming popular for residential rain gutter installation. Of these different boxy variations the Style K gutter with it's somewhat more sculpted facade became most popular and ubiquitous across American residential housing and for light commercial buildings. Consequently most of the portable gutter machine manufacturers standardized on this particular profile. This wide availability of K gutters, also known as Ogee gutters among gutter installers, also made that style of gutter the most marketed, price competitive and therefore commonly selected rain gutter choice, especially in the most universally available plain white color choice.

k style rain gutter profiles pictured in various K gutter sizes

K Style Gutters Shown in Varying Rain Gutter Sizes

box gutter profiles pictured in SMACNA rain gutter style A

Box Gutters - Style A Box & Style D-E Beveled Box Gutter

Half Round Gutters Shown in Varying Round Gutter Sizes

quarter round gutter profiles pictured shown in copper gutter material

Quarter Round Gutter Profile & Custom Quarter Round Gutter

Above are some of the rain gutter types which Rutland produces in sizes ranging from 4 inches wide to 12 inches in width. Most gutter installers portable gutter machines typically produce gutters in a 5" or 6" width and sometimes 7". Those gutter machines also only form one rain gutter profile, K style, half round or box for example. Instead of owning many different gutter machines, guttering contractors can also order different rain gutter styles and/or larger sizes from a large rain gutter manufacturer and supplier like Rutland Gutter Supply at a competitive price to accommodate their customers needs or preferences. Custom rain gutter roll forming machines can also be specified and purchased from roll forming machine manufacturers which can produce different rain gutter profiles. These less common rain gutter styles may be more decorative, flashy, unique and trendy although less competitive and sometimes more costly. Frequently they start to resemble some of the more ornately carved wood gutters or integral gutters with sculpted fascia, some may have appearance similar to colonial, cove or crown molding.

rain gutter profiles in less common or unique rain gutter styles pictured

Rain Gutter Styles - Custom Rain Guttering Profiles

wood gutter profiles or wooden rain gutter styles styles pictured

Wood Rain Gutter Profiles (available from blueoxmill.com)

integral rain gutter installation diagram pictured

Integral Gutters - Built-in Gutter System (courtesy SMACNA)
integral rain gutter installation diagram pictured with copper flashing, copper gutter inserts or integral copper gutter liners

integral rain gutter installation diagram pictured with copper flashing, copper gutter inserts or integral copper gutter liners

Integral Copper Gutter System (courtesy copper.org)

Integral gutters can be made from many different materials including wood, metal and concrete but often have a robust metal gutter insert or lining with soldered seams to insure a water tight gutter system as any leaks can prove very damaging and costly. These metal gutter inserts or linings can also be more easily and cost effectively replaced at the end of their useful life and also do not require as much vigilant monitoring and maintenance as do porous materials or materials which can crack or split possibly leading to leaks and water damage. For this reason, metal linings are sometimes used with wood gutters as well. Metal linings inside integral and wood gutters are not readily visible from the ground. The shape or profile of integral gutters, wood gutters and gutter lining inserts resemble metal gutter profiles including box styles and half round gutter profiles.

Unfinished rain gutter materials such as copper, zinc, stainless steel and galvalume will also greatly affect and enhance the appearance of all styles of gutters as can a judicious choice of vibrant gutter colors on aluminum and galvanized steel gutters. Decorative gutter hangers or gutter brackets, visually pleasing smooth round or square downspouts, decorative downspout brackets and elegant leader heads will also enhance the appearance of any rain gutter system. Rutland also offers embossed gutters in different available patterns and radiused half round gutter end caps to further increase the attractiveness of rain gutter systems. Radius or curved metal gutters in a variety of materials and including box or half round profiles and k style are a Rutland specialty as metal can readily be formed to follow irregular or rounded building and roof contours.

embossed gutter style pictured with copper gutter radius endcap

Embossed Rain Gutter and Radius Round vs. Flat Gutter Endcap

aluminum gutters installed in k-style profile and half round profile copper gutters installed pictured

Aluminum K Gutter Style & Copper Half Round Gutter Profiles

rain gutter profiles installed in k-style gutter profile and with radius copper gutter sections pictured

K Style Rain Gutter Profile with Radius Gutter Sections

rain gutter profiles installed in half round gutter style and with both straight and radius copper gutter sections pictured

rain gutter profiles installed in half round gutter style and with both straight and radius copper gutter sections pictured

Round Gutter Style with Straight and Radius Gutter Sections

rain gutter profiles installed in box gutter style and with straight and radius aluminum gutter sections pictured

rain gutter profiles installed in box gutter style and with straight and radius aluminum gutter sections pictured

Box Gutter Profile with Straight and Radius Gutter Sections

7/12/2011 10:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Thursday, October 07, 2010

Naples - Ft Myers - Seamless - Gutters - Copper - Work - SW - Florida

Today we share a few pictures of some wonderful seamless gutter system installation, copper roofing and other types of copper work in the South West Florida coastal area including Naples and Ft Myers. The corrosive salt air environment being right on the Gulf of Mexico makes copper gutter systems and other architectural copper work the longest lasting and best solution due to copper's excellent corrosion resistance, durability and weatherability. Copper is also a very green building material and all the copper can be recycled 100% at the end of it's up to 90 plus year lifespan.

copper gutters half round and elegant leaderheads shown on this two story south west Florida home

half round copper gutters, round downspouts and leader conductor heads shown on this two story home in Fort Myers, Florida

The home in the above pictures has a very nice installation of half round copper gutters, round copper downspouts, round copper goose neck elbows, decorative copper gutter and downspout brackets and copper leader heads shown mounted inline on the downspouts directly below the gutters. The copper gutter system has already developed a warm reddish brown patina which blends in beautifully with the clay tile roof and house trim work.

copper gutters half round with radius gutter design and elegant copper roof shown on this Naples, Florida home

The residence in the picture directly above, also has half round copper gutters including a graceful radius or rounded copper gutter curving around the edges of this lovely copper roof positioned above the entryway porch.

copper gutters half round, round copper downspouts and copper balcony railing shown on this southwest Florida residence

copper half round gutters and round copper downspouts with shiny new appearance shown on this west Florida coastal residence

This two story sun washed residence shows some nice closeups of the copper half round gutters and round copper downspouts which are a fairly new installation, as you can tell by the more shiny pure copper gutter and downspout appearance. The bottom picture shows the symmetrical downspouts looking somewhat like a performance car's dual exhausts. A lovely and intricately detailed copper railing can also be seen on the 2nd floor balcony in the top picture.

copper roof on turret conical shape, copper roof deck railing, copper shutters, copper gutters and copper downspouts shown on this SW Florida residence

The house above has an extensive array of elegant copper work including a conical copper roof on top of the distinctive protruding turret to the front right. There is a copper roof deck railing or widow's walk which can be seen on top of the home. There are also copper balcony railings and copper window shades - shutters. And of course there are also round copper gutters and downspouts to coordinate nicely with the other copper work, roof and trim.

seamless gutters K-style aluminum and corrugated downspouts in two-tone color shown on this Fort Myers Florida home

Painted K-Style Gutters and Corrugated Downspout

galvalume half round gutters and round downspouts with decorative brackets shown on this Sarasota, Florida house

Painted Half Round Gutters and Round Downspouts

The two homes in the pictures above show painted gutters and downspouts. The top picture shows painted common K-style gutters with conventional corrugated downspouts, albeit in two-tone brown gutters and white downspouts as specified by the builder. The contrasting bottom picture shows attractively painted galvalume half round gutters and round downspouts, along with decorative gutter hangers and downspout straps which enhance this home's gutter system. Aluminum and galvalume represent two of the lowest priced materials for gutters and downspouts with approximately 30-40 year lifespan providing they have a quality paint coating like Kynar. Galvalume optionally may also be left uncoated with a medium grayish appearance that weathers well and still lasts about 30-40 years. Aluminum oxidizes quickly and should be maintained with a quality coating.

All seamless gutter installations and copper work shown above were performed by the SW Florida Rutland Guttering team. They can install any kind of gutter system including half round, k-style (ogee), box, quarter round and custom styles of gutters. Their downspout options include seamless round, smooth square, round fluted and rectangular corrugated styles. Gutter and downspout material choices include copper, aluminum, galvalume, stainless steel, galvanized steel, zinc and lead-coated or zinc-coated copper (with grayish appearance). They are experienced with any size and scope of residential and commercial guttering projects and architectural copper work. You may visit their website Rutland Guttering - Architectural Copper Work to view additional pictures of their extensive residential and commercial work, also to obtain more information and get contact details. Rutland Guttering provides a comprehensive lifetime warranty on all of their residential gutter system work.