Rutland Architectural Blog - Guttering

Rain Gutter Styles - Guttering Profiles Types

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:26:38 GMT

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.

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 Gutters Shown in Varying Rain Gutter Sizes

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

Half Round Gutters Shown in Varying Round Gutter Sizes

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 Styles - Custom Rain Guttering Profiles

Wood Rain Gutter Profiles (available from blueoxmill.com)

Integral Gutters - Built-in Gutter System (courtesy SMACNA)

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 Rain Gutter and Radius Round vs. Flat Gutter Endcap

Aluminum K Gutter Style & Copper Half Round Gutter Profiles

K Style Rain Gutter Profile with Radius Gutter Sections

Round Gutter Style with Straight and Radius Gutter Sections

Box Gutter Profile with Straight and Radius Gutter Sections

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

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:42:04 GMT

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Painted K-Style Gutters and Corrugated Downspout

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.

Radiused Copper Rain Gutters

Gutter Installation - Copper Work Florida

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:20:42 GMT

Today we give a shout out to Rutland Guttering in Florida. Rutland Guttering is an affiliated sister company to Rutland Gutter Supply, providing extensive product installation services while operating from several regional offices located across Florida. Rutland Guttering performs seamless rain gutter installation and architectural copper work throughout the whole state of Florida, including all types and sizes of commercial gutters and residential gutter systems. Rutland Guttering has extensive expertise with both commercial and home gutter systems as well as outdoor copper work. They also perform gutter service, gutter repairs, gutter system design, gutter inspections and the occasional gutter cleaning for larger gutter systems. Rutland Guttering's residential seamless gutter installations provide homeowners with complete lifetime warranty protection. Rutland Guttering provides complimentary gutter system evaluation, free gutter quotes and copper work estimates at the customer's own site. Rutland Guttering assists builders, contractors, renovators and architects with gutter design and architectural copper work planning utilizing Rutland's expertise and in-house CAD gutter design and architectural drawing capability.

Rutland Guttering provides their residential and commercial customers with truly the largest selection of gutter styles, gutter materials, gutter sizes, gutter types, gutter colors and architectural copper work selection throughout the state of Florida. Gutter types include common K-Style or Ogee gutters, elegant half round gutters and quarter round gutters and more commercial box gutters to accommodate heavy rain water volume. Unlike most gutter companies, Rutland Guttering has the fabrication capabilities to make a large range gutter sizes from 5" to 12" wide as well as custom sizes to accommodate any seamless guttering project. Rutland also offers a wide range of gutter downspout material options including aluminum, copper, galvanized steel, galvalume, stainless steel, Freedom Gray - zinc coated copper and zinc. Rutland's decorative architectural copper work includes but not limited to: cupolas; roof finials; chimney caps; chimney pots; dome roofs; turret roofs; gazebo roofs; roof caps; door and window awnings; copper deck railing or roof widows walk; wall vents; soffit vents; roof vents; copper dormers; copper gutters; outdoor copper accents; garden sculpture; copper canopy; copper fire pit bowls and covers.

Rutland Guttering maintains a large fleet of architectural copper work and seamless gutter installation trucks along with well trained installation crews. Rutland has at it's disposal a large scale metal fabrication facility including custom paint shop.

Rutland Guttering has installed seamless rain gutter systems and expansive array of architectural copper work throughout the state of Florida and across the Caribbean for over 15 years. Rutland Guttering has extensive experience with all types and sizes of residential homes, businesses, churches, hotels, public and commercial buildings. Rutland Guttering also lends it's expertise to precise historical preservation and restoration work. Wherever or whenever local installation contractor resources are either unavailable or otherwise unacceptable, Rutland Guttering crews are also available to travel across the U.S. and even world wide depending upon the scope of the project. Rutland can drop ship all required products and materials ahead of time, waiting for installation crew arrival to any remote location. Visit Rutland Guttering's "Seamless Gutter Installation - Architectural Copper Work" website for contact and additional information.

Rain Gutter Reviews - Gutters Cost

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:36:18 GMT

Rain gutters sometimes do not get as much thought behind their selection as other architectural features of a home or commercial building. Customary gutters often employed on buildings might even be rather drab and sometimes an afterthought. Rather than accentuate and enhance the building's architecture some gutter choices if not just dull may actually detract from the appearance of the home or building and be very unappealing. Yet barring wide overhangs and a steeply graded slope away from the building, gutters are essential for draining rainwater runoff from a roof away from the building protecting overhangs, eaves, walls or siding, windows, doors and assist keeping the foundation, crawl space or basement of the structure dry, thereby guarding against mold, rot and staining. Gutters also help prevent erosion of the top soil and landscaping around a building and shield people, walkways and entrances from sheets of falling water. Yes, becoming aware of all the available choices and features of guttering makes you a better wiser consumer. It also gives you an opportunity to choose a rain gutter system that doesn't just blend nicely into your building's architecture but actually enhances and upgrades the features, appearance and curb appeal of your real estate investment. Possibly you may start seeing guttering in a whole new light, and in planning and choosing your new gutters wisely, you are certain to be rewarded time after time again.

Rain gutters run the gamut from your run of the mill, same old - same old, aluminum K-style ogee gutters with rectangular corrugated downspouts, which are staples in some neighborhoods on those cookie-cutter homes, to the high end gutters purposefully designed to enhance a building's architectural features such as your integrated guttering or wood box gutter and those premium, elegant half round copper gutters and zinc gutters. There are still more gutter material choices including plastic or vinyl gutters, galvanized steel, galvalume and stainless steel gutters. As you might expect there is a wide range of pricing from your low end cheap vinyl gutter on up to that pricey redwood and stainless steel guttering. Cost is definitely going to be a big factor in many people's decision making on gutter choice. Assessment of your true cost extends beyond simply viewing a gutter system's initial purchase price and also includes analyzing the longevity of the guttering, plus any maintenance time and cost involved during the lifespan of the gutters such as: repairs, re-caulking, re-painting and partial or total replacement of a deteriorated gutter system. Another often overlooked cost is how the guttering choice will affect your real estate value. A poor guttering choice will detract from the building appearance and value, a typically common or acceptably sensible choice will hopefully maintain and uphold the property value and a visionary or astute choice will increase the real estate attractiveness, curb appeal and property value. A final consideration is the growing number of concerned people out there who also appreciate making the most environmentally green and eco-friendly choice.

Gutter Materials and Cost
Vinyl Gutters - Frequently a choice for your do it yourself price conscious people, these plastic or vinyl gutters oftentimes in plain white and sometimes in assorted colors are rust free, easy to trim or cut to size and are relatively cheap initially. Though 10 foot gutter sections may only run $3 to $5 at discount home outlets, with all the connectors, hangers, brackets and downspouts figured in they will cost you more like $3 to $5 per foot installed. Vinyl gutters can get brittle with age and exposure to the elements and may not have the strength to stand up to large amount of snow, ice, gale force winds and weight from a ladder or person climbing on to a roof. Vinyl also expands and contracts more than metal and can be problematic. Mostly they frequently look cheap, detract from your property's appearance and have a relatively short lifespan to boot. PVC or poly vinyl chloride gutters are not a very green or eco-friendly choice because of their short life and environmental health concerns. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) termed PVC plastic as one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created, dangerous to human health and the environment throughout it's life cycle. When it is produced or burned PVC releases dioxins, potent synthetic chemicals that cause cancer and harm the environment.

Galvanized Steel Gutters - Steel coated with zinc to inhibit rust, was a common choice, especially before aluminum gutters appeared on the scene, as galvanized gutters are fairly strong and can stand up to ladders, fallen branches and weight unlike cheaper vinyl gutters. Galvanized gutters are also stronger and less susceptible to dents and damage than aluminum. Galvanized steel gutter pricing may run only $4 to $9 per foot installed and are seemingly a economical and practical choice. Yet even thick galvanized gutters will eventually rust through despite most of them being painted. Paint grip steel guttering is still galvanized steel that has been given a phosphate bath adding some to the corrosion protection but primarily providing a surface with better adhesion for paint. There are usually many color choices provided and different qualities of paint available. Galvanized gutters have to be maintained, inspected for cuts, metal exposure deterioration and re-painted during their practical life ranging from 7 to 20 years, depending on how corrosive their locale is and how well they are maintained.

Aluminum Gutters - The most popular choice in gutters since they appeared on the market, aluminum gutters are rust free avoiding that concern with steel, iron and galvanized gutters. Aluminum is also lightweight making it easier and cheaper to work with. Aluminum gutters typically range in price from $5 to $9 per foot installed. Exposed to the elements however, aluminum will oxidize and wear quickly so aluminum is given protective coatings and paint. Just as with galvanized gutters, aluminum gutters need to be maintained and inspected regularly. Paint coatings have improved so during aluminum gutters typical useful lifespan of 25-30 years most paint coatings usually hold up barring scratches or damage to the paint. Aluminum gutters and downspouts are not as strong as steel gutters, especially the thinner offerings and can dent easily from traffic, branches, ladders, etc. Aluminum has a high rate of thermal expansion and contraction which can sometimes present problems especially in corners and seams. Gutter sections and terminations are typically caulked and as such the caulking will also have to be inspected and re-caulked. As with galvanized steel, there are usually many standard color choices available or custom paint matching can also be done at a higher cost. To have a different look than the same old common K-style aluminum guttering with rectangular corrugated downspouts, you can also obtain aluminum gutters in a more elegant half-round gutter shape and with smooth surface versus corrugated square or round downspouts. Hidden gutter hangers can be used or better yet decorative gutter and downspout brackets and a decorative leader head will improve appearance greatly, distinguish and enhance your home. Using thicker and so called primary aluminum material will add some to the strength, better able to withstand wear and abuse but still not up to the level of copper and steel.

Galvalume Gutters - In response to some of the limitations and disadvantages of galvanized steel gutters and aluminum gutters, galvalume gutters appeared on the scene. Galvalume is steel coated with a mixture of 55/45 per cent aluminum/zinc, resulting in a metal about as strong as galvanized steel but the with long-term rust and corrosion resistance more like aluminum or 2-4 times longer than plain galvanized steel. Galvalume can also be used as is without any paint and has a bright gray metallic appearance for about a decade gradually turning a dull weathered gray for the last 2-3 decades of it's typical lifespan. Processed galvalume can also be painted different colors just like aluminum gutters and while galvalume gutters cost a little more than either aluminum or galvanized steel gutters, galvalume not only will last longer, but is much stronger than aluminum and doesn't have the temperature expansion rate issues as does aluminum. Unfinished galvalume additionally enjoys the more green and eco-friendly avoidance of any kind of painting or coating.

Zinc Gutters - Zinc gutters have been popular in Europe for decades but have been slow to take hold in the U.S. Zinc guttering is usually made from an alloy of 99.5 percent zinc with small amounts of copper and titanium added. Similar to copper, zinc is usually utilized in it's raw unpainted state and will develop a protective patina that protects the zinc gutter from weathering and corrosion. Weathered zinc has an attractive matte gray look somewhat similar to pewter that eventaully turns a bluish gray and is increasingly being incorporated into architectural designs that promote that look. Zinc gutters when the natural patina forms properly can have a very long lifespan typically somewhere between 40 and 80 years depending on environment. Zinc gutters may run $15 to $20 per foot installed, which is much more than aluminum gutters initially, but zinc gutters have over twice the lifespan, require no paint and very little to no maintenance. Zinc gutters being a premium gutter usually have more care taken in the installation, including typically riveting and soldering the seams and corners, providing more reliability and often less leaks and water damage. Unpainted zinc gutters also do not have VOC's released into the environment from any coating or painting process which some gutters require, so with that and their long lifespan, zinc guttering is considered very eco-friendly and green. Zinc gutters main issues deal with thermal expansion, restrictive gutter forming and installation, including sensitive soldering and cold temperature (below 45 degree) working restrictions. With accommodations and extra care taken, zinc gutters are not only a viable option but are one of the better ones.

Stainless Steel Gutters- Stainless steel is a steel alloy containing chromium which gives stainless steel it's rust proof and shiny properties and is familiar to everyone as it is widely used in kitchens and for eating flatware. Stainless steel is one of the strongest guttering materials as are all the steel based types and is also one of the most durable and longest lasting with a lifespan typically between 50 to 70 years. Stainless steel gutter systems work great where the gutters and downspouts are subject to commercial, abusive and high traffic conditions. If you are not enamored of the shiny, metallic look of stainless steel or the maintenance, cleaning and polishing to keep that look, there is a copper plated stainless steel called CopperPlus having copper's changing earth tone colors and tin plated stainless steel products such as Ugitop which replace regular stainless steel's shiny look with a matte gray surface. Similar to zinc and copper, the durability, weathering ability, long life and elimination of painting and coatings make stainless steel very eco-friendly and a good value where stainless steel's extra strength is needed even with it's high initial cost of about $18-22 per foot installed. Like zinc and copper, in the long run it can be less costly than short-lived products.

Copper Gutters - Copper gutters have long been considered the ultimate in guttering and for good reason. Copper gutters have always been the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing and also the most durable and longest lasting of all gutter types. It is not uncommon for copper gutters to have a lifespan of 60 to 90 years, up to triple that for aluminum. Copper guttering like zinc gutters are mostly utilized in their natural, unfinished state as copper develops it's own distinctive, protective patina through the years. Copper performs great in industrial cities, coastal and marine environments. Copper's protective patina gives it the ability to ward off corrosion and it's long wearing character. Copper patina varies by climate but generally copper starts out a bright salmon copper and gradually turns brown, then shades of reddish brown, grayish brown, greenish brown then finally a variegated light pastel green after 25 some years. The rich changing earth tone color palette is one of the prized features of copper. Like zinc gutters, copper guttering is riveted and soldered, so there are rarely any issues with leaks or repairs. Copper gutters will definitely upgrade and enhance any home or commercial building and add true curb appeal and value. While copper gutters can cost $15 to $24 per foot installed new, with copper gutter's super long life, little to no required maintenance, no painting, no leaks and 100% recyclability while retaining up to 95 per cent of raw copper's value, a great case can be made for choosing copper gutters. Environmentally speaking, copper is considered one of the greenest and most eco-friendly materials available and copper's total environment cost is lower than initially cheaper materials. Total environmental cost includes the costs of raw processing, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, re-cycling and multiple replacement costs, so durability and longevity do factor in greatly. For people that want to enjoy the durability, longevity, value and environment friendly nature of copper but would prefer gray earth tones, lead coated copper is available with the same same attributes as copper other than color. For those that would prefer something other than a lead coated copper there is now also a zinc-tin coated copper option available called Freedom Gray, which retains all of copper's advantages, while providing architects, designers with a gray earth tone to work with. Lead coated copper or Freedom Gray offer advantages over zinc gutters in being easier and more versatile to form, less restictive and easier to install, while being more reliable and durable in any weather situation and longer lasting. Copper gutters may typically be seen with decorative gutter hangers, smooth seamless round copper downspouts and decorative downspout brackets and oftentimes a decorative, distinctive conductor head or leader collector box. So configured copper gutters will enhance a home to where they are seen analogous to valuable jewelry and accent pieces and always at home with the finest architecture.

Integral or Wood Gutters - Gutters integrated or built into a homes eaves were more popular decades ago as are hanging wood gutters. Both integral and wood gutters have always had problematic issues such as waterproofing, weathering, leaks, rotting, maintenance, painting or staining, durability and water damage. Oftentimes, the inside of a wood gutter and downspout was lined with a metal such as copper to protect the wood, like a gutter in a gutter. Wood gutters are really not installed so much anymore outside of restorations and wood gutters pricing can easily run from $15 to $24 per foot or more depending on type of wood, lining and workmanship involved. With integral and wood gutters, frequent inspection and maintenance are definitely recommended to help prevent leaks from causing possible water damage to roof, fascia and walls.

Although stainless steel, zinc and copper gutter installed prices appear significantly higher than for galvanized steel and aluminum gutters, this is not because raw material cost for these premium metals is so much higher. The higher installed cost for these premium gutters is primarily due to the cost of additional labor and better materials used in what is a more involved and better installation. Gutter seams and joints are most always riveted and soldered in the best installations rather than merely caulked and overlapped. This much more labor intensive operation provides stronger and more leak free joints over the lifespan of the gutter. Better work and tolerances in corners, miters and seams increases cost but results in a more trouble-free and better looking installation. This is the norm and expected by customers of premium gutters. If aluminum and galvanized steel gutters were installed in a similar fashion as zinc and copper gutters, there would be a much smaller price difference. Thicker gauge aluminum gutters with a higher quality paint job such as Kynar is significantly higher quality and also higher cost than typical thin aluminum gutters with plain baked on paint finish that are much more typical. Thicker metal and better paint result in a better gutter that withstands more abuse and lasts longer. Using better materials and more meticulous aluminum gutter installations, though at much higher cost, would lessen such commonly seen occurrences as drooping gutters, buckled gutters, badly faded gutters, misshapen or bent gutters, leaking gutters, peeling or flaked off paint. True for most any product or service, you certainly get what you pay for and the same applies to rain gutters.

Rutland Gutter Supply has the largest selection of all different types and sizes of commercial and residential gutters and downspouts in the U.S.A. Rutland fabricates rain gutters and downspouts out of any gutter material and also produces custom styles and sizes of rain gutters upon request. Rutland Gutter Supply stocks all the essential gutter supplies, gutter parts and downspout accessories needed for a complete eavestrough rain gutter system installation of the highest quality including decorative gutter hangers, downspout brackets - downpipe straps and custom conductor leader head all provided factory direct.

Leader Head

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:47:24 GMT

Rutland Gutter Supply has now added nine additional leader heads to their large growing selection of leader head. Rutland has 64 decorative leaderheads in stock to upgrade the finest aluminum and copper gutter systems and enhance the architectural features of your home or commercial building. Leader heads are also sometimes referred to as conductor head, rainhead, hopper head, scupper box or as a rain collector box. Leader head are installed inline on the downspouts or downpipes of guttering or eavestroughs - see second picture below for example. Leader heads collect and disperse the water from rain gutters through one or more downspouts. Functionally, leader head assist in draining large volumes of water and aesthetically they truly dress up a home's exterior. Leader head installed with attractive guttering and downspouts and often in conjunction with decorative gutter hangers and decorative downspout brackets too have been described as jewelry for the home or "bling". See the first picture below of a home with lovely half round copper gutters, decorative gutter hangers, round copper downspout pipe and decorative downspout brackets. The second picture below shows a similarly outfitted round copper gutter system but with a copper leader head also installed on the copper downspout, enhancing the beauty of the home's architectural copper work even still more. The best quality leader heads use thicker metals and have TIG welded, polished invisible seams for the longest lasting beauty.

Copper Gutters - Copper Downspouts - Decorative Brackets

Copper Gutter System with Copper Leader Head Installed

Rutland also is involved frequently with restoration work of historic buildings and will re-create original leader head with new copper leader head preserving the original design. See picture below showing a very old original leader head design taken from a building with the new restored leader head replacement right along side of it. Rutland can also craft custom leader heads for you from your own design and specifications, fabricated with your metal of choice. You may view fifty-five leader head - conductor head designs on the web page at Rutland Leader Heads and additionally you may also view Rutland's nine new leader head designs below.

Old Historic Leaderhead - New Restored Leader Head

New Rutland Leader Head Additions

Leader Head shown with Copper Gutter System and Copper Roof

There is also a YouTube Video featuring Leader Head LH057 available on Rutland's earlier blog Copper Leader Head Restoration Project

Gutter - Gutters - Guttering - Rain Gutters - Seamless Gutters - Eavestrough - Roof Gutter - Gutter System

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:37:52 GMT

To many people these words or phrases, Gutter, Gutters, Guttering, Rain Gutters, Seamless Gutters, Eavestrough, Roof Gutter and Gutter System all mean pretty much the same thing. The first thing many people think of when they hear one of these terms and specifically the word "gutters" are the narrow ducts or channels running along the eaves or bottom edges of a roof, which collect rain water and direct or divert it into a drain or downspout to be drained away from their home or some other building. This connotation or meaning is also what predominates the search results for most of these terms. Upon a closer look, we see the word gutter while often used to refer to the rain gutter running along a roof edge, it can also be a street gutter, which is slight depression which runs along the edge of a city street or curb, carrying rain and street water over to a drain or sewer. Gutter can also be the trough, channel or groove on the edges of bowling alley lanes that collect all those gutter balls. Table shuffleboards have similar gutters on their sides to collect pucks. In word publishing, printing and design, a gutter is the blank or empty space between facing pages or where pages come together and sometimes the space between columns and rows on a page or screen. Gutter can also be the ditch that runs along the side of a road. In stamp collecting it is the empty space between rows of stamps. Gutters in barns dug in the ground behind the animals collect and carry away excrement. The word gutter also frequently used with the phrase "in the gutter" might reference something that is morally questionable or distasteful. The word gutter derives or comes from the Anglo-Norman "gotere", Old French "gotiere", newer French "gouttiere" and the original Latin "gutta" or plural "guttae".

Gutters - Guttering - Rain Gutter System

What is interesting is that search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN (Bing), AOL, Ask, Dogpile, Excite, etc. give a different order of search results when you enter each one of these search terms separately. It does not seem that search engines know that gutters, guttering, rain gutters, eaves troughs and gutter systems are the same thing as are rain troughs, rain collectors and rain channels. Websites and web-pages emphasizing or optimizing for one of these keywords are usually then not optimized for the others and so you get significantly different search result placement across the various search engines for each of these words or phrases. Many people already view search engines as frustrating and annoying to use due to their increasing emphasis on returning mostly paid advertisements in top positions in their search results rather than prioritize and list results genuinely based on merit, usefulness and content. Individuals and companies can pay to get listed highly in the search results whether or not they are worthy or deserving to be highly considered or whether they offer commensurate relevance to the researcher or not.

Paid listings tainting search results is nothing new but it has been getting worse each year to where some search engines and directories have become predominantly commercialized and no longer all inclusive. Then to compound the problem with search result accuracy and validity are search engine optimizing games played by website marketing people who optimize or manipulate their website names and web-pages primarily to get listed highly in search engine results for a particular keyword or search term. For example emphasizing the terms "rain gutter", "guttering" or "gutter systems" versus just "gutters" which is the most often used term to describe essentially the same thing, might give them an edge in search result placement over websites/web-pages that emphasize "gutters" or just "gutter". Search engine users get mixed results from their searches depending on what term they enter even if they mean the same thing. For example, companies offering guttering are providing the same exact thing as companies offering gutters and still other companies offering gutter systems or rain gutters or even new gutters (hey aren't most gutters sold new?). Yet enter each of these terms or phrases separately into search engines and you may get drastically different sets of results as well as the order of placement.

Just something to think about the next time you are searching for something and you want the most genuine, worthwhile, unbiased and untainted results. One strategy you can try is to search for whatever you are looking for using different synonyms, syntax or phrase variations. Try out different search terms, ignore the paid listings and repeat your search across multiple search engines, which will deliver better results and give a bigger more accurate picture. Meanwhile we hope for better, smarter search engines that can recognize essentially the same terms, synonyms or meanings and give back more consistent beneficial results. Of course we can always wish for an intelligent, free, unbiased search engine to miraculously appear, one that can not be bought, manipulated, fixed, greased, swayed or else biased in any way yet will always return fair, just, even-handed, reliable and completely accurate results. That may seem a tall order and unrealistic but it is not too much to ask for and the world does deserve that and all would benefit.

Gutter Garden - Copper Gutter Garden

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:54:57 GMT

Gutter gardens are receiving much buzz over the internet and are a good approach to generating fresh produce or a colorful display of flowers around your home. A gutter garden is especially ideal when space is at a premium or if you wish to have a tidy and more ergonomic gardening setup. Nothing is better tasting and more satisfying than freshly picked produce for that awesome salad, fresh salsa and a plethora of other healthy vegetable dishes. Gutter gardens are essentially akin to planters that hang from your house at a convenient height and are typically fashioned using some form of home guttering to serve as your planter. This article discusses and compares several types of commercially available gutters that are good options for use in a gutter garden. Then we will explain exactly which components you will need and how to assemble your very own gutter garden. I do not know who first came up with the idea for a gutter garden, probably someone a long time ago and it was never publicized. Now with power of the Internet word gets around. I did find an article from Martha Stewart Living dating March 2006 that called them "Garden Pots" and they used copper gutters stacked in several tiers to form their gutter garden. They were growing hanging ivy in them to form a living screen off of a porch, but could just as easily be growing flowers or produce in them. Hanging your gutter garden as they did with chains is another option to mounting on a wall, just make sure your chains, anchors and supports are all robust and secure.

From Martha Stewart Living - March 2006
"Surprising Garden Pots: Copper Gutters"

Re-using old guttering or buying cheap aluminum or plastic guttering are tempting options but may perhaps not be the best option. It is recommended you stay away from any kind of painted, rusted guttering or lead coated guttering for obvious health reasons if you are growing produce. Many plastics have unhealthy emissions and plastic gutters can also break down from the weight, UV sunlight and trowel work. It is best to use a gutter made from a pure metal that does not have any chemicals or paint applied, does not corrode or rust over time, is durable, long lasting, naturally weathers well, is aesthetically pleasing and is a genuinely attractive feature of your home. Steel and aluminum are relatively low priced but most varieties require some type of coating to resist rust and corrosion and coatings oxidize, scratch, are not durable, long lasting and mostly unhealthy too for a gutter garden. Galvalume is a zinc-aluminum coated steel that is a better candidate than either steel or aluminum alone, combining the corrosion and rust resistance of zinc and aluminum with the strength of steel but with an industrial looking gray metallic appearance and you would probably be tempted to paint this material. Three even better choices for your gutter garden are zinc, stainless steel and copper. Everyone is familiar with the appearance and attributes of stainless steel and it is a viable option. Stainless steel does not rust providing it's surface is not damaged and it is generally considered a healthy, sanitary material. Stainless steel's shiny appearance may be attractive or it may not blend in or complement your home's exterior. Pure zinc is a viable, healthy option that is durable, weathers well and zinc develops an attractive protective, grey patina that is somewhat pewter like though zinc is priced higher than galvalume and stainless steel. Then we have pure copper which may be the best choice for a multitude of reasons: copper has proven itself for centuries to be the most durable and longest lasting metal; copper weathers extremely well, forming a protective attractive patina; requires little to no maintenance; copper is attractive, aesthetically pleasing, elegant and complements most home decor well; copper is EPA approved antimicrobial, germicidal, antibacterial and fungicidal; copper is a key nutrient for plant life; copper is considered eco-friendly and is a green building material. These are all attractive and most desirable traits for use in your gutter garden. Copper although being our highest rated choice also has the highest initial cost of all the metals and metal alloys mentioned above. Copper's many and unique advantages, help justify it's premium cost, especially considering the relatively short lengths required for most gutter gardens, which put copper gutters' premium price within reach and affordability.

Copper Gutter System Installed

Once you have decided on the material for your gutter, you will then likely choose between three common styles of gutter: K-style gutter, half-round gutter and box gutter. A box gutter will give you the most volume with which to garden with, and as it's name suggests, it has a rectangular box appearance or if you like a plain box planter. K-style gutters are probably the most common residential gutters used in the U.S. and are somewhat boxy as well, though with a angled stepped front for a little more pizzazz. Half round gutters do look just like they sound, like half of a round cylinder or pipe and half-round gutters also have the most elegant appearance of all the various gutter types. There are also quarter round gutters which also are very attractive with their curved front. Quarter round and K-style gutters are generally available from 5 inches to 8 inches wide, half round gutters usually from 5 inches to 10 inches wide and box gutters are usually manufactured to size. Custom widths are also available through Rutland Gutter Supply. Compare the different appearances of K-style, box gutters, half-round, quarter round and embossed gutters, all pictured below.

K-Style Gutters

Box Gutter & Beveled Box Gutter

Half Round Gutters

Quarter Round Gutter & Custom 1/4 Round Gutter

Embossed K-Style Gutter & Half Round Embossed Gutter

In addition to choosing the material and style of gutter for your gutter garden, you will also choose the type of gutter hangers you will use to hang your gutter garden and the end caps used to cap off and finish the two ends of your gutter garden. There are several styles or types of gutter hangers available. So-called hidden gutter hangers are very commonly used and are called hidden because they are mostly not seen from the ground in a roof gutter system. Hidden hangers may not be the best choice for your gutter garden since they are positioned across the top of your gutter, they may obstruct or at least inconvenience your gardening work. A fascia mounting, squared-off gutter hanger with a front lip as pictured below may be better for box and K-style gutters while one of the decorative gutter hangers pictured below would prove ideal for the rounded gutters. A gutter spring clip holds the gutter in place when resting on a decorative gutter hanger and works well should you wish to remove the gutter easily for any kind of maintenance in another spot. You would use a gutter hanger every few feet to hold up the weight of your gutter garden, generally every three feet at least or every 2 feet if you also happen to live in the snow belt. You will also need to use so-called gutter hanger wedges, if your home's walls have an angled slope, to keep the gutter garden aligned perpendicular. Gutter hanger wedges are available in several sizes to address a variety of slopes in your home's siding or fascia. Installers typically use nails or screws to fasten gutter hangers and gutters to your home's wall or fascia. I would recommend a screw's added holding power recognizing a gutter garden's weight. Your choice of gutter end caps include flat end caps for all the various styles of gutters or also available for the half round guttering are radius end caps, which give your gutter garden ends an attractive and graceful rounded appearance. The gutter end caps are attached by both riveting and soldering them to the gutter. If choosing copper guttering for your gutter garden, it is recommended you use all copper materials for the guttering, gutter end caps, copper rivets, gutter hangers, hanger wedges and bronze or stainless steel screws. This is to maintain a uniform matching appearance and avoid corrosive effect of dissimilar metals. Below are pictures of various types of gutter hangers, gutter end caps, gutter spring clips and gutter hanger wedges.

K-Style Gutter Flat End Cap & 1/2 Round Gutter Flat End Cap

Gutter Radius End Cap

K-Style & Half-round Hidden Gutter Hangers

Decorative Scroll Gutter Hangers

Decorative Seahorse & Rope Gutter Hangers

Squared-off Fascia-Mounting
Gutter Hanger w/Front Lip

Gutter Hanger Wedges

Gutter Hanger Spring Clips & Copper Rivet

Hanging Copper Rain Chains - Single & Double Loop

After you have decided on the exact style and material for your gutter garden components, measure the exact lengths of guttering you need and keep in mind that you can go with a double or triple decker design if you desire. Your gutter garden should be in a location where it will receive the amount of sunshine recommended for what ever you are planning to grow. After the components have been ordered and they have been delivered, you are ready to attach the guttering for your gutter garden to your house. Measure and mark off the locations for your gutter hangers, to keep them evenly spaced and horizontally level. If using hidden hangers place them evenly spaced across the top of the guttering and attach to the wall with screws and use wedges if necessary. If using a squared-off box hanger or the decorative rounded hangers, attach the gutter hangers to the house siding with screws using appropriate sloped wedges if necessary, lay your gutter on the hangers and attach the hanger spring clips between the gutter hanger and guttering. Now you are done and can fill up your gutter garden with gardening soil or some composite mixture of garden soil, peat moss, manure, fertilizer and moisture retaining granules. Plant your seeds, seedlings or plants, water and enjoy your garden!

Additional Tips:
Avoid applying any chemicals or paint to the inside of your gutter garden for healthier plants and produce. If you absolutely must paint to achieve a desired color match, then do so only on the outside surface. Stainless steel will need to be cleaned and polished occasionally to keep it's appearance while zinc and copper weather naturally and keep their beautiful, elegant appearance throughout their lifespan. Copper can be waxed regularly or even coated with a clearcoat or lacquer if you wish to keep the shiny new copper appearance but again do not apply any coating to the inside to avoid chemicals and to take full advantage of copper's natural germicidal, antimicrobial and fungicidal properties. Also any wax or coating is temporary and needs to be re-applied. The natural copper patina however needs little to no maintenance When copper weathers there is a natural patina that forms on it's surface which serves as a protective coating and the patina does not affect copper's antibacterial properties. The copper patina changes color with age, progressing from a shiny salmon color, to reddish shades of brown, brown, greenish brown and finally a light green pastel color. The outside patination process can also be accelerated if desired by applying selective accelerants. Copper is revered and prized for it's graceful, elegant appearance and gradually changing color throughout it's very long lifespan. Approximate copper weathering color chart is illustrated below. If you desire drainage for your gutter garden, you may either choose to drill a few small holes sparsely across the entire length or have your guttering fabricated with rain chain style taps every few feet along the length.

Resource:

All types, styles and sizes of gutters and gutter materials discussed above can be obtained from Rutland Gutter Supply as well as all of the associated gutter parts and gutter accessories you will need for your gutter garden. Rutland carries the largest selection of gutter supplies in the USA with all the gutter accessories to match. Rutland also does custom metal fabrication and architectural copper work and ships all of it's products globally all over the world. If you like the general idea of a gutter garden but would prefer to have a custom sized planter made for you, Rutland can custom fabricate virtually any size and style copper planter you desire.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/06/hanging_gutter_gardens.html

Wall Gutter Garden Pictured by Suzanne Forsling, Juno, AK

Copper Leader Head Restoration Project

Thu, 21 May 2009 17:53:33 GMT

The custom copper leader head (also known as conductor head, hopper head, rain collector box) in video below is a recreation of a cast iron leader head that adorned a church in England for centuries. Rutland Gutter Supply specializes in the highest quality of custom architectural copper work and copper gutter systems. There are over sixty-five different leader head designs now in Rutland's growing collection. View some of these custom copper leader heads and other custom copperwork, such as copper domes, copper cupolas, copper finials, copper chimney caps, copper spires, copper gutters, etc at Rutland Gutter Supply & Architectural Copper Work. Leader heads are mounted inline on the downspouts being fed from a building's gutters. Leader heads mix air in with the water flowing down through the downspouts, eliminating the back pressure or vacuum. See picture below of an installed copper leader head and copper guttering.

Custom leader heads are typically manufactured from pure copper, zinc, mill finish aluminum or lead coated copper on the finest commercial and residential gutter systems. Copper guttering and copper leader heads particularly, can last 80-100 years, require little to no maintenance, are aesthetically pleasing, they can be recycled nearly 100% and contribute to green building objectives. Leader heads add both a decorative (as seen in picture) and functional touch. Watch video below of a custom leader head that has been recreated from a centuries old one.

Copper Leader Head - Restoration Project Video on YouTube

Gutter Hangers - Focus on Gutter Brackets

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:53:59 GMT

Rutland Gutter Supply is family owned and operated. Their manufacturing facility is located in beautiful Orlando, Florida. They have over 40 years of experience in the construction and sheet metal fabrication business. Rutland operates some of the most modern CNC machinery available, from computerized roll forming machines to a fully automated 4" round seamless, welded pipe machine. They have many customers globally and have installed copper gutters and architectural copperwork spanning Florida and the Caribbean. Rutland Gutter Supply’s products are marketed and sold throughout the United States, Canada and Internationally.

Rutland’s products can be fabricated in Mill Finish Aluminum, Zinc, Lead Coated Copper, Stainless Steel, Copper, Galvanized Steel and Galvalume. They stock the largest selection of custom gutter supply components including decorative hangers, decorative brackets and pipe straps, flat and radius end caps, box mitres, elbows, rain chains, copper pipe and custom leader heads with copper castings.

Rutland’s latest line of products include fully welded, hand made 48 oz custom kitchen hoods, island range hoods, fireplace hoods and copper billiard hoods, most incorporating hand finished designs. Rutland is able to hand craft any view or scene of your choice into them as these are truly custom design hoods. Additional items available for your copper kitchen are copper pot racks, copper bowl, copper sink, copper basin, hammered copper range hoods and copper fireplace hoods. All Rutland's copper hoods and sinks are available as custom copper hammered designs created by artisans who can create the truly personal design touch for your "copper kitchen".

Rutland also fabricates both stock and custom copper chimney caps, copper cupolas, copper stove pipe and roof vents, copper gable vents, copper dormers, copper roof tiles, copper seam roofs, copper dome roofs, copper chimney turbines, copper roof scuppers or rain spouts, copper finials, copper spires, copper steeples, copper balustrades, copper pineapples, copper balls, copper spheres, copper dock lights, copper fish elbow downspouts and copper dragons, etc. Virtually every architectural copper work and metal fabrication has been or can be accomplished by Rutland.

Gutter Hangers, Gutter Hangers, Gutter Hangers . .

Rutland stocks the largest selection of gutter hangers in the country. Rutland offers decorative gutter hangers such as their seahorse, rope, scroll, combo and acanthus gutter hangers available in cast copper and also in powder coated finished or mill finish cast aluminum. They are designed to fit Rutland’s seamless gutters ranging in half round gutter sizes from 5” to 10”. Various size wedges from 1” to 2.5” are available in both cast copper and aluminum to properly align the gutter system to various fascia angles.

Rutland also stocks many different types of stamped and hidden gutter hangers, all available in a wide selection of materials and sizes. Hidden hangers are available for half round, K-style, quarter round and box gutters in a wide variety of sizes and materials including copper, aluminum and stainless steel. Rutland also stocks many roof mounted, rafter tail mounted and fascia mounted gutter hangers for both half round and K-style gutters including copper, aluminum and stainless steel. Many different sizes of these are stocked by Rutland Gutter Supply and scroll design hangers are available for fascia, roof and rafter mounting.

Rutland Gutter Supply’s superior selection of in stock gutter system parts, components or accessories is immense and unmatched in the U.S. Rutland offers next day shipping on most of Rutland’s gutter supplies as virtually all gutter system components are in stock. In addition to having the largest selection of gutter hangers, Rutland has the largest selection of decorative downspout pipe straps, available in cast copper and aluminum, as well as custom and standard pipe straps. Rutland’s selection of leader heads (else known as conductor heads-collector heads-hopper heads) is again the largest in the U.S.A and most of them are in stock and available with or without one of Rutland’s custom decorative castings incorporated. Rutland strives to have the largest selection on hand for same day shipping. Rutland also encourages it’s customers to submit custom requests as Rutland has extensive custom fabrication experience and Rutland’s facilities and operations are conducive to custom metal work.