Cleaning and Installing Philadelphia Rain Gutters

In Philadelphia, rain gutters are forced to carry a lot of weight. Though the summer and spring months are decidedly less hard on them, wet leaves in autumn and snow and ice in winter can significantly increase the load your gutters have to bare. All that weight can not only damage the gutters themselves, but can have a significant effect on other parts of your house, as well.

Cleaning Rain Gutters in Philadelphia
One of the best things you can do to keep your rain gutters in tip-top shape is to make sure they're cleaned at least once a year. Sure, it's a pain, and those little oak trees that grow out of them really do look kind of cute, but to maintain the stability of your roof, and indeed your home, you have to keep those gutters clean (the tiny oak trees can be replanted somewhere else).

If you live outside of Philadelphia, rain gutter maintenance is just a matter of ladder placement. You've probably got enough room around your home to access any place you should be. If you live in a set of row houses, you might share a gutter with your neighbor (or have to do some walking around on their roof to do the job). Do yourself a favor and let them know what you're up to; you might even offer to do theirs at the same time (if you play your cards right, there could be a pie in it for you).

As the roofs of some houses have a pretty crazy pitch to them, either be very careful during the process, or hire a pro. In Philadelphia, rain gutter cleaning is generally between $100 and $200; that's a small price to pay to avoid a multiple story fall. In most cases, the job will be started and finished the same day.

Rain Gutter Installation and Replacement
If your gutters are obviously too far gone to mend, or you have to walk through a sheet of water every time it rains because you don't have gutters, new gutters are probably in your future. In Philadelphia, gutter installation can run between $800 and $3,000 depending on the size of your house and the number of gutters you would need. A row house often only needs a couple small gutters to do the job, while a big house in the suburbs will need far more. The installation process isn't very long, and even big jobs will usually be done in a week or so.

The Best Choices for Philadelphia Gutter Installation
While vinyl and plastic gutters are the least expensive option and are relatively easy to cut and install (and make a good do-it yourself project); unfortunately, both plastic and vinyl become brittle in cold weather. For a place with long, cold winters like Philadelphia, rain gutters made of aluminum or steel are a better choice. Steel gutters will be much stronger, but often cost 2 or 3 times more than aluminum.

Most people that install new gutters today opt for seamless models. Seamless gutters are considered more visually appealing and they provide a better flow of water, which means that clogs are less likely to form. These are typically professionally installed. Sectional gutters can be installed by the homeowner but are becoming less popular because they develop leaks and are prone to clogging. Most Philadelphians choose seamless over sectional, even though the price for seamless is a bit higher.