The biggest reason to install drainage routes of any kind is to keep rain from pooling at your foundation, leaking through your walls and windows, and keeping yourself from getting drenched in a flood when you walk under your eaves. While they do a good job at meeting these specifications and goals, it’s difficult to keep fastened aluminum from leaking. When these drain troughs leak, they are failing at their job. Irregular or improper maintenance can hasten this failure. Leaks are not good news. It doesn’t take long for water to create havoc on your foundation, especially if all of the water arrives in a concentrated area.

While regular maintenance and inspection are two of the best ways to keep these leaks from developing into a problem, a recent manufacturing progress has brought with it a solution that is self-contained. Seamless gutters are created from a solid piece of tubing so there are no joints and seams where leaks can develop. Is that to say that these advancements remove the need for maintenance? Not at all. The troughs can still get clogged with leaves and debris, just as they can with traditional tubing. But they will be far less susceptible to decay and damage. The fasteners are always the weak point in any aluminum construction. By removing them, you remove that weak link in the chain.

So, if they’re such an advancement, why doesn’t every homeowner get them installed? Well, as with anything, there are negatives to consider. If you’re the type of homeowner loath to hire a contractor to do work you think should be done on one’s own, you may find yourself frustrated with seamless gutters. Their construction is a bit too complex for a DIY job. Of course, this complexity also adds to their cost. You’re likely to spend a bit more, because much of the cutting and assembling must actually be done on-site. Still, when you consider the years of function you’re going to get out of them, it’s not hard to see why these are minor drawbacks.