If you live in Florida, rain gutters are a necessity for your home. Gutters protect your home from water damage, help prevent structural damage, can help increase the total value of your home and, in the end, end up saving you a lot of money and time. The case of living in an area that doesn't get much rain may not apply to Florida. The state gets a lot of rain and may need gutters, unless you have the exceptional cases mentioned above.
Some areas get rainfall of up to 54 inches, and that's one reason why you should invest in gutters. In the event that you have leaks in your rain gutters, you should also contact a professional to carry out the appropriate repairs. Gutters are only useful in light or medium rain. Areas that have heavy or heavy rains, such as much of Florida, have too much water falling at once for gutters to be really useful.
This means that all they are is a maintenance expense and a possible risk factor in case of strong winds. Another reason is that many builders try to reduce costs, since gutters are not required by law, unless the house has eaves of less than six inches or a roof above another roof. In addition to this, Florida state specific building codes will require gutters if one roof is above another roof, so this can be reduced to the design of your property. From a safety and insurance perspective, installing gutters is a good idea for homeowners, although it's not technically necessary.
Depending on when they are built, it's common for homes in Florida to not have rain gutters. As we said, builders use this common practice to save on construction costs. Remember that, even if the earth can move water well on a normal day, you can't always avoid floods if there's nowhere for excess moisture to go. Capturing this runoff through your gutter system is the perfect option for those who want to save money and reduce their overall environmental impact.
Gutters generally don't affect the value of a property. Because they are not for aesthetic reasons but to channel excess rainwater, gutters are often overlooked during the homebuying process. As opposed to adding a feature to your home to improve curb appeal, gutters play a more functional role. Therefore, having them is standard for some or is not necessary.
However, these can be good in the long run, especially for those in subtropical climates like Florida. As we mentioned, Florida's soils are sandy, but not always foolproof. However, gutters move water from the roof to the ground, which can prevent flooding nearby. This peace of mind not only helps you, but also helps the interior of your home.
Remember that gutters don't always need to be installed around your entire property, so try to focus on areas with slopes or in direct contact with moving water. Copper gutters will be your best bet for durability in the harsh Florida climate. They withstand extreme weather conditions and are able to maintain their long-term effectiveness. In addition, as an added benefit, they change color to a teal shade that many homeowners are looking for.
Usually, a seamless copper gutter will be your best choice. Vinyl offers an affordable, low-maintenance gutter option. Stainless steel gutters are a mid-range option, as they provide more strength than vinyl and lower costs than copper. Even with all that in mind, the durability of the gutter depends at least as much on the hardware and installation procedures as on the material of the gutter.
At Protect Preserve, we use high-quality hardware and have specially trained gutter installation experts who know how to build with Florida's storms in mind. By not using nonsense (gutters from the hardware store), you can do custom work and make gutters up to 5 inches wide and infinitely long. Installing gutters in Florida will generally require measures designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and even the strongest sustained winds that result from hurricanes, in addition to supporting the usual weight of water that is required for gutters. If you don't like to crawl around the roof and pull bits of foliage or other debris out of gutters and downspouts, gutter protectors are a good option.
They are not going to have special trucks for gutter equipment that remain unused for months at a time while framers, concrete managers or roofers (who would be needed to act as gutters) wait for electricians, drywall, flooring specialists, painters, etc. Although it rains and is very humid in Florida, it's not always necessary to install gutters in your home. Gutters are useful here because rain that falls from an eaves washes away the soil near the house, since Florida's soil is sandy. .