What homeowners ask before they call

What is a seamless gutter, and is it worth it?

Short answerA seamless gutter is formed from a coil of aluminum into one continuous piece, cut to the exact length of each run of your roof. The only joints are at the corners and where the downspouts connect. Sectional gutters are joined every 10 feet or so, and every one of those joints is a place that can start to drip.

How it is made

We bring the coil and the forming machine to your house. The machine shapes the flat aluminum into a gutter profile — 5-inch or 6-inch — and we cut each piece to fit the run it is going on, so a 38-foot wall gets a 38-foot gutter.

What it does not fix

• Corners and outlets are still joints. They are sealed when the gutter goes up, and they are the first place to look if a seamless gutter ever drips.
• Size and slope still matter. A seamless gutter that is too small, or that does not fall toward its downspout, will still overflow.

Should I get 5-inch or 6-inch seamless gutters?

Short answerFive-inch gutters handle most houses. Choose six-inch when one gutter run has to carry a lot of roof: long runs, steep pitches, or a valley that dumps into one spot. A 6-inch K-style gutter carries roughly 40% more water than a 5-inch, and it pairs with a larger 3×4-inch downspout instead of a 2×3.

What the extra inch actually buys

The bigger downspout matters as much as the trough. A 3×4 downspout drains faster and is harder to clog with a handful of maple seeds — which in a Minnesota spring is half the battle.

When six-inch is worth it

• A long run with one downspout. If a run is over about 40 feet and there is no good place for a second downspout, size up.
• A steep roof. Water comes off faster and can overshoot a 5-inch gutter in a downpour.
• A roof valley over the gutter. Two roof planes pouring into one corner overflow a 5-inch gutter first.
• Heavy tree cover. More room in the trough and a bigger downspout give debris somewhere to go.

Why are my gutters overflowing?

Short answerAlmost always one of four things: the gutter or its downspout is clogged, the gutter is too small for the roof above it, it has lost its slope and holds water instead of moving it, or one downspout is being asked to drain too much roof. Where it overflows tells you which.

Read where the water comes over

• Right above a downspout. The downspout is plugged. Leaves and seed pods jam at the top elbow first.
• In the middle of a run, or at the low end. The gutter is full of debris, or it has sagged and no longer falls toward the downspout.
• Only in heavy rain, all along the front. The gutter is undersized for that roof — see 5-inch or 6-inch.
• At an inside corner under a valley. Two roof planes meet there and send more water than one corner can take.
• In winter, along the eave. That is ice in the gutter and an ice dam forming above it — see ice dams.

Why it is worth fixing

Water that comes over the front lands right against the foundation — exactly where you do not want it. That is how an overflowing gutter turns into a wet basement or a washed-out flower bed.

How far should downspouts drain from my house?

Short answerAt least 4 to 6 feet from the foundation, and farther if you have a basement. This Old House recommends an extension that reaches at least 4 feet; Portland's stormwater bureau says at least 6 feet from a basement. The ground should slope away from the house too — the building code calls for at least 6 inches of fall in the first 10 feet.

Ways to get it there

• A longer downspout extension. The simplest fix, and often all a house needs.
• A splash block at the end. Keeps the water from digging a hole and spreads it out.
• A buried drain line. Carries water well away, out of the way of the mower — This Old House suggests at least 10 feet for a buried line.

Watch for in winter

An extension lying on the lawn can freeze solid and back water up the downspout. Check that it still drains after the first hard freeze.

How often should gutters be cleaned in Minnesota?

Short answerOnce or twice a year for most homes, and in Minnesota twice is the safer plan: once in late spring, after the seeds and blossoms drop, and once in late fall, after the leaves are down and before freeze-up. Homes under big trees or pines may need it more often.

Why the fall cleaning matters most here

A gutter full of wet leaves going into December holds water, and that water freezes. Come the first thaw, the melt has nowhere to go but back up the roof. Clearing gutters and downspouts before freeze-up is cheap insurance against an ice dam.

Signs it is overdue

• Plants or seedlings growing in the gutter
• Water spilling over the front in an ordinary rain
• A gutter pulling away from the fascia under the weight

Do gutter guards cause ice dams?

Short answerNo. Ice dams start on the roof, when heat escaping from the house melts snow that refreezes at the colder eave — a gutter guard neither causes nor cures that. Guard style still matters in Minnesota: hooded, reverse-curve guards can hold snow and ice at the roof edge, while flat screens and mesh sit lower and hold less.

Where guards help in winter

The real winter value of a screen is what it does in October. A gutter packed with wet leaves in November is a gutter full of ice in January, with nowhere for the next thaw to drain. A screen keeps the trough and downspouts clear going into freeze-up.

What to watch for

• Hooded or reverse-curve guards wrap out over the edge and can hold a lip of snow and ice there. In snow country, flat screens and mesh are the safer pick.
• Icicles on the guard. Melt can freeze on contact with a cold guard. A few icicles are normal; a thick ridge of ice is a sign of attic heat loss, not a guard problem.
• Still check them once a year. Screens keep leaves out; they do not keep shingle grit and seed pods out forever.

How do I get rid of an ice dam safely?

Short answerStay off the roof. Take away what feeds the dam by pulling snow off the lower part of the roof with a roof rake from the ground, gently, since a rake can scrape shingles. If water is already coming inside, call a professional: University of Minnesota Extension warns that anyone working on a roof in winter risks injury and damage to the roof, and says to contact professionals.

What causes it

Heat escaping from the house keeps the upper roof above freezing while the overhang at the eave stays below it. Snow melts on the warm part, runs down, and freezes again at the cold edge. The ridge of ice holds back a pool of water, and that water finds its way under the shingles, into the attic, and down the walls or through the ceiling.

What to do today

• Rake, don't climb. A long-handled roof rake from the ground removes the snow that feeds the dam.
• Leave the ice alone. No hammers, chisels or shovels on the ice — they break shingles and pull gutters off the fascia.
• If water is coming in, Extension's emergency step is to cut a channel through the dam so the water behind it drains — on a warm day a garden hose with tap water will do it, working up from the lower edge. It lasts days, not the winter.
• Dry out anything wet right away. Extension notes that moisture from ice dams can lead to mold and mildew.

How we remove one

We cut the dam back with steam at the eave — it melts through the ice without breaking the shingles underneath — and open the downspouts so the melt has somewhere to go. Then we tell you what caused it.

How to stop it coming back

Removal fixes this winter. Extension's long-term fix is to keep house heat out of the attic: first make the ceiling airtight so warm air cannot leak up, then add insulation. A weatherization contractor can find the leaks with a blower door test. Gutters that drain freely help, but a gutter alone cannot stop a warm roof from making ice.