Plastic gutters. Any good?

[WVBrady]

I need to replace some of my gutters and downspouts. I have some real old ones that are rusted through steel and some that are aluminum. The problem with the aluminum ones is that they are so easily bent up, especially if you are working by yourself. I thought that the plastic ones would be easier to handle, but don't have any experience with them. One guy that I talked to emphasized that they were plastic, not vinyl. I took that to mean that they were not so durable as vinyl siding.

Any thoughts?

TIA, Brady

 

[Bear]

Had them for years here in western Oregon w/o a problem. Don't know how they would do in extended cold weather and ice dam type situations.

I should say that I thought they were easy to put up.

 

[oldgoat]

I have them on my house for several years and we have some decent range in temps. This last winter I finally had the snow on the roof drift over and broke one of the hangers on one section and it had it bent out of shape. Only problem I had in replacing it was that they only made white ones now that I could find. I put two hangers in place of the one since I had them too far apart when I did it originally. The gutter snapped back in place without a problem. I'd rec. them myself.

 

[Moodster]

All plastic will *eventually* get brittle with UV exposure. Generally speaking, the more you pay for the plastic product, the longer it will resist UV deterioration. Contrast that with aluminum which will last a lifetime against the elements.

David

 

[fotoflojoe]

When we built our house, I did the gutters myself - we were under the gun to get them done for the occupancy permit. The quickest way I found was to use vinyl in 10' sections. Not sure how plastic reacts, but vinyl expands and contracts with temperature variations, just like siding. Because of this, you need to make sure that you set up the correct "overlap" when you connect a gutter section to a slip-joint connector. One section of my setup worked itself out of a connector and would pour down when it rained. Of course, as Murphy would dictate, this leak was right over our back door.

Not sure what prices are like in your part of the country, but last summer I had all the vinyl gutter replaced with seamless aluminum; 65' feet of gutter, and 85 feet of downspout - nothing custom. That cost ~$800 installed and the crew completed the job in about four hours.

 

[Kevin54]

All plastic will *eventually* get brittle with UV exposure. Generally speaking, the more you pay for the plastic product, the longer it will resist UV deterioration. Contrast that with aluminum which will last a lifetime against the elements.

I had plastic on part of the house and shed which lasted for about 4 years until the seals started leaking. Shop around for a gutter installer that has premium aluminum. Heavier than the standard cheap stuff. And for the money, it's cheaper to have someone do it than to mess around with the hassle. With the "continous gutters" you get one piece the full run. A DIY'er has to put it up in sections, caulk the seams, get the run right, etc. The pro's can have it up before you can down a six pack watching them. And the cost is not that much different from doing it yourself.

 

[Phatsub]

I would say avoid plastic at all costs. I have plastic gutters which were NOT installed by me. They're obviousely quite aged, they are warped and leak at every junction.
Needless to say, I'll be removing them this summer.

 

[kbs2244]

I am with Kevin on this one.
Heavy gauge AL done by a pro with a seamless machine.
You can ask to have it oversized if you have a big roof.
And it is kind of fun to watch the gutter come out the back of their truck.

 

[Lloydthumper]

I pressure wash on the side in the summer and I have seen alot of plastic gutters that leak at the overlaps maybe installation I don't know but I wouldn't use them.

 

[6768rogues]

Plastic gutters are in sections sealed together with seals that fail frequently. Home center aluminum gutters are .019 thick and are junk. Most seamless contractor supplied gutters are .027 and are a good product. If you ask, a gutter contractor can get .032 super gutter coil and make heavy gutters. I have them on my barn and you could walk on top of them. No problem leaning a ladder on them and they do not give out when full of ice.

 

[IHI]

I would'nt put plastic/vinyl gutters on a dog house, they market them for DIY'ers to save a buck, and this is yet another example of spening $20 to save $1. It wont take too long and you'll be redoing them because to put it nicely, they are flat out junk...too many seams that ALWAYS FAIL, they look gawd awful with those ugly external brackets, just all around junk and not worth the effort. Will the seamless aluminum ones cost a little more to have installed professionally-yep, why?? because they'll last and wont leak...plus they look nice too.

 

[WVBrady]

Thanks for all the responses!

Brady