Q: How do I tell my gutter size?

A: Take a look at the side profile, Measure from the back wall of the gutter to the outermost point on the front of the gutter, the most common size is 5". 6" is becoming more popular now everywhere and has been for a while in Florida, 4" was the old standard nationwide and is uncommon but is still sold mostly in low rain west coast areas by Home Depot and other big box stores.

When you are measuring your gutters keep in mind the condition of the gutter, if they are old they may have stretched out, so for example a 5 inch gutter may look to be 5-1/2 or 6 inch's, the flat front of the outer curl on the profile should be parallel to the back wall of the gutter and fascia it is attached to.

Q: Is there an ideal temperature to install Aluminum gutter?

A: Yes,

More so in zones where the temperatures fluctuate between warm and cold, this is because Aluminum expands and contracts. Ideally, you should install in temperatures between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Also if you have joints, allow for expansion and contraction and try to avoid putting fasteners through the troughs in overlapping areas so that the seam can flex vs potentially buckling. Aluminum trough typically can expand and contract approximately 3/32" inch for every 10 feet of length.

Q: How many Gutter Hangers will I need?

A: Recommended safe spacing for most of our hanger products is 2 foot on center or on every rafter tail (usually 2 foot but sometimes 16 inch), if you add up the total feet of your gutter run and divide by 2 then add 2 extra hangers for corners it should give you a good estimate of how many hangers you will need. In light rain regions hangers may be spaced farther apart.

Q: How far apart should gutter hangers be spaced?

A: 24"

The recommended spacing for Gutter Hangers is 24", when possible, try to get the hanger screw to penetrate a rafter tail behind the fascia, especially if you have no soffit board for aesthetic reasons. In areas where gutters will carry a heavy snow load the spacing can be reduced to 16" however our test facilities have 24" spaced hangers on rafter tails and we have not noticed any deformation of hangers or gutters after 10 weeks of solid ice loading with repeated freeze thaw cycles.

Q: We are looking at lowes their item #13720 for the gutters, "Severe Weather K Style Vinyl Gutter" They say they use their item # 13777 for hangers. It looks like some of your hangers in this listing would be compatible and certainly a lower cost...Could you confirm they are compatible please?

A: No,

Sorry we do not sell or make any hangers that are compatible with any Vinyl Gutters at this time because the profiles are different, take a look at the profile shapes on the applications page to get a visual. I was told by somebody that they modified a QuickScrew hanger with tin snips and got it to work in an application where they did not care about appearance, however doing this would void your warranty and is not condoned or approved in anyway by the manufacturer

Q: Do you sell 4" gutter hangers?

A: Yes,

Please see our Hang-rite line for 4" Hangers

Q: Is the gutter itself included in the sale?

A: No,

In populated areas usually gutter contractors have mobile machines and can run what you need to length on your job site, or most big box hardware store sell 10 foot sections of gutter

Q: Do you offer hangers that will work with ALUMAX gutters?

A: Depends on what type of ALUMAX gutter,

The Alumax brand was sold in 1996 to Euramax International Ltd., a new British company held by venture capital affiliates of Citicorp and partnered with Amerimax. They make/made a variety of styles including K style in metal and plastic(vinyl), please look at the profile picture on the applications page of a K style gutter to see if it is what you have. Also these do not work on any plastic vinyl gutters.

Q: Are Hangers Better than Spikes or Ferrules?

A: Yes,

Quick Screw Gutter Hangers are invisible from below the eave, there is no faster head that sticks out of the side of the gutter, in addition to this aesthetic benefit, hangers hold the trough tighter to the fascia, and screws will not loosen over time like spikes do

Q: What is the proper slope for rain gutter?

A: Ideally you want all the rain water to flow towards your downspout outlets and not have so much pitch that is looks ridiculous. For reference 1/4" for every 10 feet is a good reference to shoot for.

There are many different opinions on this subject, If you are using sections of gutter such as the 10 foot sections sold at big box stores, try to avoid creating pooling points at the junctions, smear your sealant on the junctions so the water will keep flowing over the seam and account for any bump when you are doing your pitching. Obviously a small amount of sitting water will quickly evaporate, but you don't want to have water standing for long periods of time.

Q: Why are my gutters overflowing so much?

A: The 2 most common reasons for overflow are are:

1. The gutter is separating from the building, this can cause overflow and also lead to water going behind the gutter; in this case tighten the fasteners so that the back of the gutter is flush with the fascia board.

2. The gutters are full of leaves and plant debris. In this case clean them out! Gutters should be routinely cleaned out depending on when and how fast leaves fall in your region. In the East and Midwestern USA this often means a big clean in the late fall with a quick clean out in the early spring. Gutter Screens can help keep gutters cleaner for longer periods of time.

One last thing to mention about overflow is that the older 4 wide gutters(still widely sold in the western USA) overflowed much more than the new standard 5 inch gutter, if you have 4" gutters consider upgrading to 5 inch gutters.

Q: Do 5 inch Quick Screw Hangers work with Lowes 5.5 inch gutters?

A: Lowes refers to the Amerimax 5 inch gutter as 5.5 inch, see the picture below for exact model numbers, this may be because the gutter might measure 5.5 inchs before it is fully secured to the fascia board. Quick Screw works with all metal 5 inch standard K profile straight back gutters, they are not designed to work with hem back gutters or plastic gutters.

Q: Can Quickscrew hangers screw into Hardie Trim Boards (or other fiber cement boards)?

A: It has been done but it is not recommended or supported by the manufacturer for several reasons as follows: Per James Hardies Installation Guide titled : hardietrim-nt3-hz5-us-en: "HardieTrim board is a decorative non-load bearing trim product. Do not attach gutters directly to HardieTrim, Use gutter hangers that attach through the roof sheathing into a rafter tail or other structural member." Screwing through the Brittle HardieTrim board easily causes cracks and would reduce the hanger screw penetration depth and holding strength by the thickness of the HardieTrim board. The Hardie trim board itself will not hold the screw threads tight over time and the screw will become loose prematurely compared to if it was screwed into timber.

If you have a question and didn't see an answer here, please ask us and we will answer as soon as possible.