Half round gutters can be a very historic and appealing enhancement to any home. Just as one might choose a beautiful piece of jewelry to accessorize their wardrobe, half round gutters are like adding a beautiful piece of jewelry to your home. Everything looks a little better and a little more upscale with a little bling.
Detached Hung Half Round Gutter; A Unique Feature, Completely Exterior
Working in construction in the late 70’s and early 80’s, we saw many authentic half round gutters. The half round gutter not only added visual appeal, it also was a gutter that did its job of carrying rainwater while causing no harm to the building or home. In the north east USA, winters can be harsh and gutters can back up due to snow and ice. The half round gutter was most often installed historically, hanging from gutter rod-and-nut hangers. Threaded copper rods would be hung from the roof drip edge. The half round gutter would be outfitted with copper crossbar hangers that had a hole in the center. The gutter would be hung from the rod and nut hangers which would extend through the hole in the crossbar hangers and would receive 2 copper hexagonal nuts tightened-up to the cross bar. The threaded rods-n-nut hangers also provided for the fact that the slope of the gutter could be adjusted upward or downward by adjusting the hexagonal copper nuts up and down. The beauty of this copper half round gutter system, was the fact that when it is hung from rod and nut hangers, the gutter is entirely external to the building and not even attached to the building. With the gutter hung from roads and nuts, the gutter itself is not at all attached to the fascia, molding or soffit at all. This means that if the gutter were ever to back up due to a gutter clog, an ice back-up or due to wind and rain, such backing-up storm water would not ever leak into the building because the gutter is entirely exterior and therefore can pour over the front of the gutter or the back of the gutter or both. The rain water pouring over the gutter edges would simply fall to the ground and would provide no risk at all of leaking into the building. In this way, the gutter installer could install a beautiful and delicate gutter, and also have certainty and peace of mind that this particular gutter could never leak into the building.
An Easy Gutter Guard for Half Round Gutters.
This article continues to explain information about half round gutters. Read on, to learn more about half round gutters. Most common gutter guards do not fit half round gutters, but now available is a gutter guard that is very easy to install, fits half round gutters, and keeps half round gutters from clogging. To view a gutter guard for half round gutters, click here.
Why Rod and Nut Hangers with Half Round Gutters
As discussed in the prior paragraph, it certainly is a benefit that the half round gutter hung from rod-and-nut hangers also called rod-n-nut hangers or “vampire hangers”, has the benefit of being completely exterior so even if the gutter backs up from gutter clogging, ice or wind, it will not leak into the building because the gutter is capable of pouring over the front and the back of the gutter without leaking: the way the gutter is entirely hung externally allows the gutter to pour over allowing the water to simply fall to the ground. While a great leak free design may have been the reason for hanging the gutter, one other reason the half round gutter was hung from rods and nuts was often due to the fact that the building or home did not have a full vertical fascia board. In many cases, the home or building’s soffit or “jet” had been finished off with a crown molding instead of a vertical fascia board. The old style traditional rod and nut hung gutter could be installed regardless of whether or not the building had a full fascia board. Instead of a full fascia board, these decorative homes were often built with a 5 inch crown molding perimeter, which was more ornamental than a full fascia. The issue was the fact that if a home is built with a crown molding roof edge instead of a vertical fascia board, then an alternate method of gutter attachment was necessary because you can not attach a gutter to a crown molding. If one were to install a gutter and attach it to a crown molding, the gutter would not have the correct support and also would likely rip the crown molding off of the building since a crown molding is entirely decorative and not structural. The hung half round gutter is installed with absolutely no forces or stress transferred to the crown molding because the rod-n-nut hangers transfer all forces and all of the gutter weight to the lowest roof board rather than the fascia board.
We Saw Double Bead and Single Bead Half Round Gutters
Out in our construction travels we mainly saw 5 inch half round gutters made of copper. Occasionally we would see a nice small delicate 4” half round gutter on a smaller roof or smaller addition. 6 inch half round copper gutters were also prevalent but not as popular; and occasionally we would see a large 7 inch half round gutter. These historic copper half round gutters, back in the day, could be made in any size because most of them were custom manufactured in a local sheet metal shop in 8 foot lengths that would then be soldered together. Soldering 8 foot sections of gutter together is not a very efficient method, today longer lengths are produced. Back then, you would see single bead half round copper gutters as well as double bead half round copper gutters. The “single bead” name refers to the fact that the front edge of the gutter would have an ornamental rolled curve formed into the gutter. Double bead refers to the fact that the ornamental curved or rolled bead existed on both the front and the back side of the gutter.
Copper Half Round Gutters, Now Aluminum Half Round and Many Colors Available
Today, half round gutters are fabricated in a much more productive manner. Instead of fabricating them on a sheet metal “brake” in a local "tin knockers" shop from 8 or 10 foot sections that need to be soldered or joined together, today they are typically roll-formed from machinery in the back of a truck or trailer enabling them to produce long lengths at the job site, that do not need to be joined or soldered together. These days, the half round gutter is now available in aluminum. The process of roll forming .032 aluminum provides a very strong gutter at a reasonable price due to the fact that the gutter forming machinery can create very long lengths in a very short amount of time. Due to this more efficient manufacturing process, half round gutters are now available to homeowners at a much more reasonable price. Due to the fact that .032 aluminum coil stock is now readily available in many popular colors, half round gutter customers now have far more choices. When paired with plain round downspouts, people can have a very historic looking home at a reasonable gutter cost.
Half Round Gutter Methods of Attachment
As explained above, many half round gutters are hung from rod-n-nut hangers which attach to the gutter crossbars with nuts screwed onto the threaded rod. Half round gutters can now also be attached to the fascia. Today, half round gutters can either be installed with horizontal cross-bars which extend across the top of the gutter, or the half round gutter can be fastened using “cradle hangers”. Cradle hangers support the gutter from below the gutter and often will have no cross bar. A cradle hanger can have a crossbar, but often has no crossbar as the cradle hanger beneath the gutter is strong enough to support the gutter without a horizontal cross bar. With new more modern methods of half round gutter attachment, half round cradle hangers or crossbar hangers can now be used to install a half round gutter onto a full vertical fascia board. Fewer of these half round gutters are now hung from the roof, because it costs more labor to hang the gutter from the roof. With more and more half round gutters being installed onto a full fascia board, it becomes more important to have a half round gutter guard available to stop them from clogging and backing up to cause leakage. Below we will introduce a fantastic, easy, user friendly gutter guard for half round gutters.
Easy Installation of a Gutter Guard For Half Round Gutters
GutterBrush is a Gutter Guard for half round gutters and it is also very easy to install. Just fill the gutter with three foot lengths of Gutterbrush half round gutter guard to keep it from clogging. Slide 3 foot lengths of Gutterbrush into your half round gutter one after the other, filling the entire gutter; and leave it in place for year round half round gutter clog protection. The gutter brush keeps the debris out of the gutter flow channel, while the rain water flows between the gutter brush bristles. The 5 inch half round gutter is properly fit with Gutterbrush for standard 5 inch gutters which has an actual diameter of 4.25 inches. The 6 inch half round gutter gets properly fit with Oversize Gutterbrush for 6 inch gutters which has an actual diameter of 5.25 inches; and fits the 6 inch half round gutter perfectly.
Half Round Gutter Guard
When you fill your half round gutter with Gutterbrush, the gutter will not clog. Half round gutter guard installation is fast and easy. Half round gutters are fairly shallow so a good portion of the Gutterbrushes will be visible above the edges of the gutter. Most Gutterbrush customers explain that the visibility of the brush above the gutter is fine because it has a nice neat appearance and it works so well. One Gutterbrush customer explained that they, husband and wife, like the look of the brush in the gutter because it is neat and an interesting talking point to enjoy with neighbors as they stroll past and observe. Click here to see all sizes of Gutterbrush for your half round gutter: or for any gutter style. Gutterbrush has flexible bristles and 5 different sizes to fit any gutter size or shape. Click here to see frequently asked questions about Gutterbrush or call 888-397-9433 to talk to one of the folks at Gutterbrush; they are available during normal business hours eastern standard time (Rhode Island); or send them an email to info@gutterbrush.com