Seamless gutters are literally what their name implies. They are pressed and formed by a special machine, usually at the installation site, from rolled aluminum material. It’s safe to say that seamless aluminum gutters are the most commonly installed gutter systems for residential applications these days, but it’s not uncommon to come across traditional seamless gutters quite often as well.

Why are jointless gutters preferred?

Water has some pretty persistent physical properties, one of which is that it will seek the path of least resistance. No matter how well they are made, for traditional gutters that consist of several “joined” sections, each of these seams will become a catch point for both flowing water and debris over time.

Following its natural path, water will gradually begin to penetrate the seams, corrosive debris will settle, the seams will begin to seep, and ultimately all of this will lead to gutter failure. Clearly, it is advantageous to have the fewest weak points that will eventually promote failure. This is why seamless gutters are considered a superior technology and certainly preferable…with a retainer.

So what’s the catch then?

Well, no matter how well they are designed or installed, even seamless gutters will have a few seams here and there. Just because they maintain a continuous linear path from one end to the other, there are still places like end caps and downspout holes that will have seams. The fewer seams, definitely the better, but having two or three seams in every length of installed gutter is unavoidable.

What is the best way to prevent seam leaks, even with seamless gutters?

The answer is to keep the gutter system meticulously clean and free of debris. With properly installed gutters, the water itself will drain away and completely evaporate before it can do any serious damage. The problem usually starts when debris starts to build up and keeps the gutters, and especially the seams, dirty and wet all the time. Even durable aluminum cannot defend itself against this type of prolonged attack.

The best way to prevent leaks and eventual failure is to keep your gutters absolutely clean at all times. Of course, no one really wants to spend the time and hassle it takes to keep up with this task. Fortunately, for all you weary homeowners out there, gutter cover systems have improved tremendously over the years to become highly effective protection against all types of debris.

The bottom line…

Properly installed seamless gutters contain fewer potential failure points than traditional modular gutters; this is a certain positive factor. But any type of gutter will be susceptible to corrosion, leaks, and eventual failure if not kept clean or properly maintained. The only real way to prevent this is to install a quality gutter protection system to prevent sediment from building up in your gutters.