Installation Warranty:
I offer a 10 year installation labor warranty on all the materials I install.

That may not seem like much, and I would offer more, but at 47 years old (as of 1/10) I do not see myself climbing ladders much past that. I pride myself on being realistic and only offering an honest guarantee. Since this is still 10 times what the CCB requires, or 10X more than what most contractors offer, I trust you should appreciate that added value. I pride myself on only offering an honest, realistic service. My company may be around beyond this and we would do our best to respond to reasonable issues, but I cannot obligate my wife and children to uphold a longer warranty.

Cancellations: If we have contracted to replace your gutters and you had put down the required 1/3 deposit you are allowed to cancel the job without explanation and get 90% of that deposit returned as soon as possible. I am too busy to bother holding my clients to a contract, but there's just the 10% reservation fee that's nonrefundable to cover the jobs I may have lost due to being booked out so far.

If I have already picked up the parts for your project then a 25% reservation fee is withheld, which does not happen until I have confirmed with you about the color and project detail only a week before starting your job, so that would not be a surprise.

After I have begun the installation; I will do my best to work out any issue you may have to find a workable solution for both of us.

Client Satisfaction: Most clients appreciate the extra effort they clearly see I go to in order to provide a better gutter system than you'll get from any other gutter Contractor; guaranteed. As well as I can I have been known to bend over backwards to resolve any dispute, within reason.

The Aluminum Sheet Metal: the manufacturer of the new Dupont Teflon surface protector painted aluminum I use has a lifetime warranty transferrable to the next owner. Even without this I have seen evidence of aluminum gutters lasting over 50 years, if installed well.  Aluminum gutters are made nearly twice as thick as steel gutters to compensate for it being a softer metal. No sheet metal gutter will hold up to an impact of a large branch, so the notion that aluminum will not hold up as well as steel is an erroneous argument. Aluminum will not rust, so it will out last you. Aluminum has been used for gutters for well over 60 year now, and I have yet to see evidence of deterioration under normal use.

I've heard that aluminum has not held up as well on the Coast with the presence of the salt air chemical reaction, but I have not personally seen evidence of this. Although I had made a litter box for our cats and rabbits out of painted aluminum and the concentrated urine had managed to eat through the paint and dissolved holes through the aluminum within a couple years, but I have not seen evidence of this chemical reaction in relation to rain gutter use. I'm not sure what else I could say about aluminum, but I could say a lot of derogatory comments about steel or plastic gutters; from what I have seen, and the fact that they account for at least 90% of what I've had to replace over the last 17 years.

Copper Sheet Metal: for gutters copper has been used for several centuries and has held up the best, unless they cut corners by using a very thin copper.  I have evidence of water abrasion wearing holes through thin copper within half a century. Given enough time water can wear down most anything down. The soldered seams may separate after several decades. That is one reason why I do not solder copper gutter seams together. I use the most advanced caulk and rivets to seal gutters with expansion joints where needed. I use the standard 16oz copper that are rated to have a 60 year life span, or thicker 20oz copper for about an 80 year life span. Any thicker and it would not be able to go through a gutter machine. I highly recommend 20oz copper for better durability than longevity and around half my copper gutter clients have gone for the thicker copper, since they are already looking for better than standard just requesting copper gutters. The hidden hangers I use are made with a 48oz copper. Copper has the advantage of very good resale value beyond the extra cost difference with most any house as it is a solid investment, which has a very good scrap value of $3# (4/10). Also, copper will not deteriorate from rust and is a little stronger than aluminum, resisting dents better. I have personally seen evidence of copper gutters in service for over 100 years; when installed well.

Stainless Steel: My suppliers do not stock this for gutters, but it would hold up well and be plenty strong. It is just as expensive as copper, but harder to work with. It remains bright and shiny, aside from the mildew that will form over the outside surface it looks very odd on most any house. Copper is one metal that is meant to be seen and will not mildew or grow a lot of moss inside, so it is the preferred metal for gutters.

More Details:

• Realistic Warranty Claim? As best I know, I offer the highest real warranty in the business here locally.  Note: this is 10 times longer than the Construction Contractors Board (CCB) requires of all Oregon construction contractors. I pride myself on providing only honest and realistic claims. I have seen a web site for a gutter contractor (not local to us) that claimed a 100 year warranty on their copper gutters.  This is suspect in of it's self, since that contractor have been 6 feet under for at least half a century by then. There are few small businesses that can survive more than a few years, let alone a decade from now. I have already specialized in gutter installation for 17 years, since 1993 under the same contractors license number. But how many more decades am I likely to be in business and climbing up on ladders? Well, I am 47 years old (1/63). I will not make outrageous claims just to sell jobs; like a roofing contractor I knew, who was dying of cancer, yet was offering his clients a 50 year warranty (he died a year later).  I also saw a bid from a competitor (7-05) who boldly stated they have a 25 year warranty, but in the fine print you could see he was only referring to the manufacturer's warranty on the parts, not his installation, that was only 1 year (which is the minimum required warranty for all types of construction). This shows their intent was to deceive the client, and had no intention of standing by their installations.

• Detached or Damaged? Since I use only #12 stainless steel wood screws for installation, I can tell each time if the screws had some good solid wood to grip to.  This installation warranty does cover the gutters and downspouts from pulling loose from the house under normal conditions (see exceptions below)
  Note: I would not know for sure if your existing fascia boards were installed well enough to hold the weight of the gutter full of water and debris.  I would discuss the need for replacement with you if I found a problem, but I do not normally perform special test to see if the fascia boards are securely attached to the roof rafters.

• Leaks? My installation warranty does covers leaking corners or end-caps.

• Standing Water? My new gutter installations will have no more than 1/4" deep standing water in cleaned out gutters, unless the building settles more than that after installation. That's most likely a great deal better than what you had before the replacement.
  Note: I work especially hard to give all the gutters a slight grade toward the outlet drain in both directions, so they should even rinse themselves out in a heavy downpour.  There should be no standing water at all, but I cannot guaranty that your house will not settle to upset this balance over the next few decades.

• Transferable Warranty? My installation warranty is transferable to the next home owner, so my gutter replacements can help the sale of a house. Far more than getting cheaper gutters.

Click here to read more on my thoughts on personal ethical responsibility, not only to my clients, but to all those I deal with.  I do my best to maintain customer satisfaction in any situation.

Rust free materials

I feel that more important than a warranties is what type of material is used and how they are installed that matters most.  Rust and poor installation account for at least 95% of gutter replacement, so that is where I place most of my focus. I only work with rust free parts other than the screen cover. I install with over 8X strength on each gutter job I do.

Here is a clear photo of the heavy-duty copper hidden hanger supports w/a pair of stainless steel screws in each. Since mid 2004 I upgraded my standards to a pair of #12 stainless steel screws in the outer holes of these hidden hangers pictured, due to the bad snow storm we had in early 2004 (see my Snow Damage web page for more details on this issue). You will not find another contractor to install them nearly as well at any price.

Issues Not Covered by My Installation Warranty:

The fine print: (although I try to make it legible here). Customer satisfaction is very important to us, but I would be a fool to accommodate every possible situation, so here is some of the common sense limitation that I cannot be responsible for (sorry if this seems condescending).

Fascia Board Dislocation: I cannot be responsible if the cause of the gutters coming loose was from the fascia board it's self becoming dislocated from the house because of too much dry-rot behind the fascia board and or the nails holding the fascia board on pull loose or are rusted away.  This is not common, but this cannot be my responsibility unless I had installed those fascia boards of course.  Fascia boards coming down with the gutters rarely happens, but it could.
Note: It is rare to see other contractors who use screws for installation of fascia boards.  When I install fascia boards, I use long Deckmate screws with a life time coating. Screws give a good indication if it has a solid grasp in the wood and are very unlikely to ever pull loose. 

Mother Nature: You will not find a better installation, but I cannot be responsible for damage, scratches, or dents after installation.  Things like tree branches falling, excessive snow and ice loads sliding off the roof (a terrible issue with metal roofs. See my Sheet Metal Roofs & Snow Page for photos and details about this issue and what I try to do to avoid this from happening), abuse like: vehicles smashing into the gutters, and ladders banged against them.
Note: I do not lean my ladders against gutters, and I go out of my way with each gutter job to install gutters with the best products on the market and 8X building code standards for a installation, but there is only so much that any gutters will resist.  You would do well to buy a $25 ladder stabilizer to loan workers who do not have them on their ladders, so they will rest the ladder on the shingles above the gutters.

Personal Danger or Injury: from you or others accessing your gutters for cleaning or such. Injury and damage from falling off the roof, or grabbing the gutter as a last ditch effort to keep from falling to the ground.

Screens: These screens are the best, sturdiest product I have found at a reasonable cost, but they may get deformed over time from unusual snow storms and falling branches, so I cannot warranty that sort of abuse any more than with the gutters themselves.  The screens I use for aluminum and copper gutters are made of an expanded steel sheet metal that has a black powder-bake finish, so I am not responsible for these screens if they begin to rust over time. That would be the manufacturer who would be responsible, but I have not seen a written warranty for these screens.  If they were to make them out of aluminum sheet metal, they would be too light weight, prone to being blown off in the wind.  Also, they would be too fragile. I have not found a source for stainless steel screens, but I do have copper screens, although they are 3X the cost and not half as strong, so they will not last, so my copper gutter clients have opted for the less expensive steel screens instead.

(Long Term Deterioration of the Metal or Paint Finish: The manufacturer is solely responsible for any deterioration of the sheet metal and paint finishes.  They claim to provide a 40 year warranty on the aluminum sheet metals I use, and a 20 year paint finish warranty for the pre-painted aluminum sheet metal.  I do not know of a warranty for the touch-up spray paints the wholesale suppliers sell us for use in preparation of gutter parts, but I have seen they do not hold up nearly as well. Note: I am happy to provide you with contact information of the wholesale supplier I use Custom-bilt Metals' phone #(503) 256-3328.

My 15 year no-clog warranty:

Details:

• Length of my warranty: I will only offer realistic claims. I could present fishy claims of a lifetime warranty, but I will not play that game. If my system does in fact provide 15 years of trouble free service, you will know it must be a very good system. I am not likely to be around climbing up ladders more than length of time from now, so there is no point to offer such an unrealistic warranty, and in so doing insult your intelligence. If I happen to still be selling gutters and having younger men doing the work after that time there is a good chance I will be happy to solve your issue, but I cannot predict the future.

• Maintenance? My No-clog warranty does not require you to have someone even go up to the roof edge to even check your gutters for blockage.  As long as the screens stay in place and are not damaged, yet the gutters get clogged and begin to over flow, it is my responsibility to clear them out.  In the last 15 years of doing this I have had such little warranty issues it clearly demonstrates how well this system works.  Note: I will not be making periodic inspections.  You would need to contact us to inform us if there is an issue that needs my attention.

• Nests under the screens? It is a very rare occurrence, but I cannot be responsible for critters, insects, or birds building large enough nests in your gutters to clog them, or these critters pulling the screens open.

• Debris over the screens? I cannot warranty normal debris build-up on the roof or over the top of the screens
  Note: wind typically clears this build-up over the screens after it has a chance to dry out, but it can be a problem.

• Storm sewer clogs? I am not able to cover this as I do not inspect your storm drains to make sure they are like new at the time I install the new gutters, but the Leaf-catchers are very helpful to keep this issue from getting any worse.
• Transferable? Our No-clog warranty is transferable to the next home owner, so it can help the sale of the house.  

Your only responsibilities with My No-clog warranty:

With my No-clog warranty; you have no responsibility to have someone get up there and check the gutters at all. If the gutters were to become clogged, it would over flow above the downspouts, since that is the low spots. Once notified, it is my responsibility to come out to clear the obstruction. As stated above, I will not be doing regular system checks of your house, so you would need to contact us if there were to become a problem.  This is a small concern, since I have had less than a 5% call back issue.

Leaf-catchers (as shown to the right)
These are not required for Or No-clog warranty, but they are my most popular option, since these are very helpful to keep your rain sewer pipes clear. They are also a lot cheaper than a single Roto-Rooter service call. With my Leaf-catchers, maintenance is simple from the ground level.  All you need to do is clear out the debris in the Leaf-catcher every so often. Note: It does not usually need serviced more than a few times a year, depending on the debris issue near your house.

The Leaf-catcher is placed at hip height, so you don't have to bend over to access it.  With this technology there is much less need to get up to the roof's edge and clear the gutters out.  If you decide that you want to clean out the gutters, you can simply place a piece of plastic or even cardboard over the screen in the Leaf-catcher.  Then rinse out the gutters with the garden hose, spraying right through the screens. This way even the tiny roof sand will flush out onto the ground. Then sweep it up if you choose, and you are done.

Roof Debris Accumulation:
None of this will keep debris from accumulating on your roof. That of course would not be my responsibility. Although, if you do not keep your roof clean, it does not affect my No-clog warranty.

Why are strainers in the gutter bad for gutters?
Any type of strainers that goes up inside the gutters are death to gutters (no joke).  You want the gutters to continue to drain, as they should.  Yes, it is very important to keep your underground drains clear of this debris, but placing the Leaf-catcher strainer in the downspout is much wiser.

The debris simply decomposes, turning to mud. and damn up the water.  This causes severe damage to the foundation through ground erosion, which is the whole reason gutters are now a mandatory building code.  It also will pull the gutters loose of the house from the heavy weight of the water and debris.  If your gutters are steel, it causes them to rust through that much sooner.  You want the gutters to continue to function and drain!

Best value for your $:
Some people here in the Northwest simply do not have a serious debris problem and may not need these No-clog options with their new gutters.  Even though most of my clients go with the full package, I happily provide my 8X strength rust-free gutters w/o my No-clog options.  Our basic installation is better than you will find elsewhere, and at a reasonable price.  With the stainless steel screws I use to hang my gutters with offers over 8 times the support building code requires, better caulk, and other parts.  So even without the No-clog options you have confidence that this will be a job well done and money well spent.  This I can easily prove, and guarantee.

With the No-clog options it is a product that works better than any other I have seen.  And also cost less that all the other options with a similar claims. You can read more specific details about the different No-clog options on my Comparison web page. And even link to their official web sites to hear their side of the story. I am that confident.

Read more on my Ethical Responsibility web page.