When to replace your Eavestroughs

I get asked several times every week, "How can I tell if my eavestroughs need replacing?" It's an honest and legitimate question. After all, how often do you replace your eavestroughs? Once every 30 years, if they are done right? Here are some things to look for to determine the condition of your eavestroughs:

1. Do they leak from the corners and end caps?
2. Do they have visible damage like denting or bending?
3. Are they detaching from the house?
4. Do they have large amounts of water pooling?
5. Are the downpipes broken or split?
6. Are they badly faded and oxidized?

The above is certainly not a comprehensive list but those are the most common things to look for. Here is a video I shot the other day at a home that will show you eavestroughs that are in poor condition and need replaced.

If you need a quote for eavestroughs and want the job done right, contact The Eavestrough Company at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com

Alu-Rex T-Rex and Gutter Clean vs. Alu-Rex Clip and Guard

I love Alu-Rex. Every year, I install thousands of feet of Alu-Rex T-Rex and Alu-Rex Gutter Clean. It works great with all debris except for pine or spruce needles.

Here are some pictures of the commercial grade Alu-Rex that I buy.

The top picture is of Alu-Rex Gutter Clean. It can be installed with new eavestroughs or with existing. The bottom picture is T-Rex. It can only be installed on new eavestroughs. Both products are quality heavy gauge aluminum. They both can be secured very strongly and will never blow off, collapse or seperate.

However, in the past few years, Alu-Rex has marched out other products which, in my opinion are very substandard and sold through the Big Box Stores. I have seen Alu-Rex products sold at Costco as "Golden Guard"; at TSC Stores as "Clip N Guard"; and Home Depot recently had Alu-Rex "Elements". They are all the same product just with different names. Here are pictures of the products:

How do these compare with Alu-Rex T-Rex or Gutter Clean? Other than being made by the same company, they don't! They are cheap, terrible products. The are made out of aluminum so razor thin I can cut them with scissors! They do not use any screws and so in a wind they shift around, collapse and blow out. In fact, the box of Alu-Rex Elements above was bought at a fire sale price at Home Depot for $6 per 24' box (that's .24 per lineal ft) because Home Depot was clearing out. Now that says something!

I'm not sure why a company like Alu-Rex sells one product that is phenomenal then dumbs down that same product into a poor product like Golden Guard, Clip N Guard, and Elements. I have taken these products off many houses.

The unfortunate thing is that some well intentioned home owners buy these cheap products, they fail and then come to the conclusion that all gutter protections don't work. It is very difficult to sell someone a great product by Alu-Rex when they have already tried Alu-Rex Clip N Guard and it failed. In my personal opinion, Alu-Rex does themselves a great dis-service when they sell these cheap failure prone products.

I know Alu-Rex wants to make a buck. After all they are a for profit business. I do however, believe they should leave it to the commercial suppliers like Gentek, Boncor, Kaycan, Roof Mart, etc.... and then leave it to the professionals to install their product.

That's my opinion on Alu-Rex. It's a great company with a great product. I just think they should stick to their products that actually work.

If you would like a quality product like Alu-Rex Gutter Clean or T-Rex installed on your home, contact The Eavestrough Company at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com