My Thoughts Are in the Gutter

It is, of course, better when people do what they promise and do it right. I'm not sure that's what can be said of how things turned out with the gutters on the addition to my house that was contracted to LaRoque Construction of Mocksville, NC. The existing house had Leaf Guard gutters installed before I bought it, which is especially helpful given how high the second story is and how steep the pitch on the roof. I didn't mind cleaning gutters on my parents' split-foyer two-story ranch-type house in Harnett County. But I have no interest in having to worry over debris and drainage on a house like this one.

So, the stated promise was I'd get "gutters to match existing" when I contracted for the renovation and construction of the addition with the kitchen and bathrooms. Instead, I've got a clearly inferior low-grade set of gutters on the addition. Particularly galling is to discover that its design creates mis-aligned drainage, resulting in over-the-gutter dripping, as shown here:



In addition, because these gutters are using a knock-off leaf guard system, or because its installation was not designed right, there is a sunken screen instead of a molded leaf-guard at the top of the downspouts, which serves as a perfect collection point for debris that will be creating problems for me. There's a lot of difference between the manufactured sturdiness of a Leaf-Guard open gutter and a flimsy plastic mesh screen where trash finds a place to rest, which weighs it down, meaning more trash will collect.



So it's hardly maintenance-free, and it doesn't even come close to a "match" with the existing gutters. Add that to the disappointments that exist alongside the celebrations in this endeavor.