Another (very) satisfied customer

I &M construction is the preferred installer of Duragutter in the Boston area. They replaced PVC gutters on this historic Sudbury home with Duragutter.

Here's the customer's review:

"One word comes to mind when I think of our experience with Imer and Duragutter, BRAVO! I must say we had a difficult ask of you, Imer and Duragutter. Moving into into a historic home built in 1911 with MANY original details preserved, we were tasked with replacing gutters that were installed only a few years earlier with an very expensive Azek product that proved to be disappointing. We performed a lot of research on wood gutters, copper gutters and everything in between. Our goal was to find a gutter platform that BOTH had form and function. A system that would perform under the harsh New England conditions YET preserve the look the home demanded. In the end, the Duragutter product proved to be best in class. Your thoughtful engineering of the system along with Imer and his team’s incredible professionalism and installation skill made the end product look like it was installed at the time the house was originally built! Thank you again for a great design with Duragutter and also a fantastic installer with Imer and his team at I&M construction."

Wood is not good

As much as I love wood, there are some places you really don't want to use it- like underwater. Wood + water = rot. In the old days of wood gutters, when they were made from old growth Cypress and Redwood, the wood could last 30 years or so if properly maintained before it rotted. Today, a wood gutter purchased from the local supplier might last 5 years.

This is what was left of a wood gutter we recently replaced. But even if wood lasted forever, it would not be as good as Duragutter. That's because Duragutter is made from extruded aluminum that is 1/8" thick, not 1" thick like wood. For the same outside dimensions, Duragutter holds exactly twice as much water as a wood gutter. That means fewer downspouts and no possibility of overflowing.

Here's the new Duragutter, with integral leaf guard and flashing. This will last the life of the house. The customer said "Just a quick review of my recent Duragutter installation by I&M construction. Imer and his crew did a great job installing the gutters and repairing rot where it was encountered. I have an old (over 200 years) house on Cape Cod with wooden gutters. In particular, it has miter joints between the gutters and the rake molding. I wanted to preserve that architectural detail but have more durable gutters than the wooden ones. The Duragutter system worked great. I was also able to get gutter covers to hopefully prevent leaf build up in the gutters to reduce the need for cleaning."

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Here in New England, we are inspired by older buildings whose details and proportions have been refined over time. While many newer homes are built in the older styles, often critical details are missed that can weaken the overall appearance. One of the most botched is the intersection of the gutter and rake cornice.

I recently spent some time in Wellfleet, and was both impressed and depressed by the older homes there. Impressed because there are some fine examples of Greek Revival, Queen Anne, and others, but depressed by the clumsy attempts to repair these homes over time. If you are restoring an older home, but are not exactly sure how to execute the details, please look at our resources page for complete drawings.

The Good-

The Bad-

The Ugly-