What To Know Painting Gutters On Your Home

Understanding what to know painting gutters today, will save much time & money, when painting outside of your home. Gutter & downspout painting info. if replacing gutter systems or not.

Gutter painting is essential painting your exterior home today. As whether you are replacing old leaking gutters, or repainting your home's exterior, several ideas great knowing prior to either one.

Painting New Gutters When Painting Exterior Home

Important info. to know painting new gutters when painting your homes' exterior. If you are in the market having a new gutter downspout system replaced. Or just looking at painting your home's exterior, both topics great understand, before commencing with either one.

First, typical exterior paint schemes across the country are similar in-that gutters match wood it is attached, referred to as fascia. Reason for this is you do not want to bring attention to gutters and/or downspouts, plain and simple.

Painting gutters, should match the substrate it is attached to on your home, as you can see in all photos. This is why, if choosing white primed gutters, gutters will require painting to blend in with exterior color scheme.

What I tell most of our exterior house paint clients, wishing new gutters is;

If you want new colored baked, powder coated gutters, have them removed, allowing us to match gutter color, priming & painting fascia first.

If you wish primed gutters, painting gutters is included in our proposal, adding a small cost to prime fascia first. Coming back painting gutter system afterwards.

Walking up to any house, having seen millions, painted 10's of thousands, I can tell if new gutters and any downspouts were just installed. Biggest reason is they do not match rest of home's trim color.

Another reason what to know when replacing gutters, whether you are painting your home's exterior, is how new homes are originally constructed.

When a home is built, residential home builder organizes all building trades completing construction. Gutters, downspouts are installed before exterior painting is ordered. Reason is builders also wish gutter painting to match rest of exterior color scheme. Realizing this building schedule, no paint or even primer on fascia under gutters! Ouch

So if replacing gutters, makes perfect sense to prime, if not paint fascia before gutters are installed. But here's where a few more things to understand.

• Exterior paint schemes, gutters match fascia
• Gutters installed before painting w/new construction
• No paint underneath gutters w/new construction
• Prime fascia, after gutters down, before putting new gutters back up

Painting Exteriors With New Gutters

Gutter systems come in primed white gutters, or in a limited number of colors, maybe 15-20. If you choose a colored painted gutter, this is easily matched to paint, as exterior paint colors are infinite, where as gutters are very limited.

So if your happy with a new particular colored gutter, take a small sample to your local paint store matching this to paint. Then once old gutters are removed, have your painting company's painters paint entire exterior, including painting gutters, also fascia.

You'll need to ask your gutter contractor if he or she will remove gutters, giving you time to have a painting contractor you've decided on, painting fascia before they install.

I know we've done this countless times here in the Colorado area, as it just takes a little coordination on homeowner's part putting schedule together for both contractors.

Once new colored gutters are installed, both match perfectly, but now you have paint under new gutters. As fresh new exterior paint seals also protects wood, even underneath metal gutters. This way, years down the road, if you ever need to replace gutters again, you will not be having to replace all of fascia as well, from rotten, deteriorated wood.

• Gutters come primed, if not colored
• Match paint to colored gutters before installing new ones
• Remove old gutters, prime, paint fascia gutter color
• Installed new colored gutters, when painting exteriors

Steps To Take Replacing Gutters Also Painting Exteriors

Photo above, shows replacing gutters, have not paint/stained yet matching siding.

1. Ask gutter contractor if they will remove gutters, giving you time to paint fascia.
2. Contact gutter company, ask for gutter samples, matching exterior trim paint.
3. If gutters are prime white, skip step 2, go back to step 1.
4. Know exactly what date gutters shall be removed.
5. Contact & retain professional painting company to paint exterior on specific date.
6. Once home's exterior is completed, contact gutter company to install new gutters.
7. Have painting company return, painting downs, matching to field color if they are on siding, and not trim.

These steps should be followed even if you are plan using primed white gutters, with white fascia trim. With gutter systems, fascia underneath will be painted, protecting valuable wood before new gutters are installed. This is exactly what we did for many homes, including my very own.

Now, I'm no gutter expert, nor a home builder, but know how homes are constructed, being a painting contractor well over 40 years, having painting many gutters over my time.

Everyone wants the very best for the place you call home, and this is just one small tip, that can be of significant importance years later. Also knowing entire time, everything coming together, matching perfectly for same period.

Painting Older Gutters, When Painting Exteriors

Remember stating above, painting gutters is essential when repainting exteriors? Well, colored gutters do not require exterior paint as they have a baked on powder coated color.

Painting older gutters, not removing them, as most of our jobs contain, we paint gutter system matching to whatever surfaces they are attached. Thereby matching gutters to fascia, downspouts to either trim, or siding, which ever they are attached.

Yes, gutters are generally aluminum, having a primer, also older paint coating. If older paint coating is chipping, cracking, blistering, or bubbling, this paint must be removed before new paint is applied. Using a wire brush first, followed by scuff sanding, making sure all old loose paint is removed.

We scrape any loose paint mils, sanding to a feather edge, applying a high bonding primer, to ensure finish coats have proper adhesion. I know many new exterior paints have primers built into them, but being old school, realizing how paint reacts, we like giving final paint something fresh and proper to grab, lasting the duration.

Having information, what to know painting gutters on your home today will last extended periods, with higher quality exterior paints today. Bonding perfectly, with a clean, sound dry surface.

Allowing you to get your mind out of the gutter.

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