The gutters on your home are not working well: sagging, loose, leaking, broken, or they are not sloping right anymore. Maybe you don’t have any gutters at all and are interested in getting some. You know you’ve got some drainage issues and are hoping that gutter improvements will be a good first step in handling them.
Basically, you’ve got your mind *on the gutter* instead of *in the gutter*. Not sure which one of those is better or worse, but here we are . . . thinkin’ about the fascinating world of gutters.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have reigned over the fascinating world of foundation repair in the Brazos Valley for 35+ years. Sometimes we get asked about gutter companies or contractors and who we might recommend for working on this drainage issue.
I’ve had gutters installed not once, but twice on my own homes through the years. I’m no expert on gutters but I have experienced the process on more than one occasion, which is twice as many as most people. I look for contractors who have an interest in serving the community with integrity and have developed relationships with a few.
We put together this quick list for the homeowners we work with. If you’re reading this article and aren’t one of our clients well, we want to help you out too so check it out!
What to Look for in a Gutter Company or Contractor
There ain’t a lotta gutter companies around these parts, especially not many that have been in business for a long time. When looking for any type of contractor, we are partial to companies that are locally-owned and have a long-term investment in community relationships.
In other words, look for a gutter company that has clear local ownership and leadership and established history in the area.
Checking on their internet visibility is also a great thing to look at when selecting a gutter contractor. Do they have a legitimate website? Do they have a Facebook page at all and has it been updated or active recently? If they don’t, you should wonder why . . .
In addition to checking a company’s internet presence, you can also look for reviews and ratings from other web sources like Google, Angie’s List (now simply called Angi for some reason), and the Better Business Bureau. The BBB has the added advantage of telling you when the company was formed, who owns it, and any complaint history that might have been filed.
Be wary of any company that only has a limited number of reviews. A company with only one or two reviews that are all 5-stars probably got their mother to fill one out for them. Look for a robust selection of reviews, even if they are not all perfect. A good number of reviews display history in the community.
If someone took the time to give a company a detailed review, then they either really wanted to say something good or something critical, so check those out for sure.
Two Gutter Companies We Can Recommend to Homeowners
The following two gutter companies have been in town for a good while and we have experience with their work or know others that have. They are listed in alphabetical order only with no preference for one over the other. We do not receive any kickbacks or financial benefits from providing these company names as referrals, just tryin’ to help out our community.
We wish we had a few more (since only having two companies clearly doesn’t make the greatest *list*). But if we’re being honest and trustworthy, we’re not going to grab some other random company just to make our list longer and seem better if we don’t know anything about them.
This is not to say that other companies aren’t out there that are just as good or might *pass the tests* we suggested above. There really could be others and we hope to add them to this list in the future.
1. Brazos Valley Seamless Gutters
Year Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Bryan
Phone Number: 979-676-2800
From the Web: BV Seamless prides itself on small-town customer service using quality products. Provides residential and commercial installation of seamless aluminum gutters, clean-outs, and repairs. They also do gutter guards and rainwater collection system installations. Local owner Jeremy Riley also owns Brazos Valley Roofing and serves as a firefighter in the community as well. Accredited and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.
2. Seamless Home Products, LLC
Year Founded: 1981
Headquarters: Bryan
Phone Number: 979-779-3400
From the Web: The oldest gutter company in town, always locally owned and currently operated by owner Stony Jackson. Jackson was the former production manager and he bought the company from the original owners. Seamless Home Products carries accreditation and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating as well. They provide gutter systems, rain collection systems, and patio covers, and screened porches as well.
Can Gutters Help My Foundation?
Gutters handle specific drainage issues, which in turn creates an environment for your foundation that minimizes opportunities for settlement. BUT, if you already have foundation settlement or foundation problems, gutters are not going to magically solve, reduce, or delay your foundation issues or the need for repair.
Gutters don’t prevent foundation problems either. Gutters only solve some drainage situations and direct water away from your home. Keeping water from hanging out around your home is a good thing, but is not the only factor at play when foundation issues come up.
So just having gutters doesn’t prevent or solve foundation problems. That doesn’t mean they are not beneficial to your home overall for other reasons, like keeping water from dripping on your head. In fact, we have an article about more good reasons for having gutters and how to deal with them that we just published.
What Does Prevent or Solve Foundation Problems?
Well, since gutters don’t prevent foundation issues you might be wondering what does or what can. The super-short answer is, nothing can for sure. But prevention is more about minimizing risk than guaranteed solutions. Check out our article here for more info on preventions to try.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have been helping the Bryan, College Station, and Brazos Valley communities with their foundation problems for 35+ years. We know *a thing or two* about foundation problems and how to solve them.
The way to handle foundation problems is to fix them with foundation repair. But you should see if you even have an issue in the first place. Feel free to start at the beginning and take a look at this article about foundation problems when the mood strikes ya.