Seamless Gutter Systems FAQ

Sectional gutters are sold in pre-cut pieces (usually 10 or 20 feet) and are joined together with plastic or metal connectors. Every joint is a potential leak point. Over time, the sealant in those seams dries out, cracks, and fails. Seamless gutters (our specialty) are exactly what they sound like: one continuous piece of metal from corner to corner. There are no seams to leak, meaning water goes exactly where it’s supposed to-away from your home.

Our extreme temperature swings (100°F to -30°F) cause materials to expand and contract violently. In a sectional system, this movement puts immense stress on the seams and the sealant. Eventually, the seams pull apart, creating leaks that can rot your fascia boards and cause foundation issues. Because our gutters are seamless, they expand and contract as a single unit, eliminating those "weak spots."

We bring the factory to your driveway. We use a specialized roll-forming machine mounted in our trailer. We feed a flat coil of high-quality aluminum into one end, and it emerges from the other end as a perfectly shaped K-style gutter. We can "run out" a single piece of gutter to the exact inch of your roofline, whether it’s 5 feet or 100 feet long.

While the straight runs are seamless, seams are still necessary at the corners (miters) and where the downspouts are attached. At Apollo Exteriors & Restoration, we use high-grade "box miters" or "strip miters" and apply a premium, industrial-strength sealant that is specifically formulated to withstand the UV rays and freeze-thaw cycles of the Fargo area.

We primarily use heavy-gauge .032 aluminum. It is the industry standard for durability because it won’t rust like steel, and it’s thick enough to handle the weight of heavy North Dakota snow and ice without sagging or "unzipping" from the house.

The Red River Valley is known for its heavy clay soil. When water "dumps" from a leaking sectional gutter directly next to your house, that clay expands and puts immense pressure on your foundation walls. This is the #1 cause of cracked basement walls and wet basements in West Fargo and Moorhead. A seamless system ensures 100% of the roof water is captured and diverted through downspouts to a safe drainage area.

The upfront cost of a professional seamless installation is higher than buying plastic pieces from a big-box store. However, when you factor in the lifespan (20+ years for seamless vs. 5-7 years for sectional) and the cost of potential water damage to your home, seamless gutters are significantly more cost-effective. Plus, the "curb appeal" of a single, clean line of guttering is much higher.

We use internal "hidden" hangers. These are heavy-duty brackets that sit inside the gutter, making them invisible from the ground. We screw these hangers directly into your home’s rafter tails (not just the fascia board) with long, galvanized screws. This ensures the gutters stay on the house even when they are full of heavy spring slush.

Yes. We offer a wide palette of factory-finished colors. Whether you want your gutters to "disappear" by matching your fascia or you want a high-contrast look (like black gutters on a white farmhouse), we have a color-matched solution that will never need painting.

Yes. While they have no seams to catch debris, leaves and maple "helicopters" can still settle in the bottom. However, because the interior is smooth, they are much easier to flush out than sectional gutters. For a truly maintenance-free experience, we recommend pairing your new gutters with our Gutter Protection/Leaf Guard systems.

Our specialized roll-forming machinery must be perfectly calibrated right outside your home based on the exact material gauge and outdoor ambient temperature. The machine pulls heavy aluminum or steel coil stock through physical precision shaping dies to produce a perfectly formed, architectural K-style profile to the exact linear inch needed. This ensures zero material buckling or structural stress lines on continuous lengths exceeding 40 or 50 feet.

Continuous gutters expand and contract as temperatures swing from blistering summer heat down to -30°F winter lows. While the straight runs are entirely seamless, corners must be cut and connected dynamically. Our installation crews form custom miter joins secured with heavy-duty structural fasteners and high-performance, self-leveling commercial sealants, leaving precise micro-clearances that allow the metal to flex without tearing the seal or breaking the corner apart.

The measurement refers to the width of the top opening of the gutter. While it only sounds like a one-inch difference, a 6-inch gutter can hold nearly 40% more water than a standard 5-inch gutter. At Apollo Exteriors & Restoration, we assess your roof’s "watershed"-the total surface area and steepness-to determine which size is necessary to prevent "overshoot" during a heavy Red River Valley thunderstorm.

We typically recommend 6-inch gutters for:

• Steep-Pitch Roofs: Water gains high velocity on steep roofs; 6-inch gutters provide a larger "target" to catch that fast-moving water.
• Large Roof Surfaces: If you have a large "A-frame" or a long, unbroken roofline (common in West Fargo ramblers), the sheer volume of water can overwhelm 5-inch gutters.
• Complex Rooflines: Where two roof valleys meet, a massive amount of water is funneled into one spot. A 6-inch gutter handles that "convergence" without overflowing.
• Metal Roofs: Water slides off metal much faster than shingles; the extra inch of width is often a necessity here.

Absolutely. A gutter is only as good as its "exit strategy." When we install 6-inch gutters, we pair them with 3"x4" oversized downspouts. A standard downspout is often the "bottleneck" where clogs happen. Oversized downspouts allow small debris to pass through more easily and can drain a full gutter much faster, preventing water from backing up under your shingles.

Placement is a balance of physics and aesthetics. We want to place downspouts at the lowest points of the gutter run (the "pitch") to ensure no standing water remains. However, we also work to place them in inconspicuous areas-like the corners of the house or behind trim-so they don’t distract from your home’s curb appeal in Moorhead or Fargo.

Very likely. Most "wet basement" issues in our area aren’t caused by a foundation crack-they are caused by "dumping" thousands of gallons of roof water directly against the foundation. By upgrading to 6-inch seamless gutters and using downspout extensions to move that water at least 5 to 10 feet away from the house, we can often solve basement moisture issues overnight.

Extensions are the final "miles" of your drainage system. If a downspout ends right at the corner of your house, the water will just soak back into the clay soil and put pressure on your basement walls. We recommend extensions that move water at least 5 to 10 feet away from the foundation. We offer:

• Flip-up Extensions: Great for easy mowing.
• Concrete or Plastic Splash Blocks: To prevent soil scouring at the exit point.
• Underground Tiling: For a permanent, "invisible" drainage solution that moves water to the street or a rain garden.

A gutter that looks perfectly level to the eye is actually a stagnant pool. Owner Blake ensures every gutter run has a slight, calculated "fall" (pitch) toward the downspout-usually 1/16 of an inch for every foot of gutter. This ensures that even in a light drizzle, the water is moving, which helps "self-clean" the gutter by washing away small dust and debris.

Yes. If the back of your home in Horace has a massive, steep roof but the front has a small porch, we can install 6-inch gutters where the volume is high and 5-inch gutters where it isn’t. This "custom-tailored" approach ensures you aren’t paying for more than you need while still getting total protection.

Not the drainage performance, but it can affect ice buildup. Darker gutter colors (like Bronze or Black) absorb more heat from the sun, which can help melt snow and ice slightly faster in the spring. However, our primary goal is to match your soffit and fascia for a clean, professional look.

We do not guess at downspout locations. We analyze the total square footage of the roof slopes feeding into each individual gutter run, factoring in steep pitches that accelerate water velocity. By calculating this dynamic roof watershed load, we determine the precise spacing and number of oversized 3×4-inch downspout drops required to dump water rapidly, ensuring your gutter system never backs up or flows backward into the roof deck.

Yes. Roof layouts that feature deep architectural valleys or multiple intersecting rooflines create massive “funnel zones” where huge volumes of water dump into one concentrated area at high speeds, often overshooting standard 5-inch channels. We install custom water collection boxes or heavy-gauge aluminum splash diverters at these intersection nodes to knock down water velocity and guide it cleanly into the main drainage system.

Trees are the main culprit, but they aren’t the only ones. Birds often try to nest in open gutters, and wind-blown debris-like shingle grit from your roof-can settle in the bottom of the gutter, creating a heavy "sludge" that prevents drainage. Gutter protection acts as a filter, ensuring that only water enters the system, which extends the life of your gutters and prevents fascia rot.

• Screens/Mesh: These allow water through while blocking larger leaves. They are cost-effective but can sometimes let smaller debris, like pine needles or shingle grit, through the holes.
• Micro-Mesh: These are the "Gold Standard." The holes are so tiny that even fine sand can’t get through, but the surface tension of the water pulls the rain into the gutter.
• Solid/Surface Tension Covers: These work on the principle of "liquid adhesion." Water follows the curve of the metal into the gutter, while leaves and debris simply fall off the edge to the ground.

Yes, provided they are sized and installed correctly. High-quality systems are designed to handle over 10 inches of rain per hour, which is far more than even our heaviest summer thunderstorms in Fargo produce. At Apollo Exteriors & Restoration, we ensure the guards are "pitched" to match your roofline, ensuring water doesn’t just "overshoot" the gutter and dump onto your landscaping.

This is a common concern in the Red River Valley. Gutter guards do not cause ice dams (ice dams are caused by poor attic insulation and heat loss), but they can behave differently in winter. In some cases, snow may sit on top of the guard. However, because the interior of the gutter is kept clear of debris, once the thaw begins, the melting water can flow freely to the downspouts instead of being blocked by a "frozen brick" of wet leaves and ice.

In many cases, yes. If your current gutters are in good structural shape and properly pitched, we can clean them out, re-seal the miters, and install a premium protection system on top. However, if your gutters are sagging or leaking at the seams, we usually recommend a full Seamless Gutter upgrade to ensure you have a "maintenance-free" system for the long haul.

While no system on earth is 100% maintenance-free, a high-quality guard from Apollo Exteriors & Restoration gets you as close as possible. You will no longer need to scoop out handfuls of rotting debris. Occasionally, some "tassel" debris or pine needles might sit on top of the guards, but the wind typically blows this off once it dries. A quick spray with a garden hose from the ground once a year is all that is usually required.

You get what you pay for. Cheap plastic guards often warp in the summer heat or "pop out" during a heavy snow load. They are also prone to UV degradation, becoming brittle and cracking within a few years. We use professional-grade aluminum or stainless steel systems that are mechanically fastened to the gutter. They won’t blow out in the wind and can support the weight of heavy North Dakota ice.

Quite the opposite! Open gutters are like a "luxury hotel" for mosquitoes, wasps, and even mice or squirrels. By sealing the top of the gutter, you eliminate the standing water where mosquitoes breed and the sheltered space where birds and stinging insects like to build nests.

The cost depends on the linear footage of your home and the type of system chosen (Mesh vs. Micro-Mesh). While there is an upfront investment, most homeowners in the Fargo-Moorhead area find that the system pays for itself in just a few years by eliminating the cost of professional gutter cleaning services and preventing expensive repairs to rotted fascia and foundations.

Basic big-box plastic screens feature large openings that allow small twigs, helicopter seeds, and fine organic debris to slide straight inside. Premium micro-mesh protection structures utilize surgical-grade stainless steel weave technology with apertures small enough to catch fine pine needles and organic silt. This allows rainwater to break surface tension and pull through cleanly while wind sweeps all dry organic matter straight off the edge.

If your current continuous metal gutters are structurally solid, properly pitched, and free of underlying rot along the wood fascia board, you do not need to replace the entire system. Our installation crews will thoroughly flush out all existing debris, verify the holding strength of the hidden internal brackets, reinforce weak anchor points, and then securely mount our premium micro-mesh guards right over your active setup.