What are Half Round Gutters?
Half round gutters are identified by the distinct profile of the trough which is half of a circle. Imagine a pipe cut in half from one end all the way to the other that is what you are looking at.
Half round gutters are also recognized by the flamboyant use of decorative gutter hangers. They can be made to look very fancy and give a very strong aesthetics to an otherwise simple gutter.
Half Round Gutter Hangers
Gutter hangers and the gutters themselves need to coordinate with your overall home. Exterior design options are very extensive and there are many ways to decorate the outside of a half round gutter system.
Half round gutters can increase the value of a home because of the aesthetics. They also allow for unobstructed water flow and minimal water retention after it rains. Flat bottom cased out gutters can hold on to a quarter inch or even up to a half an inch of water.
Cleaning Half Round Gutters
Cleaning a half round gutter is much easier because the inside of the gutter is not obstructed. There are no hangers every two to three feet blocking the tools you are using to clean with. Of course, this all depends on the style of hangers that are used. There are still some inside hidden hangers for half round gutters, but most commonly the hangers are on the exterior and used for aesthetic purposes.
Half round gutters are not perfect, however. They are much more fragile and susceptible to damage than the other case style gutter systems. This is due to the exterior hanger versus the interior hanger as the interior hanger supports the inside of the gutter from collapse. If something was to lean or fall against the outside of a half round gutter, it could do some serious damage. You cannot lean a ladder against the outside with any kind of pressure or it will damage the hangers and collapse the gutter.
Half Round Gutter Water Capacity
Another negative aspect of half round gutters is their water capacity is also limited. The capacity of six inch half round gutter is equivalent to the capacity of a five inch K-Style gutter. And the comparison goes on up the line as you increase in sizes.
Half-round gutters are also more expensive than K-Style. The reason for the increased cost is usually because of the labor demand needed to install half round gutters. There are much more pieces and the job takes a more technical and skilled installer The type of hangers you use can also drive up the cost of your half round gutter system.
What are K-Style Gutters?
K-Style gutters have the same profile used in the interior of most homes for the decorative crown molding at the top of a wall. The trough for a K-Style gutter was built to replicate a crown molding mounted on the eave of a home. It’s pushed out three to four inches depending on whether it is a five, six, or seven inch gutter system.
With K-Style, if it is a five inch gutter, the base is three inches. A six inch gutter, would have a base of four inches, and so on. The crown molding design of the K-Style gutter is on the front profile.
One of the strong points of the K-Style gutter is that it can be done in seamless sections. This is because the machines K-style are much more portable. Half round gutter machines are much less portable and more expensive.
K-Style vs Half Round Gutter Machines
You won’t often see half round machines being brought to the job site. K-style gutters are also extremely rigid because of the interior hidden hanger that’s used to support the inside and to hold the gutter up.
Compared to the half round counterpart, K-style gutters are going to have a larger water capacity.
If you are trying to make your home look more definitive and more distinguished, the K-style gutter is so commonly used that it can simplify your and make your home look much more common than you may want..
Half Round Gutters More Common in Older Homes
In the north and older communities that were established originally throughout the United States, you will find a higher volume of half round gutter systems. They have a lot of character and a lot of beauty and half round was commonly used in these older communities. Even now, when restoring historical sites, you will see more half round gutter systems. K-Style gutters however, have become more common in recent years.
In the north and older communities that were established originally throughout the United States, you will find a higher volume of half round gutter systems. They have a lot of character and a lot of beauty and half round was commonly used in these older communities. Even now, when restoring historical sites, you will see more half round gutter systems. K-Style gutters however, have become more common in recent years.
Once the material has been decided, you will find that half round will be much more expensive due to the small parts, assembly and required. In addition to that, the hangers are extremely detailed. They have patents on these products and they are aesthetically designed to add a lot of character to the home so you can find a lot of expense from one hanger to the next.
Overall, all of the half round hangers are expensive compared to K-Style Hangers. You might find K-Style brackets around fifty cents to a dollar and half round hangers can range start at about seven dollars and go up to thirty five dollars.
Cleaning Half Round vs K-Style Gutters
Cleaning the inside of a half round gutter system is much easier than that of a K-Style gutter system. On the other hand, cleaning the outside of the trough is harder for half round because of the details found on the hangers and brackets.
K-Style gutters do clog easier because of the hangers and brackets on the inside. Since people are usually more concerned with keeping the inside of the gutter cleaned because of the utility, half round gutters are probably easier to maintain.
