After thousands of gutter jobs across Central New Jersey, these are the things we tell every homeowner. Not upsells — just honest recommendations based on what we've seen work (and fail) over the years.
This is the single most important thing you can do to protect your home's exterior. Gutters should be cleaned twice a year — once in late fall after the leaves have dropped, and once in spring after pollen season and seed pods are done.
Fall cleaning removes the leaves, twigs, and debris that accumulate during autumn. If left through winter, this debris traps water that freezes into ice dams, backs up under shingles, and causes ice dam damage to your fascia and roof deck. Spring cleaning clears out the pollen, seed pods, and any debris that blew in during winter storms.
Skipping even one season compounds the problem. A fall cleaning followed by a skipped spring means your gutters are partially clogged heading into the heavy spring rains — exactly when you need maximum flow capacity. The cost of two cleanings per year is a fraction of the cost of the water damage clogged gutters cause.
If you're replacing gutters or installing new ones, go with 6-inch K-style gutters in black. Here's why we recommend this to almost every homeowner:
400% more water capacity. A 6-inch gutter holds roughly 40% more water per linear foot than a standard 5-inch gutter. But when you factor in how water flow dynamics work — a wider channel allows faster flow with less turbulence — the effective capacity increase during heavy rain is dramatically higher. In New Jersey's downpours, that extra capacity is the difference between water flowing to the downspouts and water pouring over the edges.
We wrote a full comparison of 5-inch vs 6-inch gutters if you want the detailed breakdown. The short version: for New Jersey's weather patterns, 6-inch gutters provide a significant margin of safety that 5-inch gutters don't.
Why black? Black gutters virtually disappear against most rooflines, creating a clean shadow line that looks intentional rather than added-on. They don't show dirt, pollen, or algae staining the way white gutters do. And they complement virtually every siding color — from light grays and whites to darker earth tones and brick.
White gutters are the industry default because they're cheap and generic. Black gutters are what professionals install on their own homes. There's a reason for that.