Gutters are the least glamorous part of a house exterior and, on a hillside lot in Western North Carolina, one of the most important. A roof in Asheville sheds a lot of water in a short time when a summer thunderstorm comes over the ridge or when a tropical remnant parks itself over the mountains for two days. Where that water lands decides whether it runs harmlessly away from the house or soaks into the fill behind a retaining wall, finds the crawl space, and works at the foundation all winter. Gutters are how you control it.
Arolite Group installs seamless aluminum gutters and downspouts, fits guards, and cleans and repairs existing gutters for homeowners in Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson counties, Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. Gutters are one of our three core services, alongside roofing and siding, and most of our gutter work happens right after a roof, when the fascia is exposed and the drip edge is new. An exterior consultant looks at the roofline, the grade around the house and where the water needs to go, and gives you an itemized written price in person.
Below is what we install, how we handle guards and cleaning, why gutters matter more on a sloped lot than on a flat one, and why the best time to replace them is the week the new roof goes on.
What we install
Seamless aluminum gutters
Seamless gutters are formed on site from a coil of aluminum, run out to the exact length of each eave, so the only joints are at the corners and the outlets. Fewer joints means fewer places to leak, sag or pull apart in an ice load. Aluminum does not rust, it is light enough to hang on older fascia, and it comes factory-finished in a range of colors so it can match the trim or disappear against it. We size the gutter and the hangers for the roof area draining into it; a long steep slope on a mountain house moves more water than a standard residential gutter is meant to carry, and we upsize where the roof calls for it.
Downspouts and drainage
A gutter is only as good as where it sends the water. We place downspouts so each run drains properly, use larger downspouts where a lot of roof feeds one corner, and extend them so water is discharged well away from the foundation and onto the downhill side of the lot. On a steep site that can mean tying into an underground drain line or a splash block set where the grade carries water away rather than back toward the house.
Gutter guards
Under oak, poplar, maple and white pine, an open gutter in Asheville fills up every fall and again every spring. Guards keep the bulk of the leaves and needles out so the gutter keeps flowing between cleanings. There are several styles, from simple screens to micro-mesh and reverse-curve covers, and they are not all equal under pine needles, which get through anything coarse. We recommend a guard based on the trees over your particular roof and tell you honestly what it will and will not keep out.
Cleaning and maintenance
Even with guards, gutters need a look at least once a year, and twice under heavy canopy. We clean out the debris, flush the downspouts, check the hangers and the pitch of each run, reseal corners and outlets, and tighten anything that has worked loose. We also check the fascia behind the gutter for rot, which is where an overflowing gutter does its damage long before anyone notices. If a gutter has been pulling away, sagging in the middle, or overflowing at one corner every storm, a maintenance visit usually finds the cause.
Why gutters matter on a hillside lot
Drainage and foundations
Much of the housing stock in Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson counties sits on a slope. Water that runs off the roof on the uphill side of the house has nowhere to go but against the foundation and into the crawl space unless it is caught and carried around. A clogged or missing gutter on that side is the most common cause of a wet crawl space we see, and it is a far cheaper problem to fix at the roofline than at the footing.
Siding and fascia
Water that sheets over a full gutter runs down the siding, wicks into the fascia and soffit, and rots the ends of the rafters. By the time it shows as a stain on the soffit, the wood behind it is usually gone. Working gutters are what keep the siding job and the roof job from being undone from the edges inward.
Ice at the eaves
At elevation, and on north-facing slopes from Black Mountain up to Maggie Valley, a gutter full of wet leaves freezes solid in a cold snap. Meltwater backs up behind it under the shingle and refreezes, and that ice dam lifts shingle and gets water into the ceiling below. Clean, properly pitched gutters with a correct drip edge are the first line of defense, well before heat cable.
Gutters right after a roof
When a roof is replaced, the old gutters usually come off or get in the way, the fascia is exposed, and new drip edge goes on. That is the moment to hang new gutters: the hangers go into sound fascia, the drip edge is set so it laps into the gutter correctly, and the whole roofline is finished in one visit instead of two. Reusing tired gutters on a new roof is a common false economy. We quote gutters alongside every roof replacement so you can see what it adds and decide, and the same company does both.
Why homeowners choose Arolite Group for gutters
- Roofers hanging the gutters. We know how the drip edge, the fascia and the gutter work together because we install all three.
- Sized for the roof, not off a chart. Gutter and downspout sizes are matched to the roof area and the pitch draining into them.
- Honest about guards. We tell you which guard holds up under your trees and which ones do not.
- Written price, in person. An exterior consultant looks at the roofline and the grade, then goes through an itemized estimate with you at the house.
- Local across three counties. Based on Church Street in downtown Asheville, serving Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson counties, Monday to Saturday.