having experienced the snow of december last, i just want to point out a few facts that have emerged regarding the affects of snow and ice on gutters.
I have fitted hundreds of houses over the last ten years with all types of gutter,
The most common one is the upvc one followed by the seamless aluminium one.
After the snow we got a lot of calls about gutters being pulled down by the weight of snow and ice sliding off the roof.
what i found a lot of times was that the gutters were fitted with to big a gap beween brackets causing the gutter to sag under the weight and pull downwards causing the gutter to pull away from the brackets and onto the ground.
Another thing I noticed which surprised me was: the pvc brackets had become brittle with the cold and so easily snapped, causing the gutter to fall to the ground.
Another weakness of pvc gutters is that the rubber seals at the joints go brittle with the cold and crack cousing leaks when the thaw comes.
In conclusion i would have to say that the aluminium gutter fitted using hangers and (not nails)spaced 24 inches apart is the better choice for snow loading.
If you need to use pvc gutters I would recommend using eavemaster supreme gutters using brackets spaced 24 inches apart fixed with two 5 x 50mm screws in each bracket.
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