Traditional guttering systems use open-faced eavestroughs to receive water from the roof, and fully-enclosed down pipes to deliver it to the drainage system below. Those open-faced eavestroughs can be a pain because they receive wind-born debris too.

Gutter guards over them can help deflect this, but they still need clearing once or twice a year. Unfortunately, they would not catch any water if we enclosed them completely. So this is an age-old problem we have to continue living with.

Completely enclosed downspouts largely don’t have these problems, because the force of the water rushing down them keeps them clear. Sure any water in them could freeze in a cold winter season. However, good ones should be able to withstand the weight, provided they are properly attached.

The Pros and Cons of Open-Faced Downspouts

In olden times craftspeople hand-made down pipes from sheet metal, often malleable copper they soldered at the joints, and usually at the back. Sure, these could pop if they were mean with their materials. But we have some good ones in Calgary that have outlasted their skeptics, who maybe said they should be open-faced downspouts.

Open-faced downspouts are, as the name implies missing one side in the length. This open elevation faces outward and naturally the pipe can’t pop from expanding ice. However, it could still bulge on either side because ice expands in all directions.

But that’s not all that spreads in all directions if you have open-faced downspouts. Small pieces of dry debris tumble out and mess the paving. And when a wind comes with the rain, you could gave a real gusher wetting your footwear while you scramble for the front door. Fortunately, unlike open eavestroughs you do have an alternative.

Fail-Proof Aluminum Eavestrough and Down Pipe Systems

Valiant Exteriors forms seamless eavestrough lengths on customer sites in a variety of colours. We purchase matching, fully enclosed down  spout sections that are machine-stitched along one side joint, making that ‘weak spot’ arguably the strongest part of the installation.

This means you are highly unlikely to drench your feet wet from them, although we can’t promise the rain won’t still do that. Sure, the moisture will freeze in them when we have a really cold winter in Calgary. But the seams will resist this, and we won’t need open-faced downspouts ever again.

Valiant Exteriors are acknowledged experts in roof and eavestrough systems. Give us a call at (403) 829-1661 if  you believe we can assist. We won’t charge to come out and quote, and we’ll bring photos and samples so you can gauge the quality of our work. We are COVID-19 compliant. We clean up properly after doing a decent job.

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Seamless Aluminum Gutters After Five Years: Image Stilfehler BY CC 4.0