Commercial Box style gutters

Not all gutters are meant for all styles of roof. A good mechanic will tell you that there is a right tool for any job, and gutters are no different. A common problem in the Chicago area, is the installation of residential K style gutters on flat roofs. A low slope roof requires its' own style of gutter... a self flashing gutter.

Box Gutter installed

A box style gutter is important in the fact that it is self flashing. This gives something for the roofing membrane to adhere to creating a water proof bond at the gutter edge. A typical residential K style gutter usually requires a separate piece of flashing. In using this separate piece of flashing, you can not get the same water tight bond as you can with a self flashing gutter. Ice backup is a common problem when using the wrong gutter for a flat roof.

Box gutters are available in a variety of materials. Most common is a galvanized steel gutter. These gutters can be bent to any shape or style and are perfect for commercial applications especially when using heat to adhere the roofing membrane to the gutter.

kynar prefinished box style commercial gutter
(Typical profile of a Kynar pre finished aluminum box gutter)

(Typical profile and color of a galvanized steel box gutter)

These steel gutters may also be fabricated and installed pre-finished with Kynar-500, a premium paint with a 25 year factory color warranty. Kynar is available in 36 different colors. This paint upgrade is perfect in situations where a cosmetic value must be maintained and the bare galvanized steel just won't do it. These pre finished gutters are very common in multi-family associations like town homes and condominiums with low slope roof systems.

Also available are aluminum box gutter, which are also pre finished with the Kynar-500 premium paint. However these aluminum gutters are only recommended for installation with cold applied roof membranes such as single ply (EPDM, PVC, TPO), and are not recommended for heat adhesion. The heat will warp and bend the aluminum gutter, essentially damaging the aluminum gutter, therefore we won't install an aluminum gutter on a heat applied roof system.

Remember there's the right tool for every job, and the right gutter for every roof. And we're the right contractor for the job!

We also install copper gutters and aluminum gutters.