Eavestrough Installation & Replacement · Cambridge
Seamless Eavestrough Installation and Replacement in Cambridge
A seamless system is run off a forming machine in the driveway, one continuous length per side of the house. Fewer joints is most of why it outlasts the sectional trough it replaces.
The trough on a seamless system is made at your house. Pre-finished aluminum coil feeds through a forming machine on the truck and comes out as K-style trough cut to the exact length of each fascia run, so a 12-metre (about 40-foot) rear eave gets one piece with no joint in it. The only seams left are the mitred corners and the outlet drops, and those are riveted and sealed from the inside where the water cannot get behind them. Sectional trough has a joint every 3 metres and each is a leak in waiting, which on a Cambridge century home with deep eaves and many corners adds up quickly.
Sizing for the roof you have
The residential standard is 5-inch K-style with 2-by-3-inch downspouts and it is right for most bungalows and two-storeys in the newer parts of the city. Cambridge has more than its share of roofs that want 6-inch trough with 3-by-4 downspouts: the steep gables of Galt and Hespeler, where water arrives fast and overshoots a smaller trough; large uninterrupted roof planes with a single outlet; metal roofs; and two-storey houses where an upper roof drains onto a lower one. Gauge matters as much as width. Thicker coil resists denting from ladders and bowing under the snow that steep roofs drop, and it is where builder-grade systems were economised.
Installation that holds
- Trough set to the shingle line. On a steep roof the trough has to sit high enough and close enough that fast water lands in it rather than over it, with the drip edge lapping into the back of the trough so nothing runs behind.
- Pitch set with a level. Steady fall to each outlet along the whole run — enough to drain, not so much that the far end sits visibly low on a formal facade.
- Screwed hidden hangers. Through the trough into the fascia and, where possible, the rafter tails. Spike-and-ferrule nails are what let go in old wood and under snow slides; screws are what stay. Spacing tightens below steep planes.
- Fascia first. On the old houses the fascia is probed when the trough comes down and anything soft is replaced before hanging. On a new build it is usually sound aluminum.
- Downspouts to the by-law. Positions are chosen so water goes away from the building and not onto a walkway, sidewalk, stair or entranceway, or directly onto the neighbour, as Cambridge's Property Standards By-law 26-021 requires. On a tight Galt lot that decision drives the trough slopes.
Replacement on older houses
When steel or early sectional aluminum is coming off a Preston or Galt house, the old run, hangers and downspouts are removed and recycled, the drip edge is checked and added where missing, and any downspout that disappears into a pipe at grade is traced before anything is reconnected to it, since roof water into the sanitary sewer is prohibited under the Region's by-law.
Guards and colour
Where mature trees hang over the roof, a guard fitted to the new trough is worth discussing; it goes on at the same time with the outlets sized for it. Coil comes in many standard colours, so trough and downspouts can match capped fascia, brick or stone trim rather than defaulting to white, which on a yellow-brick Galt house is often the difference between invisible and obvious.
Frequently asked questions
How long does installation take?
A bungalow or simple two-storey is usually one day once material is on the truck. A century home with fascia and soffit replacement is typically two to three days, with the carpentry done before the trough goes up.
Can you match the look on a heritage house?
Within reason, yes. K-style aluminum in a dark colour against painted or capped wood fascia reads well on most Galt and Preston houses. Where a property is designated or in a Heritage Conservation District, check with the City's heritage staff before changing the visible profile.
Will the new system handle a metal roof?
Yes, with 6-inch trough, 3-by-4 downspouts, close hanger spacing and snow guards on the roof itself where a slide would otherwise land in the trough. Metal roofs are a reason to go up a size.
Serving Cambridge and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.