FAQ

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If you cannot find answers to your questions in the list below, please contact us.

Is your home over 20 years old?
Then it’s probably time to replace its wooden fascia. Call Gorilla Gutters our experts will visit your home, give you a prompt estimate, and install new fascia as needed.

Is your home ready for new fascia boards?
Replacement of fascia is normal when a home approaches 20 years of age, but sometimes it’s needed earlier if there’s rot due to bad gutter installation, for example. Call Gorilla Gutters for a complete inspection by our specialists.

How long will my soffit and fascia last?
Our soffit and fascia are made from pre-finished aluminum and this material is very durable. In addition, our soffit and fascia are designed to last and add value to your home for many years.

Do I need to clean my soffits and fascia?
In most residential areas normal rainfall is sufficient to keep the soffits and fascia surfaces clean but we do recommend that the soffits and fascia be washed at least once a year.

What happens if I have a problem with my soffit and fascia?
If you have a problem please contact our customer service by phone or electronically. The customer service department will then determine what caused the problem and then come up with a solution to the problem.

Do wet leaves stick to Alu-Rex products?
gouttiere_fixa_1Only temporarily. Alu-Rex products boast a smooth, perforated surface. Just as they may temporarily stick to the hood of your car, leaves and debris that land on the surface of Alu-Rex products dry quickly in the sun.

And unlike your car hood, the surface beneath the wet leaves on your gutter is perforated so they dry faster!

A little wind is all it takes to sweep away dry leaves and debris:
• A 10 km/h wind effectively removes wet leaves and about 100 pine needles per linear foot.
• A 37 km/h wind can remove about an inch (2.5 cm) of pine needles per linear foot.

How do Alu-Rex products stand up to snow?
Alu-Rex products significantly reduce the weight of snow on your gutters. Since the snow can’t get into the gutters, the weight they have to carry is limited to that which accumulates on top of Alu-Rex products.

What’s more, the gutters remain fully functional so water from melting snow and ice can drain away freely.

Do Fixa-Tech or the Gutter Clean System help to form ice?
Not at all! Water continuously drains into the downspout because nothing neither debris nor snow will block it from draining. With Alu-Rex products and the Alu-Perf technology, your gutters work all year round.

Alu-Rex products do not cause ice formation. If ice forms on the edge of the roof, we recommend that you check if the attic space is adequately ventilated and insulated.

Can installation of Alu-Rex products lead to leaks in my roof?
gouttiere_drillNo. Alu-Rex products do not cause any leaks. No shingles are raised and no nails or screws go into the roof during installation.

Beware of look-alike products that require you to lift the shingles. These products can lead to leaks. In time, the asphalt shingles dry out and become brittle. It’s never a good idea to lift shingles when installing gutter protections systems, whether they’re nailed in, screwed on, or simply set in place.

Also, the manufacturer’s warranty on asphalt shingles is void if the shingles are lifted, peeled away, or modified.

What is the maximum weight my gutter can support when fastened with the Fixa-Tech® system?
The maximum weight your gutter can bear with Fixa-Tech® is 250 lb. per linear foot (373 kg per linear metre). That’s 50% stronger than with spikes or hangers.

What is the point of using Fixa-Tech® if there are no trees near my home?
It may seem unnecessary to use the Fixa-Tech® continuous gutter fastening system if there are no trees around your home. But Fixa-Tech’s main strengths are its robustness, strength, durability, and quality.

Why is the Fixa-Tech® continuous fastening system better than spikes, screws, and hangers?
1gars_suspenduSpikes, screws, and hangers provide a certain degree of strength, but only over a few inches to either side of them. The spaces between the spikes/screws/hangers are weak.

What’s the difference between Alu-Rex’s Gutter Clean System® and Fixa-Tech® products?
The Gutter Clean System® is a gutter protection system that prevents leaves and debris from getting in and clogging the existing gutters. This product is simply placed on your home’s existing gutters.

Fixa-Tech® is a continuous fastening system for new gutters that very securely fastens gutters to your home, making them 50% stronger than traditional systems.

Do Alu-Rex products require upkeep?
The Gutter Clean System® and Fixa-Tech® are among the most efficient gutter protection systems on the market today.

In the vast majority of cases, a light breeze is enough to sweep away normal debris. In areas under the roof or under shallow overhangs on sloped roofs, debris may build up where the wind cannot reach it.

We recommend that you occasionally clean out these areas to keep your Alu-Rex products in good working order.

How does water get into the eavestrough? There aren’t enough holes and they’re too small.
gouttiere_fixa_2Our exclusive Alu-Perf gutter cover technology is the result of extensive research and development. The product has 624 holes every 24 inches (61 cm). This allows water to drain at the same rate as a 2 in. x 3 in. (5 cm x 7.5 cm) downspout. Rigorous testing by an independent certification agency has proven that Alu-Rex gutter cover can drain over 29,7 in. (755 mm) of water an hour over a length of 20 feet (6 m). And with 44,000,000 feet (13,411,200 metres) of Alu-Rex products installed around the world, the figures speak for themselves…

Note: The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded worldwide was 12 in. (305 mm) of water in one hour (Holt, MO, 1947). In comparison, the 1996 Saguenay Flood in Quebec was triggered by 11 in. (275 mm) of rain in three days. Alu-Rex products would have been able to handle all that rain in just one hour-and three times more!

Overflow is usually caused by the eavestroughs themselves (not wide enough or deep enough for the roof surface) or the downspouts (insufficient number for the roof’s surface). It is important to make sure there are enough downspouts to avoid this problem. For this purpose, you need to keep in mind that one downspout is enough to drain the equivalent of a 600 sq. ft. (56 m2) roof.

In short, if you don’t have backflow problems with your current eavestroughs in heavy rainfalls, the Gutter Clean System and Fixa-Tech won’t create them.

Can Alu-Rex eavestrough fastening system and gutter covers withstand heavy water flow?
gouttiere_feuillesEven if all the perforations get covered-which never happens because the wind sweeps away leaves and debris-Alu-Rex eavestrough fastening system and eavestrough cover leaf guard can drain up to three times the quantity of water ever recorded in the heaviest rainstorm.

How? Because wet leaves remain permeable. Water still gets between the leaves-and even through them-to drain into the eavestrough. The water always finds its way into the holes.

What’s more, the exclusive design of Alu-Rex products features an approximately half inch (1 cm) deep basin. Testing in the lab and in the field has shown this to be the right depth to catch more water without stopping the wind from doing its job of sweeping away leaves, pine needles, and debris from the surface.

Beware of look-alike products that are completely flat. Water can overflow when products are not equipped with a basin.