If you’ve ever bemoaned cleaning your rain gutters and wondered why they exist, you probably didn’t realize you were participating in a tradition that’s over 5,000 years old. Rain gutters date back millennia. The goal has always been the same: keeping water and waste away from your living structure. This helps preserve the structural integrity of your buildings and ensure their longevity. Read on for a brief history of rain gutters, and then think about how these structures benefit your own property in Oklahoma City, OK.
Rain gutters throughout history
The first known rain gutters are from the Indus Valley region and date to around 3,000 to 1,500 BCE. They were made of burned clay in the shape of bricks, and functioned just the same as rain gutters do today.
Early Romans were the next innovators when it came to rain gutter technology—around 27 BCE to 14 AD, they spread their own form of rain guttering around Italy as well as their English conquests. As technology developed in this part of the world, gargoyles and parapets became popular—they helped direct precipitation and runoff in a more decorative style.
Later in the early 18th century, cast iron became a cheap and plentiful material. Many gutters in the 18th century were made of cast iron but later switched to wood, thanks to its lighter and cheaper qualities. In fact, this was the century in which v-shaped gutters were popularized, not just for their utility, but also for their aesthetic quality.
In the 20th century, innovations in steel and other metal technology led to installing half-round gutters on the outside of buildings. The 1960s introduced the seamless gutter, which utilized aluminum. Aluminum is lightweight and cost efficient, and to this day makes up the bulk of rain gutters in America.
After reading this brief history of rain gutters, take a look at all the rain gutters on historic and modern buildings alike—it’s hard to imagine that this tradition dates back over 50 centuries. Trust the experts to make sure you have clean and obstruction-free gutters. After all, 5,000 years of history can’t be wrong!
Make sure you clean your gutters
While the materials and innovation behind rain gutters have changed, their basic purpose has not. It’s incredibly important to clean and maintain your rain gutters on a regular basis. If you don’t, the outlets get clogged and water runs off onto (and sometimes into) your building. Prevent water damage by cleaning them and checking for clogs regularly. Even the smallest amount of debris can cause issues, which hurts your structure as well as your to-do list.
Rain gutters in Oklahoma City, OK
L & S Seamless Guttering has been serving the Oklahoma City area since 1982, and we’re proud to bring nearly four decades of experience to serving our customers. We custom fabricate rain gutters to suit your individual building, whether you need aluminum or copper. Whether you need the best quality rain gutters or steel patio and carport covers, L & S Seamless Guttering has you covered. Call us today to get a quote on your next project.
This post first appeared on https://lsseamlessgutter.com/