Seamless aluminum gutter being installed on a house in Selden, New York

Alec's Construction installs and repairs seamless gutters in Selden (11784), working out of the yard in East Patchogue. A gutter job here starts with two questions — what falls on the roof, and where the water goes once it leaves the downspout — because those decide the system, the guards and the drainage.

Gutter Installation in Selden

Selden is inland on the flat sandy plain in the middle of Brookhaven, between Middle Country Road and the Long Island Expressway, and its gutters work under pitch pine and oak. The housing is 1960s and 70s ranches, splits and high ranches on quarter and half-acre lots, many with attached garages, and the trees left standing when the tracts were cut now stand over all of it. Pine needles and oak leaves land in the same gutter, which rules out most cheap guards. Attached garages and split-levels give these houses separate roof sections at different heights, and the lower roofs catch whatever the upper gutters overflow. Basements are common, and on flat ground a downspout ending at the foundation shows up as a wet corner inside. The sandy soil takes water well once it is carried out from the house.

What We Look at First in Selden

On a Selden split or high ranch we trace each roof section to its outlet first, because on these houses an upper downspout often empties onto a lower roof or the garage roof and overloads that gutter. Then we decide where each leader discharges on the lot, keeping it off the basement walls. The guard choice comes last, set by the mix of pine and oak overhead.

Pine Needles, Oak Leaves and Sandy Ground

Selden sits on sandy ground under pitch pine and oak, and that combination decides the gutter. Oak leaves sit on top of most guards and blow off. Pine needles do not — they thread through coarse screens, mat into a felt inside the trough and turn a cheap guard into a lid you cannot see under. Where there are pines over the roof, a fine micro-mesh guard or a plain gutter that gets cleaned is the honest choice; a coarse screen is worse than nothing.

The good news is underground. Sandy outwash takes water well, so a drywell sized to the roof area that feeds it usually works here, and on a flat lot it is often the cleanest way to get the water away from the foundation. The usual reason a drywell fails is that it was too small for the roof, not that the ground would not take it.

Ranches, capes and hi-ranches are the common houses, and their simple rooflines make for long straight runs — which need enough downspouts that no single outlet is asked to drain the whole back of the house.

Gutter, downspout and fascia work on a Long Island house

What a Gutter Install Includes

The old gutters and downspouts come down first, and the fascia behind them gets probed along the full run. Soft board is cut out back to a sound rafter tail and replaced, primed on every face including the cut ends, and the drip edge is corrected so water cannot wick behind the new gutter. Only then does the gutter go up.

The gutter is roll-formed on site in one continuous run per elevation, hung on hidden hangers screwed into solid wood, pitched toward the outlets, with corners and outlets riveted and sealed. Downspouts are fastened to the wall and the discharge is carried clear of the foundation. Every run is water-tested with a hose before we leave.

Permits in Selden

Selden files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville, a few minutes south. Gutter replacement in kind is normally maintenance rather than permitted work; drainage that changes grade or ties into a drywell can raise questions, and we confirm with the department where it does.

Alex walks the house in Selden, photographs what he finds and gives you a written scope in the order the work has to happen — whether or not you hire us. Call (631) 312-7441 to set up a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Selden high ranch has an upper downspout dumping onto the garage roof. Is that a problem?

It can be. Dumping a full upper roof's water onto a short lower roof concentrates it on a few shingles, wears them fast and sends a surge into the lower gutter that it was not sized for. Pine needles collect at the landing spot too. Where we can, we carry the upper leader down the wall past the lower roof; where we cannot, we add a diverter and make sure the lower gutter and outlet are big enough.

What size gutter does a house in Selden need?

It depends on the roof area feeding each run and how steep the roof is, not on the house's square footage. A modest single-storey roof is fine with a standard profile. A steep roof, a large colonial, or any long run draining through one outlet wants a larger profile and larger downspouts. We size it on the walkthrough from the actual roof.

Do you replace rotted fascia when you install gutters in Selden?

Yes, and it should never be optional. Hangers screwed into soft fascia have nothing to hold, so a new run hung on it sags within a few seasons. We probe the full run, replace what has gone soft back to sound wood, correct the drip edge, and then hang the gutter.

Who issues the permit for gutter installation work in Selden?

Selden files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville, a few minutes south. Gutter replacement in kind is normally maintenance rather than permitted work; drainage that changes grade or ties into a drywell can raise questions, and we confirm with the department where it does.

Related Guides

Work With Alec's Construction

This page is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Seamless Gutters service — sizing, guards and downspout drainage that keeps water off the foundation. One crew from the first walkthrough to the last inspection.

Also in Selden through the cold months: Roofing and Attic Insulation.

Also Serving Selden

Talk to Alec's Construction About Gutter Installation in Selden

We come out, look at the house, photograph what we find and put a written scope in your hand. No pressure, no obligation. Working across Suffolk County since 2018.

Or call (631) 312-7441

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.