When you’re thinking about renovating your house, you consider new tiles or furniture. Usually, the last thing on your mind is the gutters.
However, since they’re on the outside of the house, a new coat of paint can be essential. When you notice this, you start going through many color options.
After looking around the neighborhood, you start to wonder, are black gutters popular?
Over the years, black gutters have become more and more common. This is most likely due to the fact that dark colors last longer outdoors.
Let’s take a look at the popularity of black gutters and how you can paint your own.
Black Gutters
Gutters have been around for an incredibly long time. Traditionally, they used to come in a rainbow of colors. You could install any shade you wanted to accent your house.
Nowadays, most gutters are an off-white hue. This was probably due to a couple of reasons. The first is uniformity. When you build a large compound, you usually make all the houses in the same style. This ensures that the units appeal to the widest base possible.
As for the second, it’s cost-effective. Customizing gutters to match a house’s aesthetic can be a little pricey. Choosing a standard color made expanding a little more affordable.
For years, white gutters reigned supreme. Then, with the rise of modern homes, black gutters started to appear. Since then, they’ve gained a lot of popularity among new homeowners.
Why Are Black Gutters Popular?
It seems like everywhere you look now, there are black gutters. You find them on many freshly renovated houses around the world.
There are a couple of reasons behind the massive spike in popularity:
1 – Contrast
One of the key components of modern architecture is contrast. Modern designs make use of how different colors can outline and define a building.
So, when you paint exterior parts of the house white, a black gutter can be a great way to add a pop of color. This gives the overall structure a much cleaner and more refined look.
2 – Coordination
Another reason why people opt for black gutters is coordination. They want to match the color with a different part of the house.
Usually, they want to use the same shade for the trims, sidings, and gutters. This gives the illusion that the parts mesh together to create a harmonious product. Doing so gives the home a sense of unity.
3 – Camouflage
Many homeowners choose black gutters to blend them into the background.
As you can imagine, not many people like their gutters to stand out. So, with darker-colored houses, black gutters are the way to go.
Even if they don’t match the shade of the building exactly, they’re much harder to spot!
4 – Cleaning
Finally, it’s much easier to clean black gutters than any other color. This is because they can hide many flaws.
The main culprit when it comes to mucky gutters is dirt. Whether after a rainstorm or a sandstorm, it can cover your whole house.
When this happens, black is a lot more forgiving. It conceals most of the debris without you having to do any cleaning.
Do Black Gutters Fade?
All gutters fade after a while. Gutters spend most of their lives in the open air. They have to contend with rain, strong winds, and other environmental exposures. This will gradually cause a loss of color.
Fortunately, black gutters can last a little longer than other shades. This is only due to the fact that black is a more opaque color.
How to Paint Gutters Black
Changing the color of your gutters sounds exciting, but having to hire a contractor doesn’t. You have to deal with someone else’s schedule, and it can cost a pretty penny.
If you want to paint your gutters black yourself, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive into the step-by-step details.
Step 1: Cleaning Your Gutters
As with any paint job, you want to start on a blank canvas.
Cleaning the gutters is almost never fun. It takes a while, and it’s hard to do without getting muddy. However, this step is crucial for the paint to stick to the surface.
You want to start with the inside of the gutter, clearing out any dead leaves or debris. Once that’s done, you want to use soapy water to wipe down the outside.
This is going to take a little maneuvering and a few cleaning tools. So, take your time and go over every tiny section.
Step 2: Stripping the Old Paint
After your gutters are spotless, it’s time to strip the old paint. This might be the toughest part of the whole process.
Using a plastic putty knife, gently peel off any remnants of the previous paint job. With this step, you’re removing any bumps or lumps on the gutters.
Step 3: Applying the Primer
Now, with a clean, smooth canvas, you’re ready for primer. You can use clear acrylic bonding or oil-based primers for the job. These will provide a suitable surface for the paint to adhere to.
Whichever primer you choose, ensure it doesn’t contain ammonia in order to avoid bubbles. You then have to wait 2-3 days for the coat to dry completely.
Step 4: Applying the First Balck Paint Coat
Once the primer is fully dry, you can go in with your first layer of paint. Apply a thin, even coat of black paint to the gutters.
Your aim with this coat isn’t to get a solid black color; the goal is to saturate the surface. That will let you build up the opacity to the color you want in the future.
Give this coat one or two days to dry after you’re done painting.
Step 5: Applying Extra Black Paint Coats
If the first coat didn’t give you the color you’re looking for, you’ll have to apply another.
Add a thin layer of paint over your gutters. This time, you want to focus on the sections with the least opacity. You may need to do this a couple of times before you get a true black.
Avoid painting thick coats. They’ll give you a more solid black, but they take too long to dry.
Final Thoughts
Are black gutters popular? Over the past few years, black gutters have become more and more common. Many people opt for them to add contrast or coordination to the outside of their house.
You can also use black to camouflage your gutters with a dark building. In addition, the color is much easier to clean and takes longer to fade.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.