Can You Install a Vinyl Gutter With an Aluminum Downspout?

No Difference

• Gutters are basically U-shaped material of some sort that hang on the edges of roofs so that water flowing down the roof enters the gutter instead of flowing directly to the ground. The gutters are installed at a slight incline to encourage the water flow toward the downspout, which then channels the water into one spot on the lawn. It makes no difference in the process if vinyl guttering uses aluminum downspouts.

Vinyl Guttering

• Vinyl guttering and downspouts are the least expensive of gutter material. It's lightweight and strong, and comes in white or brown. Do-it-yourselfers like the ease of sections, which makes installation much easier than trying to put on a 30- to 50-foot length of seamless aluminum guttering. It never rusts or loses its coloring, but it does suffer from brittleness in extremely cold weather and can crack if the ice builds up on it.

Aluminum Guttering

• Aluminum guttering is similar in features to vinyl guttering and is often the choice of professional installers. Unlike vinyl, aluminum gutters do well under all weather conditions and come in dozens of colors. Seamless gutters are created on location with a special machine that extrudes, or forces out, the aluminum guttering in the length that is needed. Because there are no seams, except at the connections, these are much less likely to leak than vinyl ones.

Matching Size

• Connecting an aluminum downspout to a vinyl gutter is merely a matter of reasonably matching the correct size and shape of both connections. If they do not perfectly match it makes no difference as long as the mouth of the downspout fits over the portion of the gutter where the water drains from. A short screw in the side of the downspout connecting it to the gutter may be necessary to bond them tightly so that the downspout doesn't fall from the force of the water rushing through it.