When looking at installing new gutters into your home you may have come across the term eavestroughs. Or perhaps at the home improvement store you asked about gutters and the staff started talking to you about the benefits of high-quality eavestroughs. What are eavestroughs, and how do they compare to gutters? Here is a short discussion talking about the difference between the two, and how the words actually compare.
- Eavestroughs Meaning: An eavestrough is a rail that goes around the edge of the roof that collects and redirects water along it. Its goal is to redirect water from collecting and falling around your home to much.
- Gutter Meaning: A gutter is a larger, more umbrella term for anything that is placed on the roof to redirect rainwater. It is essentially the same thing, but a slightly different and broader definition for the same thing.
- Why the Confusion: If these two definitions sound basically the same you would be correct. They have essentially collided in meaning as time goes on. Some of the confusion comes from colloquial usage of the words, in that people from different places call them different things. The main difference between the eavestroughs and gutters is not what they do, but where the word is said.
- Which Should I Use: If you are wondering which word to use when talking about gutters and eavestroughs, you can just use what people around you use. Depending on where you live will be the greatest determining factor of which of the two words you use.
In conclusion, use whichever word feels most comfortable to you and those around you. While eavestroughs and gutters are essentially the same thing make sure to know what both of them mean so you know what people are talking about when they use either.
