GUTTERGO OPPORTUNITIES Head of the class        

    Leaderheads. Conductor heads. Distributor heads. Hopper heads. No matter what you call them — and we’ll call them leaderheads (one word, though some spell it with two) — the products provide installers of high-end gutter systems another opportunity to up-sell their customers. (By the way, according to the website Conductorheads.com, the products are also known as scupper boxes, rain collectors, collector heads, rainwater heads, and gutter boxes!) “If somebody’s going to spend $10,000 or $20,000 on gutters, then for a just a little more they should get the complete ‘look’ of a classic gut- ter system by installing leaderheads too,” believes Sock Woodruff, owner of RainTrade Corporation, a gutter sup- ply company based in Lake Bluff, Ill. In addition to their ornamental appeal, he points out that leaderheads “function as an overflow for water and ice build up, and in long runs they also allow air into the conductor to prevent vacuum and keep the water flowing effectively.” RainTrade offers 25 styles of leader- OrnaMetals photo heads whose names — from Abbey to double or triple if the homeowner wants increased along with that,” he adds. Yorkshire — suggest the product’s his- a custom-made style.” One strategy to “And though they’re often specified by toric European origins, though Woodruff keep down costs, he adds, is to install architects, I’ve also seen gutter installers says a few manufacturers may offer a leaderheads only on the front of the use them as an up-sell item.” streamlined modernist look. “They’re house. “But really,” he points out, “they In its catalogue RainTrade refers to usually made of 16-ounce copper,” he don’t cost all that much when compared the products as conductor heads, while continues, “and used for upscale custom to the total price of the house, or even Park City Rain Gutter prefers to call them homes, churches, and public buildings.” gutter system.” collector boxes. The Utah-based com- His company has patterns and jigs Leaderheads are easily mounted pany is the United States distributor for from which its in-house craftsmen can on brick or stone using mortar plugs, copper gutter products from Minoletti, then make the leaderheads by hand, sol- Woodruff explains, or on using an Italian manufacturer. As such, its dering the various components together. stainless screws. “With the growth leaderheads have a Mediterranean flair. Woodruff puts the cost of the products of copper gutter sales over the past “You wouldn’t see leaderheads on a at $300 and up, “though the price could five years, sales of leaderheads have tract home,” admits owner Gene Stucky.

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“They’re more of an upscale item. Functionally, leaderheads can improve the flow of water. Some have overflow spouts that can indicate an obstruction. But people really buy leaderheads for their decorative value.” Park City sells a dozen styles—from round to square, as well as several ornate bacinella configurations. Products can be made from , alu- minum, or steel, but Stucky agrees cop- per is the most common choice. Across the industry, he reports prices can range from $100 up to several hundred dollars or even more. Those distributed by Park City, however, sell for less than $300. “If you’re going to have an upscale gutter system,” Stucky says, “then you don’t want it to be unaccessorized. Leaderheads are accent pieces. Though

they’re popular with European-style OrnaMetals photo homes, leaderheads also fit well with copper, so that you can get an affordable Southwestern adobe style — which is alternative to copper that still provides somewhat Mediterranean — and with you a great European look.” mountain rustic styles and log homes.” Other customers for zinc gutter Even if copper prices have seen big products can include museums, librar- increases in recent years, Stucky reports ies, college dorms, and other institu- these hikes have yet to make a dent in sales tional buildings where a clean but aes- of copper gutter systems. “Homeowners thetically appealing look is preferred. who install leaderheads are an upscale And for homeowners who invest in an $180, while large custom-made units can clientele who are less affected by price upscale gutter system, Norris advises, top $1,000 each. “The market is high- increases or by a slowdown in the hous- “Leaderheads are like the cherry on end, churches, public buildings, and ing market,” he observes. “Architects will top of the sundae, or the icing on top universities,” relates marketing director often specify leaderheads, but many gutter of the cake. That makes them great up- Ryan Hill. “And our sales are probably installers also sell them as well.” sell items for contractors. Homeowners split about 50/50 between residential At Metal Tech-USA of Peachtree don’t usually get excited about gut- and nonresidential applications.” City, Ga., the products are called hop- ters. But when we show them some Hill estimates 90 percent of Chris per heads. Marketing manager Shane leaderheads, people brighten up and say, Industries’ leaderheads are made from Norris explains the company distributes ‘That’ll look great on my house!’” copper. For that reason, as copper gutter products both from Revere Copper and Chris Industries of Northbrook, sales have risen so have sales of leader- from RHEINZINK. He pegs the price of Ill., offers several standard leaderhead heads. “But not as much as the gutter zinc leaderheads at around $100, “which designs but specializes in historical themselves,” he notes. “With the sky- is more than aluminum but less than reproductions. The favored terminol- rocketing price of copper the last couple ogy at the company is to call the prod- of years, sometimes ‘extra’ items such as ucts conductor heads. But by whatever leaderheads are taken out of the budget.” name, its craftsmen can custom-fab- As Hill sees it, people who view ricate the items in copper, lead coat, leaderheads as “extras” are homeowners Kynar-painted aluminum, and Kynar- who are stuck with copper gutters, no painted, galvanized, or stainless steel. matter what. “If you’ve got a cedar ,” Standard-design copper leaderheads he explains, “then you’ve got to use cop- from Chris Industries start at about per gutters, since copper doesn’t cor- Chris Industries photo

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rode from tannic acid. So if you have no family has been making leaderheads and he smiles, “the homeowner ordered 20 choice, maybe your goal is just to keep fabricating decorative architectural metal of them!” In another case, he once made your costs down.” But when homeown- products in Germany for two centuries. leaderheads that also incorporated gas- ers make a conscious choice for copper “About 80 to 90 percent of the leader- lights in the design. gutters, leaderheads are more likely to heads installed in the United States are Not surprisingly, the primary mar- be part of the package. just decorative and functionally use- kets for Huber’s leaderheads are mul- One company that does prefer to use less,” Huber states. Nevertheless, though timillion-dollar homes, historic renova- the term leaderheads (one word, not OrnaMetals’ leaderheads typically sell tions, churches, and institutions. Yet even two) is OrnaMetals LLC of Decatur, Ala. for between $150 and $600, he has though architects often specify the items, The firm’s managing partner, Guenther crafted custom-made leaderheads for as he has also seen many cases where install- Huber, is an immigrant craftsman whose much as $2,500 each. “And in that case,” ers are able to sell their customers on add- ing leaderheads to a gutter project. OrnaMetals works in both copper and zinc, creating a wide array of fini- als, weathervanes, radius gutters, water- spouts, panels, moldings, medallions, mansards, half-spheres, ridge caps, and roof ornaments. All told, Huber observes, “The copper market is growing, so that sales of related products such as leader- heads is growing. Copper prices have gone up. But in the market we’re talking about, material cost is secondary to the desire for aesthetics and longevity.” GO Chris Industries photos

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