Taylor Gardner Gutters — A Family Tradition That Continues To Grow 

Taylor Gardner Gutters owner Taylor Gardner is proud of his new location in Dade City, but he and his crew (photos below) are still installing and repairing gutters at homes and businesses in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, too. (Photo by Charmaine George)

Although Gardner Gutters had been serving the Tampa Bay area since Ed Gardner established it as a small business in Lutz in 2000, Ed’s son Taylor has grown the business immensely since taking it over in 2020 and renaming it Taylor Gardner Gutters. 

It’s grown so much, in fact, that the business outgrew its previous location in Land O’Lakes and recently moved to four acres in Dade City. 

“We have 15 vehicles on the road every day,” Taylor says. “Our front two acres are filled with trucks, trailers and an employee parking area. It’s more space than we need right now, but I know we’ll end up growing into it.” 

Taylor Gardner Gutters installs and repairs gutters, soffits and facias, and also offers gutter cleaning, which keeps the gutters on your home or business working properly and in good repair. 

Taylor says that adding gutters is the least expensive thing you can do to protect the value of your home, ensuring that Florida’s famous summer downpours don’t destroy its foundation or even its aesthetic upgrades. 

“Protecting the foundation of your home is the main purpose of gutters,” he says, “but they also protect your paint and will help your grass and sod last longer, too. Gutters protect anything on the outside of your house to help it stay in great shape for as long as possible.” 

Without gutters, Taylor says water is much more likely to settle at the base of your home’s foundation. With that saturation, the water can cause erosion to the side of the home, leading to cracks in the stucco and window ledges and forming unsightly trenches. Water under the home also can cause wood floors in the home to pucker or pop. 

Taylor first joined the business to help his father after serving in the Marines for nine years, including a tour of duty in Iraq. He used his experience and his Business Administration degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, to start a different career, but came home when his dad needed his help after receiving a cancer diagnosis. 

Taylor took over the business when Ed passed away, and Taylor’s older brother, Brandon, who had decades of experience working with their dad, led installations. Unfortunately, Brandon was then diagnosed with cancer as well and passed away just eight months later. 

So now, Taylor continues the legacies of his dad and older brother, running the business in a way that would make them both proud. 

Photo provided by Taylor Gardner

“Our installers are great, and we have several who have been with the company more than 15 years,” Taylor explains. “They know exactly what they’re doing.” 

That’s important to Taylor because his company offers a lifetime warranty on its installations. He says this is what sets Taylor Gardner Gutters apart from its competitors. 

Company policy is that any customer who experiences a warranty issue will have the problem inspected within 48 hours and fixed as soon as possible — no matter how many years it’s been since the gutters were originally installed. 

“One of reasons we’ve been successful in this business is because we always answer the phone, especially if there’s a problem after installation,” Taylor explains. 

He contrasts that with many of his competitors, who are often just one-person companies doing as many jobs as they can, without employees to keep up with other things, such as going back and fixing something if it isn’t right. 

“My focus from the beginning has been to really hit customer service as our number one priority,” Taylor says. “We give people what they ask for at a very reasonable price.” 

Taylor says some of his customers have been coming back to the company for two decades, since his dad first started the business. 

The company’s lifetime no-leak guarantee is a another unique way Taylor builds those lifelong relationships. 

“All gutters will leak eventually,” he says. “Mine won’t leak for at least 10 years, but if they do and you still live in that house, call us and we’ll fix it.” 

He has one team that is dedicated to only doing repair work, even if it’s not a job originally done by Taylor Gardner Gutters. The repair team also handles any warranty calls that come in. 

“After the hurricanes last year, that team was very busy,” Taylor says, with homes that had a gutter or piece of soffit that came down. “Nine times out of ten, it’s not something we did wrong — sometimes it’s because a customer has done no maintenance — but as a courtesy we still take care of the problem. They then tell their neighbors how much they love us and how good we are, and that’s really good for our business.” 

It’s also good for his business that there is such a construction boom in our area. Taylor Gardner Gutters also works with several homebuilders to install gutters on newly built homes, including many of the new neighborhoods in Wesley Chapel, such as The Ridge, Winding Ridge, Valencia Ridge and all David Weekley Homes throughout the area. 

Photo provided by Taylor Gardner

Those builders are growing in other areas, too, such as further north in and around Brooksville. And, Taylor says his business is expanding into Lakeland, which he describes as “even crazier in construction than Wesley Chapel.” 

In addition to helping homeowners, the company installs, repairs and cleans gutters on commercial building for business owners. 

Taylor Gardner Gutters just did its largest job ever, replacing gutters at the CENTCOM building at MacDill Air Force Base. 

“It was a huge job on a seven-story building that took us four weeks,” Taylor says. 

Taylor Gardner Gutters has 200+ reviews on Google, with an average rating of 4.8 stars out of 5. Recently, Scott Hutchison said the company’s crew “arrived on time and did a fantastic, professional, careful, and respectful job of adding new gutters to my two-story metal roof.” 

Scott added that he highly recommends Taylor Gardner Gutters, writing, “[The] house looks great! No more water pooling up near my foundation.” 

Taylor Gardner Gutters is now located at 10301 U.S. Hwy. 301 in Dade City and serves homeowners in Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk and Citrus counties, including New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. For more info, visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com or call or text (813) 515-0844.

Taylor Gardner Gutters Can Help You Save Your Home’s Foundation! 

Taylor Gardner grew up around gutters, learning his dad Ed’s business. 

One thing he’s learned is that adding gutters is about the least expensive thing homeowners can do to protect the value of their homes, ensuring that Florida’s famous summer downpours don’t destroy their foundations or any aesthetic upgrades. 

“Protecting the foundation of your home is the main purpose of gutters,” Taylor says, “but they also protect your paint and will help your grass and sod last longer. Gutters protect anything on the outside of your house to help it stay in great shape for as long as possible.” 

Without gutters, Taylor says, water is much more likely to settle at the base of your home’s foundation. With that saturation, the water can cause erosion to the side of your home, leading to cracks in the stucco and window ledges, and form unsightly trenches. Water under the home also can cause wood floors in the home to pucker or pop. 

That’s why Taylor Gardner Gutters on Land O’Lakes Blvd. installs and repairs gutters, soffits and fascias, and offers gutter cleaning, which keeps the gutters working properly and in good repair. 

It’s now been about four years since Taylor took over Ed’s company, which was then known as Gardner Gutters. 

Taylor Gardner is proud that his Taylor Gardner Gutters on Land O’Lakes Blvd. is carrying on the legacy of outstanding installation and repairs of gutters, soffits and fascias started by his father Ed and his brother Brandon, both of whom lost battles with cancer. Taylor and his outstanding crew guarantee quality workmanship on installations and repairs (All photos provided by Taylor Gardner) 

Taylor came on board to help his dad after serving in the Marine Corps for nine years, including a tour of duty in Iraq. He had used his experience and his Business Administration (B.A.) degree from Liberty University (in Lynchburg, VA) to start a different career, but came home when his dad needed him. 

The company quickly became Taylor’s responsibility when Ed passed away following a long battle against cancer in 2020. Taylor’s older brother, Brandon, who had decades of experience as an installer, came on board to help. Unfortunately, Brandon was then also diagnosed with cancer and passed away only eight months later. 

So now, Taylor continues the legacies of both his dad and his older brother, and he does it surrounded by a team that would make them both proud. 

“When I started, my dad had 35 years of experience and my brother had more than 20,” says Taylor. “I had some, but not what they did. It’s been hard to lose both of them, but things here have been amazing because I’ve got really great employees.” 

That starts, he says, with Mike Caisco, the company’s field operations manager, who has 40 years of experience in the business and personally inspects every job Taylor Gardner Gutters does once it’s complete. 

“Our installers are great, and we have several who have been with the company more than 15 years,” Taylor explains. “They know exactly what they’re doing.” 

Then, Mike comes to inspect to be sure everything is done the way it’s supposed to be, which means the installers are held accountable to ensure that there’s never any corners cut on any job. 

That’s important to Taylor because his company offers a lifetime warranty on its installations. He says this is something that sets Taylor Gardner Gutters apart from others. 

The company’s policy is that any customer who experiences a warranty issue will have the problem inspected within 24 hours and fixed as soon as possible — no matter how many years it’s been since the gutters were originally installed. 

“I’m confident you’re not going to have a problem,” Taylor says, “but in the event you do, we’re going to show up and take care of it.” 

In addition to the installers and field team, he mentions the fantastic office staff — Allison and Kammie — and great salespeople — Mike and Kenny, who are involved in the community and incredibly knowledgeable. 

Over the last few years, with Taylor running the business, it’s grown to five gutter trucks and four soffit trucks. In addition to helping homeowners, Taylor Gardner Gutters also installs, repairs and cleans gutters for business owners with commercial buildings. The company also works with several homebuilders to install gutters on newly built homes, including many new GL Homes neighborhoods in Wesley Chapel, such as The Ridge, Winding Ridge and Valencia Ridge, and David Weekley Homes throughout the local area. 

Jim Akins just bought a brand new home in Lutz from a builder that did not include gutters. “We knew we needed them before the summer started,” says Jim, a long-time Florida homeowner who is familiar with the problems summer storms can wreak on a home’s foundation. 

“Taylor personally came out and gave us an estimate,” Jim explains. “I asked him all of my questions and found him to be very knowledgeable, professional and courteous. The price was right, so we were very happy with that.” 

Jim says he hired Taylor Gardner Gutters right away and couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. 

He says the installation crew was focused and meticulous, explaining that they re-measured the whole house before they started, even though Taylor already had measured it as part of the estimate. 

“I highly recommend them,” says Jim. “It was an easy choice.” 

Taylor says that he is proud to continue the legacies of his father and brother by offering top-quality work that makes customers like Jim happy. 

“There are so many days I just wish I could pick up the phone and tell my dad and my brother about what’s happened (with the company),” Taylor says. 

But, since he can’t do that, he’ll continue to run the family business in a way that would make them both proud, and to leave a legacy for his own son — five-year-old Jacob — just like his dad did for him. 

Taylor Gardner Gutters is located at 6202 Land O’Lakes Blvd. (U.S. Hwy. 41) in Land O’Lakes. Its hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com or call (813) 515-0844. 

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors Can Help Build Your Home’s Value 

The crew at Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors takes the business of cleaning out and/or installing new rain gutters at your home very seriously. (Photos provided by Taylor Gardner)

Your home’s rain gutters may not be high on your list when it comes to home improvement or maintenance. But, Florida is one of the rainiest states in the country with an average rainfall of 40-60 inches per year, so it may be more important than you think.

“If you don’t have gutters, you are risking water damage to your home’s foundation,” says Taylor Gardner, the owner of Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors. “If you have gutters and neglect them, that’s actually more of a disadvantage, as you risk standing water collecting and building up right against your roof.”

Taylor Gardner

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is a family-owned business with more than 31 years of experience in installing and repairing residential and commercial gutters. The business was first started in Lutz by Taylor’s father Ed Gardner, and was officially transitioned to Taylor (a Wharton High graduate) in 2019 after Ed passed away. In 2021, the business expanded and the office was moved to U.S. Hwy 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

In addition to working on gutters, Taylor Gardner Gutters also can repair soffits and fascia, which are the supporting structures for gutters located behind the gutters and underneath the roof. The company also performs gutter cleanings and leaf guard installations, screen room installations, and even window replacements. Taylor Gardner Gutters can reroute underground water drainage away from a building’s foundation towards preferred locations, such as private ponds, sidewalks or sewers.

Taylor, a U.S. Marine for nine years who served in Iraq and later earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Business Administration from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, has been involved in the business since childhood. Assisting his dad in his youth, he remembers that the early days of the business consisted of “me and Dad and one truck and one trailer.” Today, Taylor is the leader of five gutter crews and three soffit and fascia crews with 15 employees and 10-15 others in partnership. Improving water drainage around your home can have so many benefits.

“Our customers’ homes can vary from a 30-year-old house in New Tampa to a newly constructed house in Wesley Chapel to a mansion built over swamp land,” says Taylor. “Houses settle over time, causing cracks in walls and stucco, allowing water to move underneath the house. Windows are intentional cracks in the foundation for light and ventilation, but mold and mildew can grow there too. With tiles and wooden floors, spots can pop up as water gets in. Sometimes swamps are drained, clay is put on top and homes are built on top of that, but the water table (the boundary between groundwater and dry land) is already high, and it will move up in crevices.”

He adds, “Sometimes homes already have gutters, but they are neglected and that’s actually a worse situation. Blocked gutters keep standing water against the house, weighing the gutters down with hundreds or even thousands of pounds of water, leaves and debris easily. That can lead to cracked fascia and roof leaks.”

Here are some examples of the types of gutters that can be installed by Taylor Gardner Gutters.

Taylor also says that gutters can even add unexpected aesthetic appeal. Copper gutters can last up to 100 years and add a beautiful shining element to the outside of the home. Half-round gutters were more common in older homes and can add a more traditional look. Rain guards are alternatives to gutters that use long chains to redirect rainfall. With more than 20 different colors to choose from, your gutter color and style can vary from subtle to bold. 

While the company serves locations in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, and Polk counties, Taylor says, “Hillsborough and Pasco counties are our bread and butter.” In fact, as Hillsborough and Pasco counties continue to grow, Taylor says his business is growing right alongside them.

“We work directly with GL Homes, the builders for The Ridge and Winding Ridge communities in Wesley Chapel,” he says, “and with the new construction by the former Pebble Creek golf course, to install all of the gutters for their properties.”

Taylor recommends spring as the best time to consult a gutter professional, especially for gutter cleaning. Taylor Gardner Gutters offers free gutter estimates. In anticipation of the rainy season from May to October, the company currently is offering a special rate of 15% off leaf guard products, such as Leaf Blaster Pro and Leaf Relief, which can block leaves and debris from entering gutters and creating blockages.

“Gutters are the least expensive upgrade you can do to improve the value of your house,” says Taylor. “It generally costs less than painting your whole home, getting floors done, or getting new landscaping.”

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is located at 6202 Land O’Lakes Blvd. The office is open Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more info, visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com, call (813) 515-0844, see the ad on pg. 39 or visit the company’s pages on Facebook and Instagram. 

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors Is A Tribute To A Great Dad

Brothers Brandon (left) & Taylor Gardner have re-branded Gardner Gutters (run for 20 years by their late father Ed, right) as Taylor Gardner Gutters.

Taylor Gardner never expected to take over the family business, essentially following in his father’s footsteps.

He says he never planned on it, never thought about it — pretty much figured it wasn’t in the cards for him.

“I thought I’d be a career military man,” the former U.S. Marine says. “Now, I can’t see myself anywhere else.”

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is the re-branded version of a family business that has been around for 20 years.

Back in 2000, Taylor’s father Ed started Gardner Gutters, a small business in the heart of Lutz, but also servicing communities and residences in the outlying areas such as Land O’ Lakes, New Tampa and at-the-time-fledgling-but-on-the-rise Wesley Chapel. 

Ed Gardner

Ed ran his gutter installation and repair company with poise and charm, honesty and dignity and even a down-to-earth goodness that was evident to every one of his customers, as the small business quickly became a multi-million-dollar operation.

“I don’t know how he did it,” Taylor adds. “He did it all and everyone loved him and always came back to him when they needed new gutters or more work done. It still impresses me to this day.”

Taylor describes his dad as a hard-as-nails tough guy, who was always in great shape. Ed was a hard worker and an even nicer fellow, one that just about everyone would approach to chat with at the local grocery store, as his other son (and Taylor’s business partner) Brandon explains.

“He had a great reputation and just a real knack for people liking him,” Brandon says. “I just remember as a kid, going anywhere, and people would always come up to him and just talk to him. There were so many people at his funeral that wanted to say something about how he was such a great guy.”

Tragedy Strikes

As with many self-made-businessman stories, this one also has its tragic side. Not because Gardner Gutters failed financially but because, 12 years ago, Ed Gardner was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

And, as with just about every cancer diagnosis, Ed’s world, and his family’s, was turned upside down. He started the treatments and lifestyle changes immediately. Taylor returned from his service with the Marines for a time.

“I really thought it was no big deal,” Taylor says, “because prostate cancer runs in our family and both my grandfathers had it and didn’t die from it. Granted, I’ve been tested as much as I can and so have my brothers, but I really thought it was no big deal because I knew my dad and figured he would beat it.”

Well, Ed did, to an extent. For about three years, Ed did all of the usual treatments and was moving along pretty well until 2011, when Taylor had just returned from being deployed in Iraq, and was told Ed had only three to nine months to live. 

No home is too big or too small for the professionals at Taylor Gardner Gutters. When you need exterior services, from gutter cleaning and installation to pressure washing & more, give them a call! 
(Photo from TaylorGardnerGutters.com)

At that time, Ed was told he was beyond Stage 4 cancer — “a dead man walking” is what Taylor said the doctors told his dad — and it was time to say his goodbyes to his family members.

However, Ed being Ed, he wasn’t about to quit. He moved away from traditional treatments and started trying holistic methods, including diets and different supplements and, miraculously, he lived for another 10 years. 

“Those things (treatments), they’ll make you look like you’re wacky, but he lived another decade after a death sentence,” Taylor says. “So, it’s hard to argue with (those results).”

Even so, Ed did pass away in August.

The holistic treatments, however, were not cheap. They drained Ed of a lot of what he made building up Gardner Gutters. He did still run it, with help from his family, because he could be gone for weeks at a time getting some “controversial” treatment in Mexico.

The business took a back seat to Ed’s survival. He worked hard to keep it alive, with help from Taylor.

Taylor had been around the business most of his childhood, even helping out as “free labor” as a teenager and such, until joining the Marines, which included that deployment in Iraq. But, he always found himself returning home. 

In 2015, Ed’s health deteriorated even more and once his uncle Rusty, who had been helping run it, retired, Taylor began taking over the business. 

In 2018 the transition from Ed to Taylor began, but it was 2019 when they re-branded it Taylor Gardner Gutters, for liability reasons, from the original Gardner Gutters, even though Taylor and his crew were doing the same work, for basically the same customers, as Ed.

“Just like dad, we don’t talk to customers like customers here,” Taylor says. “We talk to them like we know them personally because we usually do, so we take pride in that’s how dad did it and that’s how we plan to continue to do it.”

Never Forgotten

In addition to custom gutter installations and repairs, Taylor Gardner Gutters also provides gutter cleaning and leaf protection, pressure washing services, screen enclosure installations, soffit and fascia repairs and window replacements and is proud to be veteran-owned-and-operated. 

As partners in the business, Taylor handles sales and the day-to-day operations behind the scenes and off-site. Brandon is the project and sites manager, usually checking on the work about to be done, being done or that has been done, up to a couple of times a day.

“And, I’m just fine with that,” says Taylor, who has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, which he earned after completing his military service. 

“I help clean out gutters in a pinch, but my days of climbing on roofs are over,” Taylor says. “Brandon is the real gutter installation expert, where he can eyeball a house from the road while driving by and tell it was done all wrong (laughs).”

Meanwhile, Brandon says he’s revelling in the fact that the Gardner boys have truly come full circle. 

“It’s a great sense of pride now taking on the family business after dad is gone,” Brandon says, “and it’s neat for me because I was helping at the start of it and now I’m back here, getting it back up to what it used to be.”

Ed’s fingerprints will forever be on the business he started when his sons were just boys. He taught them not only how to install gutters, but also how to treat the customers. As Taylor and Brandon move forward in growing the business back to its previous level, they are adding more crews, new equipment and maybe even a new office. 

Brandon says the business is primarily focused on installing gutters — which divert rainwater rolling off your roof from accumulating next to your home’s foundation and damaging it — as well as gutter repairs and installing outdoor screen enclosures.

And, Taylor says he takes to heart all that he either directly or indirectly learned watching his father become a local celebrity business owner, one who will always be sorely missed by his family and his extended family members — the customers he treated with respect and kindness until his last day.

“Anyone can learn to install gutters,” Taylor says. “What my dad taught me was how to treat people. That was the biggest thing. I think when I was younger, I would listen to my dad talk to people and when someone would yell at him, my dad would still be nice to them. As a testosterone-filled kid, I would wonder, ‘How can you take that from anyone?’ But now, I get it.”

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is located at 19007 North U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lutz. Its business hours are Monday- Friday, 7:30 am.-5:30 p.m. For more information, call (813) 486-2730, or visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com.Â