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.