Another way gutters are damaged from snow and ice is from bearing the excessive weight of a big snow fall.
Gutters for 12 12 slope in snow country.
Anything over a 6 12 pitch tends to make massive amounts of snow slide off the roof without warning.
The key factors are usually snow loading requirements adequate slope and the use of snow guards when needed.
On roof slopes between 4 12 and 6 12 rough textured roofing materials work best.
The amount of collected water increases until it spills over the sides of the gutter.
Ideally snow and ice would thaw and run into your gutters.
Roof slopes lower than 4 12 tend to perform well with metal roofs which are less prone to leakage and ice dam formation.
A minimum slope of 1 inch per foot is recommended in snow country.
One very interesting product for snow country is called gutter helmet.
If gutters don t slope water gathers in them.
In real life constant subfreezing temperatures tend to hinder that process.
As a result ice and snowpack can build up inside the gutters which produce additional weight on the gutter sections and the fasteners that hold them.
Built in gutters also called box or hidden gutters are actually a type of rain gutter and can replace the latter especially when the conspicuous appearance of the rain gutter is the main issue.
Snow cold and ice can wreak havoc on gutters.
Roof pitches of 3 12 4 12 5 12 or 6 12 work best for metal buildings in snow country.
Massive snow suddenly sliding off a roof sometimes kills the unsuspecting caught below it.
Box gutters are valley like troughs at the edges of roofs which are concealed in appearance and don t draw attention from the beauty of the house.
If gutters slope too severely they don t hold water and water could splash over the sides in heavy rain.
Clogged gutters will only accelerate the process of ice damming and over flow when the gutters fill up with ice and snow.
Anything less than 1 12 pitch is a huge mistake in snow prone.
It is a specially shaped sheet metal cover for the rain gutters that draws the water around and into the gutter but throws leaves snow and even ice off the edge over the gutter.
At these slopes snow creeps rather than slides and is easy to manage.
Leaf guard uses the same concept but is built right into the rain gutter.