Gutters On Pitched Roof

You need to check a gutter s pitch and adjust if necessary.

Gutters on pitched roof.

6 inch 7 960 square feet. The steeper a roof s pitch the more windblown rain it can collect. The pitch and tilt of your gutters make all of the difference. 5 inch 5 520 square feet.

The gutter slope also called the pitch is the amount the gutter tilts down to let rainwater flow out of it. If gutters slope too severely they don t hold water and water could splash over the sides in heavy rain. Gutter can be run level for appearance but addition downspout will be necessary see section on proper gutter and downspout sizing. The angle of a roof on a house is referred to as the roof pitch.

Multiply the drainage area by the roof pitch factor and rainfall intensity to find out the adjusted square footage. Gutter should be pitched 1 16 or greater per foot for proper drainage. Gutters should be placed below the extended roof line so that snow and ice can slide clear. If the gutter is tilting away from your house it could be causing an overflow particularly during heavy storms.

The pitch of gutter heading towards a downspout can also cause overflow if it s too steep. If gutters don t slope water gathers in them. Hold one end of the level against the roof level it and then measure the distance between the roof and the underside of the level at its midpoint which gives you a 12 inch run. And the roof slope.

The numbers indicate the rise of the roof over it s run. For a 1 12 roof for every 1 foot it rises vertically it runs 12 feet horizontally. Gutters keep your home structurally sound as well as ensure that water does not reach the foundation of your home. Or you can slope the gutters down from each end toward a single downspout placed in the middle of the run.

Then use the chart below to see what size gutter you need. It s usually expressed as a number that looks like a fraction such as 1 12 for a very shallow roof or 18 12 for one that s very steep. To ensure that gutters drain properly make certain they slope inch for every 10 feet toward a downspout. You can measure pitch with a 2 foot level and a tape measure.

For gutter runs longer than 40 feet it s best to pitch the gutter down from the middle to a downspout at each end. The amount of collected water increases until it spills over the sides of the gutter.