The golden rule for positioning your rain gutters is that they should always be placed about three inches below your roofline. The reason being: if they are placed too high, they can allow runoff water to spill out over their backside.
Drip edge should be installed at least a 1/4'' away from the fascia. The purpose of drip edge is to catch run behind from the shingle and it 'drips' into the gutter. If the drip edge is against the home that water will run down the fascia or behind the gutter. Gutters should always be installed BEHIND the drip edge.
The Gutter Needs to be 2-3 Inches Away from the Edge of Your Roof: While 2-3 inches away from the roof is a good rule of thumb, the exact number is determined by the pitch of your roof and where the downspouts are placed.
How Far Should Gutters Be From the Roof Edge? The gutter should be installed as close to the shingles as possible; no more than 2 or 3 inches. If the gutter distance is more than 3 inches, the rain will run off the roof and won't drain properly.
The general rule of thumb is that your rain gutter slope should be anywhere from ¼ to ½ of an inch per every 10 feet of gutter.
As a general rule of thumb, choose 6-inch gutters for larger and steeper roofs and 5-inch gutters for smaller, low-slope roofs. Larger gutters typically hold more water, making them ideal for areas receiving heavier rains. However, different conditions may call for an adjustment in gutter size.
Adequate fall towards the downpipes must be given to gutters (a minimum of 1 in 500 for eaves gutters and 1 in 200 for internal gutters). The installer must ensure that the correct number of downpipes of sufficient size are installed, that they are clear of debris and able to discharge correctly.
No, there should not be a gap between the drip edge and the fascia board. If there is a noticeable gap, it could indicate that either the drip edge or the fascia needs to be adjusted so that they align properly with each other.
Your new gutters should be installed at a certain angle to ensure rainwater is diverted to the drains. As a rule of thumb, gutters should have a slope of 1/4 inch for every 10 feet.
The standard size for residential gutters is 5 inches. Some houses opt for 6-inch gutters to stand against heavy rain since they can hold significantly more water. Five-inch gutters are 3.5 inches deep, and 6-inch gutters are 3.75 inches deep.
Determine the Desired Slope – Typically, a slope between 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch per 10 feet of gutter length is the best for proper drainage. Just remember, these numbers are subject to change based on local rainfall and roof pitch.
While homeowners may believe that gutters must abut the roofline, this assumption is incorrect. Ideally, gutters should be placed a few inches below the roofline. They need to extend beyond the roof shingles, not align with them.
It makes the water fall straight into the gutter without running off from behind. If there is water dripping between gutter and fascia, it may be because your drip edge is laying too flat. It's supposed to lean slightly downwards to naturally keep the water flowing from the roof to the gutter.
If you want them to blend in, choose a shade that matches your roof or the soffit and fascia. If you want to accentuate a pop of color or highlight the outline of your roof, coordinate your gutters with the trim. A few complementary colors can be modern and exciting, but too many can appear busy and over the top.
Gutter installers in frost-free zones simply screw the inside edge of gutters through the fascias to the extreme ends of rafters. This can be sufficient to withstand the weight of rainwater, provided the downpipes are clear and the water can flow freely away.
3/4 of your gutter's width should stick beyond the shingles to catch all the water and lead it properly down the downspouts.
Before installing gutters, you should first place the fascia board, followed by the soffit. You can tackle the gutter installation after those two components are successfully in place. You can opt for several kinds of materials and styles for your fascia, soffit, and gutters.
Be sure that the edge extends beyond the fascia to promote water flow away from your roof. Silva recommends installing the drip edge so the edge of the roof is 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches away from your fascia board. This way, water can drop freely instead of seeping back into the fascia.
Your gutter downspouts should not touch the ground. Otherwise, the rainwater might get backed up in the gutter until it starts overflowing.
As a rough guide, on a single-storey house, the height of the gutter is around 3.3m. On a two-storey property, the height of the gutter is usually about 5.7m. This means that you will need to choose a ladder with a working height that matches the gutter height.
Calculating Downspouts Based on Gutter Length
The general rule of thumb is one downspout for every 20-30 feet of gutter. This may vary depending on several factors such as the pitch of your roof, the volume of rainfall in your area, and the capacity of your gutters.
✔ Using a spirit level, check that there is a fall towards the outlet (1.350 is recommended) to encourage water to drain efficiently. ✔ To position the running outlet accurately, hold a plumb line against the fascia directly over the drain.
Eave gutters must have a minimum fall of 1:500 (unless fixed to a metal fascia). The minimum size required for an eave gutter is dependent on a number of factors. First, you need to consider the location of the building.
A common guideline is that you need one downspout per 40' span of gutter for proper drainage, but this is usually not enough for a 2”x3” downspout. A homeowner should also consider the size of the roof which will factor into how much water is going into the gutter.