How Wide Should Rain Gutters Be

Is bigger really always better.

How wide should rain gutters be.

You need wide gutters of 5 or 6 inches in order for a large amount of water to fall into the gutter at high speed and not past. I recently finished a home with a large steep roof 2 3rds of which on each side of the house fed into a narrow section between two gable dormers. K style gutters are the most common option and they provide optimum drainage for the majority of homes in most of the u s. Gutters should slope an inch or two for every 40 feet.

5 inch 5 520 square feet. While the thinnest. There has been a lot debate over whether most homes really need large rain gutters the over sized 6 inch 7 or 8 inch variety or if the standard 5 inch gutter will do. Most times these style gutters are installed with rectangular downspouts.

They come in 5 inch to 6 inch widths. 025 inch 027 inch and 032 inch. Aluminum is the most popular material for rain gutters whether seamed or seamless. Increasing the pitch increases a gutter s handling capacity but the gutter may look askew over a long run.

If a roof s various drainage areas call for different size gutters go for the biggest one k style. Whether you use 5 or 6 gutters is more a function of how much roof area is feeding into the gutter. The above recommendations assume that you have properly sized downspouts every 40 feet. As with gutters a downspout s capacity must match or exceed the expected runoff.

That said gutters need to be completely level from front to back or water could spill over either edge. Lengths of drip vary but typically it s sold in ten foot lengths 120. Gutters can range anywhere from 4 inches to 8 inches wide but 5 and 6 inch gutters are the most common. Drip edge varies in dimensions but typically the flange that nails to the roof surface is about 2 5 wide and the vertical edge that directs roof runoff down and away is about 1 5 in depth.

A k style gutter in the same inch width can handle twice as much water as a half round gutter. Here are 3 benefits of large rain gutters. Aluminum gutters come in three standard thicknesses. If your home needs to handle intense storms you can either install wider gutters or install more or wider downspouts to drain water away more quickly.

5 gutter would have been inadequate during a heavy rain squall. 6 inch 7 960 square feet. The standard is about inch per 10 feet.