Gutters and Downspouts

Gutters are the least interesting part of a roof and they cause a disproportionate share of the expensive problems. Water that should have gone to the street goes into the soil against the foundation instead, and then into the basement.

Sizing, Which Most Houses Get Wrong

Five inch gutter is the default and it is undersized for a big roof plane in a hard Midwest downpour. Six inch gutter carries around forty percent more water and takes a three by four downspout instead of the small one.

The rule is simple enough. Large roof area, steep pitch or a long run means six inch. A small ranch with short runs is fine on five.

Where the Water Has to End Up

A downspout that dumps at the base of the wall has moved the problem four feet and no further. Water needs to leave the backfill zone around the foundation entirely.

• Extensions carrying water at least four feet out, further on clay soil
• Ground sloping away from the house, not toward it
• Underground drains run to daylight, and cleanable
• Splash blocks at minimum, which are better than nothing and not much better

Guards, Honestly

Gutter guards reduce cleaning. None of them end it. Fine debris still gets through most designs and shingle grit builds up under all of them.

Under heavy maple and oak, which is most older Davenport streets, a good guard turns a twice a year job into a once every few years job. That is worth money. It is not the never again that gets sold on television.

Questions About Gutters and Downspouts