Gutters and downspouts are installed to collect the water that run off the roof during rain or snow melting and channel it to spill away from the house, thus preventing foundation seepage. It will also increase the width of the roof’s overhang and help prevent snow slides during winter. The maintenance of the gutters and downspout may be tricky, leaves, seeds and twigs tend to collect in them and clog the downspouts, in winter, ice hanging from the gutters may damage and weaken it.
The cheapest option to use as gutter material is galvanized steel, but it has to be painted, another cheap option is to use unpainted aluminum, it is very durable unless exposed to salty air (sea-cost areas), aluminum is shiny, and you might want to paint it for a better look. Other materials to use as gutters are aluminum with factory baked on enamel, and aluminum covered with a thin layer of vinyl, there are also solid vinyl gutters, all three are highly durable, relatively cheap and require very little maintenance. Another expensive option is copper. The thickness of metals used in gutters and downspouts is commonly 26-gauge stainless steel; a 24-gauge will be stronger.
It is recommended to install caps and screens for easy maintenance and cleaning of gutters and downspouts to make the job much easier. Make sure your gutters and downspouts have sufficient capacity to handle the quantity of water that may runoff the roof, 5-inch gutters are very common, but a larger roof might be better off with a 6-inch gutter. A steep roof may require a bigger gutter too regardless of the roof’s size, as rain water will run faster down to the gutters. The gutter should be sloped towards the downspout approximately 1 inch for every 12 lineal feet. The downspouts should be fastened to the wall every 5 to 6 vertical feet.
Like it? Share it with others!
Or Place a link to this page using the following HTML code: