Gutters take the run-off from your roof and direct it to downspouts, which move the water down and away from your home’s foundation, to help prevent flooding. If your gutters become clogged it puts your entire home at risk of water damage.

To drain effectively, gutters must be positioned to slope at the correct angle: about 1 inch for every 20 feet between downspouts. If your gutters are clean but not draining properly, you’ll need to adjust the hangers, straps or brackets holding them in place to increase the slope. Gutters should be installed tightly against the fascias (faces of the eaves and rakes) with a sufficient number of brackets or straps to keep them secure. If a strap breaks free, anchor it again with sheet metal screws or rivets (unless you have copper gutters, in which case use copper only).

As with many home maintenance tasks, the best medicine is prevention. Clean your gutters once a year (or have a service do it: most charge between $75-150, depending on the house’s size and number of floors). If you live is an area that sees a lot of rainfall it never hurts to clean your gutters and downspouts twice a year, in the autumn and the spring, which will limit your exposure to rotting leaves and other debris. If you have birds roosting on or around your roof, it will help limit the clogging their dung inevitably causes.

If you have lots of lovely trees near your rooftop, you should pay special attention to the gutters near areas where they shed leaves. Unclogging gutters and downspouts may not be much fun, but it is an easy job if you do it regularly and don’t wait until it becomes a necessity—usually during a terrible rainstorm when water starts entering your house.

K-Style Gutter Sizing Chart

Dimensions for Standard K-Style Gutter Sizes In sizing rain gutters, the following consideration are important. Currently there is no standard in the roof drainage industry but these concepts are based on handed down experience.   Outlet Sizing and Spacing Your gutter system will perform its best when a proper outlet size is chosen to drain a given roof area. Downspout sizes must not exceed the bottom width of the gutter. furthermore, the standard norm for gutters among many in the rain carrying industry is to allow 1 square inch of outlet opening in the gutter for every 100 square feet of roof area being drained. Roof Slope Rainwater must not overrun the front edge of the gutter. A steep pitched roof can accelerate rainwater velocity. The gutter must not be hung too high or too low against the fascia or eaves of the roof. Gutter Slope To allow for proper drainage in gutters, allow the gutter to slope approximately 1/4" drop every 10 feet toward the downspout for adequate drainable. To prevent mosquitoes, your gutter system must not hold rainwater.