What's The Right Amount Of Gutter Pitch?

Too little gutter pitch and there's not enough flow to remove debris in the gutter and too much pitch looks ugly and you'll loose some of the gutters holding capacity.

Installing gutters with the proper pitch is critical to effective drainage and the only way to make sure that you have enough gutter slope is to actually place a level inside the gutter during installation.

Gutter runs 30 feet long or more should have a downspout installed at each end, pitching the gutter from the center towards each downspout. An effective gutter slope is roughly 1/2 inch drop for every 15 feet of gutter.

This can be maintained by using a two foot bubble level and keeping the bubble touching one of the black lines either to the right or left of center.

Using these guidelines, you can achieve an effective pitch without having a sloppy appearance. This will also insure that the back edge of the gutter will not drop below the drip edge flashing.

Sometimes the structure on which the gutters are installed, make it impossible to achieve an effective pitch and still keep the back edge of the gutter under the drip edge. If the required gutter slope does drop the back edge of the gutter out from behind the drip edge flashing, use a flashing extenders. 

A flashing extender can be installed to bridge that gap. Just slide the extender up under the drip edge flashing and over the back edge of the gutter and secure with gutter screws. Flashing extenders are made from gutter coil cut up into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide. This will keep the fascia from being exposed to any moisture.

Don't just assume that all gutter installers know what they are doing. A good contractor is proud of his work and will take the time to explain how your gutter system will be installed. Always check their references and don't necessarily fall for the lowest price. 

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