Did you know that there’s a science behind the design of your roof to ensure water flows off of it? Without a slope, your roof would retain rainwater and meltwater, leading to severe damage and even a collapsed roof. The slope and pitch of a roof determine how quickly water will drain from it. The same goes for your gutter system- water can’t flow through the entire system with an improper slope.
To properly drain water, a gutter system works with gravity to ensure water is carried away from the roof and away from the home’s foundation. Keep reading to learn the science behind gutters and how gravity and slope work together to ensure proper gutter drainage.
What is a Gutter Slope?
Before we explain how gravity and slope work together, let’s discuss what a gutter slope is. Gutter slope or pitch refers to the slant that the gutters are placed at to drain water toward the downspouts. Without a gutter slope or pitch, water would just collect in and sit inside the gutters, never finding its way to the downspouts. The result? Overflowing gutters and even the potential for gutters to tear away from the home.
So what should the slope or pitch of a gutter be? Ideally, and as a general rule of thumb, the gutter slope should be ¼-½“ for every 10 feet. If gutters slant downward by ¼-½“, the water will drain downward and into the downspouts. This calculation needs to be correct because if it’s too little of a slope, water won’t move. Likewise, if it’s too much, water will move quickly, and the gutter system won’t keep up with it.
To calculate your ideal gutter slope, our expertly trained team at K-Guard / One Stop Home Improvement Shop will take and record exact measurements before installing your new gutter system. Our staff has installed gutter systems on homes in Lynchburg for decades with thousands of happy customers, avoiding incorrect gutter slopes.
How do Gravity and Slope Work Together?
As previously mentioned, the slope refers to the downward slant of the gutter that ensures water flows downward toward the downspouts. Gutter slopes don’t work alone; gravity helps pull the water toward the downspouts.
Gravity naturally pulls stormwater and meltwater from your roof, pulling it downward to your home’s windows, siding, and landscaping. Gravity and slope work together beautifully with the right calculated slant to keep the water already trickling downward from the gravitational pull, moving in the right direction to meet the downspouts. The science behind the gutter design is simple yet effective at aiding in proper gutter drainage.
What are the Dangers of an Incorrect Slope?
We can’t stress enough the importance of installing a gutter system with the perfect slope or pitch. Getting it wrong could lead to many dangers that lead to costly repairs:
Overflowing Gutters
Overflowing gutters are a pain to deal with and often create a domino effect, damaging other components of a home. Gutters overflow for several reasons: clogged gutters, damaged gutters, sticks, pests, and improper gutter installation. Calculating the incorrect gutter slope can lead to overflowing gutters by either creating too much of a slant where the water flows too quickly, forcing it to spill over the sides, or too little of a slant, making the water stagnant and causing it to overflow when the gutter is at capacity.
Foundation Damage
How can an incorrect gutter slope lead to foundation damage? Remember how gravity and gutter slope work together to carry water from the roof to the downspouts? An incorrect gutter slope could cause the gutters to move water too slowly or quickly, each leading to overflowing gutters, as previously mentioned.
This excess water would flow over the sides, never making it into the downspouts to be dispersed away from the home. Rather, it would collect around the home’s foundation, drenching the grass and soil directly underneath the gutter. This water will seep into the foundation, causing cracks, basement leaks, and structural damage.
Wood Rot
Incorrect slope leads to stormwater and meltwater pouring over the sides of the gutter, forcing water to trickle down the house. Imagine that every time it rains water slowly moves down the sides of the home, seeping into the siding a little more with each rainfall. Eventually, this would lead to wood rot, a fungus that eats away at the wood of a home’s siding, roof rafters, windows, and any other home component made of wood.
Homeowners in Lynchburg and surrounding cities need a quality, durable, seamless gutter system with the perfect slope or pitch. K-Guard / One Stop Home Improvement Shop is the premier gutter installation company in Central Virginia. Our expert installers are versed in gutter physics and gutter science, always installing gutter systems with proper gutter drainage in mind. Our gutter solutions are top-of-the-line in Lynchburg and protect any home from drainage issues. Whether you install our seamless gutters or the K-Guard System, your landscaping will be free from soil erosion caused by faulty gutters!
Our seamless gutters can be installed with or without our Xtreme Mesh Gutter Guard System that blocks debris. Our K-Guard Gutters are so durable that they come with multiple warranties! We offer lifetime no-clog, no pull-away, and paint warranties! These warranties mean your gutter system will last a lifetime, looking as good as the day you installed it decades later. Our seamless gutter installation is quick with three simple steps: free estimate, customizing your seamless gutters, and, finally, the gutter installation!
K-Guard / One Stop Home Improvement Shop can help with all your home improvement needs, whether you need help with an insurance claim or a quote for installing a new roof or gutter system. We’re here to help every step of the way throughout the entire process. Contact us today for a free consultation!
