# determining gutter downspout locations & pitch/angle of gutters?



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Got some pictures of where your trying to use them.
Since water seeks it's own level it does not take much of a pitch.
On long runs it's almost always best to have at least two down spouts.
I snap lines with blue caulk then start in the middle where's it going to be highest and work my way to the ends.
And yes a gutter can slope toward the ends and still be high in the middle.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

Any time that you want water to migrate in a certain direction, whether an eave trough, garage floor, patio, or the minimum grade away from a structure, something in the vicinity of 1/8" per foot to an inch in 10' is a pretty good rule of thumb. On the surface, this is minor, and a majority of people probably cannot even see or feel it, but, on an eave trough, the sight line is much more obvious, because siding, brick, and the tops of doors and windows are typically level, so it's harder to achieve, aesthetically speaking. So, depending on your options, you may have to trim the pitch back a bit. So, the first thing to do is sketch your structure, including locations where downspouts could be located, and see what kind of pitch that you can achieve. And, again, keeping aethetics in mind, you do not have to maintain the same pich throughout. For example, maybe you have a long run over a large deck, and there is absolutely no way that you are going to put a down spoout in the middle of that run, well, you have a potentially problematic run there, but that doesn't mean that you need to duplicate that situation on the opposite side of the house. Nor do down spouts necessarily have to be located at corners of the building, again, depending on your exterior decor. As an example, on the 40' side walls of my shop, I located the down spouts in 10' from each end, so that each 10' section of eave trough drops a full inch toward the down spouts. Now the shop is red with white trim, so that helps, but they look like they belong there, and, unless you ran a string like Joe mentioned, you would never know but what they are perfectly level. And, recognizing that this is a DIY site, I would still suggest that if you are going to remove and reinstall all that you presently have, you may want to contact a local seamless gutter installer, and at least get a quote; seamless is hard to beat, and typically very cost competitive. Just be sure to be specific with them in regard to what you wish to achieve, so that you don't jump through the hoops with no gain.


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## daluu (Jan 2, 2012)

joecaption, I'll post some photos for reference when I have some time.

DexterII, I assume I need to find a good/reputable seamless gutter installer as well? And better to find a gutter specialist than to have the roofer replace/install gutters (say with a reroof job)?

I just noticed the potential gutter drainage issue after looking at it from rooftop after a few off/on days of rain.

When I had roofers come by to give quotes for reroof, one said the gutters had a few more years of life in them. Another said gutter condition was good and could keep/reuse gutters when reroofing. Looking back now, don't think I can trust their comments that much.

Getting new gutters would be good, mine are aging but still usable right now. But want to make sure when get new gutters that they actually drain right and not behave same like current ones.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

daluu said:


> I assume I need to find a good/reputable seamless gutter installer as well? And better to find a gutter specialist than to have the roofer replace/install gutters (say with a reroof job)


It depends, and I can't speak to what is typical around the country, but in my area anyway, the handful of quality roofing contractors who I have dealt with on various types of projects, and have no qualms referring someone to, do roof drainage systems as well, and have trucks equipped just for that purpose, with numerous types of coils and dies, so that they can roll onto a job and create whatever is needed. If the roofing contractor that you decide to go with is similarly equipped, there you go; otherwise, yes, you may need to take a two step approach. Either way, you're not going to make a lot of friends telling any tradesperson how to do their job, in certain regards anyway, but it is certainly not out of line to disclose your concerns and subsequent criteria as part of your initial meeting, so that they have the opportunity to say "yes we can, or "no we can't".


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