Did you know there are 6″ oversized commercial gutters available to the homeowner? What exactly are they, who needs them and why? Do you live in a location that experiences a lot of rain? These are all great questions to ask when you are considering installing gutters.
Is Bigger Always Better?
Although 5″ is considered the standard size for residential seamless gutters, many homeowners are upgrading to 6″ over sized gutters. Though a 6″ gutter is only an inch bigger it does handle 40% more water. The over sized downspout installed with these gutters can also handle more debris passing through them. We have been seeing the trend of 6″ gutters becoming more sought after here for several years. When we decided to add a third crew in 2011, we added a second 6″ machine because we simply could not keep up with the demand for 6″ gutters.
6″ Gutters are an inch bigger all around
Does you house need 6″ Over sized Gutters?
There are many factors that determine if you need larger gutters. The most basic information is the size of your roof. Obviously a larger roof would benefit from an oversized gutter. If you want to measure the square footage of your roof to determine the best size gutters you can take a few simple measurements. If you follow this link it will teach you how to determine your roof volume.
Although size of your roof is important you should also consider the pitch of your roof. A steeper pitch will make water run down faster and require an oversized gutter. Metal roofs also shed water at a much quicker rate than an asphalt roof therefore we always recommend 6″ gutters to handle the faster runoff of the water.
Many of today’s newer homes have more complex roof lines. We come across roofs with a lot of valleys and areas where large amounts of water collect, causing a flood of water to shed all at once. These areas often have just enough space for a small gutter and would benefit from an over sized gutter.
The style of gutter can also determine the size. If you are considering Half Round Gutters we always recommend a 6″ gutter. Half Round gutters are shallower than K-Style gutters and the 5″ half round gutters tend to overflow quite often.
Other times when we recommend a 6″ oversized gutter:
- If the gutter is over 40 feet long and can only accommodate 1 downspout
- If there are upper gutters that drain into lower gutters we recommend upgrading the lower gutters to 6″ to handle the increased volume of water.
Are there even larger size gutters?
Gutters can be installed in sizes even larger than 6-inch oversized gutters. They are available in both 7 and 8 inch sizes. Now we don’t want you getting a case of gutter envy here. A gutter this large is most commonly used on commercial or industrial sized buildings and is not suitable for residential homes. Gutters of this size are not often available seamless and would normally be installed in 10 foot sections.
Is an oversized gutter the solution to my problem?
If you have a large volume of rainwater overflowing your gutters, connect with us and explain the situation. There are many times where the problem is not connected to the size of the gutter. The performance of the gutter system may be stopped by clogs, poor pitch or other material problems. Call the Brothers that just do Gutters and we can help resolve the question – Is bigger better for me?