Gutter Dilemma: Is 5” or 6” Best?
The size of your gutters matters…especially if your gutters do not sufficiently support the normal drainage rate of your home or business. At the same time, there’s no reason to pay the additional cost to “super-size” your gutters when it’s not needed. The standard in Texas is 5” gutters or 6” gutters. Below are some of the things we take into consideration when designing a gutter system.
Architecture
Two key factors are the size and slope of the roof. There are mathematical formulas to determine how many gallons of water can roll off a roof based on the number of square shingles are on it. Roof pitch is important because the steeper a roof’s pitch, the more windblown rain it can collect. (The roof pitch is the distance a roof rises vertically over a 12” horizontal distance.)
Climate
Annual rain falls in your area are a factor. For example, Houston normally receives 49” of rain while Dallas and Fort Worth average 37”. Based on these levels, there is justification for having gutters on most homes, especially when one of our famous downpours comes along.
Rule of thumb
Every home and business is different. At Peak Roofing & Construction we never approach a gutter project with a one-size-fits-all solution. If so, we would be doing a horrible disservice to our customers. But I will say, there is a generalization in the industry that most Texas homes are efficiently serviced by having 5” gutters and most commercial roofs (based on their size) call for 6” gutters.
Downspouts
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the other big consideration…size and quantity of downspouts. If you don’t have the right design and approach to downspouts, your gutters are not going to perform correctly, regardless of size. Having the right size downspouts is equally or more important than the size of your gutters. Downspouts are a complete topic on their own, so I will endeavor to cover it in more detail during a future post.
Professional gutter design
There are many approaches for designing a gutter system. My advice is to take the time to find a company that truly understands roofing systems and gutter systems. It’s the combined knowledge that will get you best design for your dollar and ensure you have a properly working system to last years into the future.
Please call us. One of our professional gutter inspectors / estimators will be happy to come out and provide a free inspection of your current system or design a totally new one that is custom fit for your home. Peak Roofing & Construction owns our own gutter machine so we create seamless gutters in your driveway or parking lot that are custom designed for your home or business.
About Peak Roofing & Construction
Peak Roofing and Construction is family-owned, with 30-years of experience. Bonded, insured and accredited, we provide roofing, gutter, fence, window and exterior facelift services. Guaranteed. Call (972) 335-7325 (Dallas-Fort Worth) or 281-290-7325 (Houston) today!
Joey Riss
Joey is Peak Roofing & Construction’s “renaissance woman”. She is involved in all aspects of the business decision making as well as her office responsibilities and overseeing much of the marketing efforts. Although she lets Jeff climb the roofs, Joey has a thorough understanding of roofing, gutters, windows, fences and exterior painting. When not in the office you will find her focused on her favorite career, raising their precious son.