Gutter Pitch
Gutter pitch is the slight downward slope built into a gutter run so water flows toward the downspout instead of pooling. A common rule of thumb is about a quarter inch of drop for every ten feet of gutter. Too little pitch leaves standing water, and too much looks wrong and can overshoot the downspout.
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In depth
Pitch is lost when hangers loosen, fascia sags, snow and ice pull a gutter forward, or wet leaves add weight. Signs include water standing in the trough after rain, algae or mosquito larvae in a gutter, overflow in the middle of a run, and staining below the gutter. Re-hanging with fresh hangers, adding hangers, or adjusting the slope is a repair rather than a cleaning. A cleaner can find the problem by flushing the system, and should report it.
How this shows up on our jobs
Heavy Madison snow and ice sag gutters over the years. We note standing water and sagging runs in our gutter reports so you can decide on a repair before the next freeze.
Services where this matters
Frequently asked
- What is Gutter Pitch?
- Gutter pitch is the slight downward slope built into a gutter run so water flows toward the downspout instead of pooling. A common rule of thumb is about a quarter inch of drop for every ten feet of gutter. Too little pitch leaves standing water, and too much looks wrong and can overshoot the downspout.
- How does Gutter Pitch show up on our jobs?
- Heavy Madison snow and ice sag gutters over the years. We note standing water and sagging runs in our gutter reports so you can decide on a repair before the next freeze.
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Related terms
Gutter Flushing
Gutter flushing is running water through gutters and downspouts after the debris is removed to confirm that everything drains. It washes out fine silt and shingle grit and reveals leaks, low spots, and clogged downspouts that dry cleaning would miss. It is the test that proves a gutter cleaning actually worked.
Fascia Rot
Fascia rot is decay of the fascia board, the trim board that runs along the roof edge and holds the gutter, caused by repeated wetting. Wood fascia soaks up water from overflowing gutters, leaking seams, ice dams, and missing flashing, and it softens, darkens, and eventually crumbles.
Ice Dam
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof when heat escaping through the attic melts snow on the upper roof, the meltwater flows down toward the cold eave overhang, and refreezes against the cold roofline. As more water flows down and freezes behind the dam, the pool of water behind the ice ridge backs up under the shingles, seeps through the roof deck, and enters the attic and wall cavities below. Water damage from a single significant ice dam event can reach thousands of dollars in insulation replacement, drywall repair, and mold remediation.
Downspout Extension
A downspout extension is a length of corrugated plastic pipe or aluminum channel attached to the bottom of a downspout outlet to direct water away from the foundation of the house. Standard downspout outlets terminate 6-12 inches above grade, which deposits water immediately against the foundation — exactly where it enters basements and crawl spaces. An extension routes that discharge 4-10 feet away from the house to a splash block, a dry well, or a buried drain tile.
Drip Edge
Drip edge is an L-shaped or J-shaped metal flashing installed along the eaves and rakes of a roof to direct water off the roof edge cleanly and away from the fascia board and underlying structural components. At the eave, it sits under the first course of shingles and over the top of the gutter, channeling water directly into the gutter rather than letting it wick back under the shingle onto the roof deck. At the rake (the sloping edge of a gabled roof), it sits over the underlayment and under the shingles to shed water sideways off the edge.