Straight to the point, there's too much water coming off my roof. Unfortunately I wasn't able to record this last rainstorm to show you.
My home is a 1950s ranch house one story obviously, the first pitch is a corner and along the shingles there is a metal strip that's tented up that goes almost all the way from the top of the roof down to the gutter. The second one is over my kids room, in the water comes off of the roof quite hard up until two and a half to three foot patch underneath that ledge the length of the roof on that section. And on the back of the house the pitch is actually a little lower and it's still pours off like the gutter isn't even there.
If anyone has a solution for this I would love to know, I'm assuming because of the pitch of the house that the gutters are too narrow and that's probably a big part of this, another issue I see is that the rain is just gathering too much speed before it hits that gutter. I was wondering what my solution would be for the corner and above that bedroom My back patio has a very similar situation as well. The water pours off like buckets as you would assume. It's caused flooding in the basement.
I'm assuming for that corner piece I need to put some sheet metal up in order to help divert the water and a couple directions and slow it down a little. I couldn't find a product online that might do this. I don't know much about home repair so I would love a caveman explanation. I'm afraid all I have to pay you with is high fives.
I bought this 1950s ranch house 6 years ago and I've had nothing but issues. I know it's you're all thinking,"duh". First homeowner mistakes but trust me I've learned plenty of lessons for the next home. Since I'm stuck with this house I figured maybe I could find help for this problem on the internet. Thank you for any help you guys provided.
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1Are the downspouts clean, not blocked? Do you have enough slope on gutters? Test by poring water on high end away from downspouts. If both are good, then bigger gutters might help.– crip659Jun 8, 2021 at 23:46
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I appreciate the advice about the photos, I'm not very internet savvy even though I probably should be in my 30s. And yes the downspouts are clean. I definitely think it's a slope issue but I don't know how I would fix that. I'm not very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff involving home repairs. I don't mind doing the work but I really have no idea what I'm doing until somebody lets me know– The decomposing houseJun 9, 2021 at 0:00
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They are often site-made from sheet metal, but evidently gutter baffle and gutter splash guard (or splashguard) are useful search terms for premade parts for the inside corners.– EcnerwalJun 9, 2021 at 0:17
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Are you located in an area where snow is unlikely? That might affect some possible mitigation methods (basically extending the corner guard idea well beyond the corners to intercept flow.)– EcnerwalJun 9, 2021 at 0:23
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1You can just buy some white aluminum flashing and make those corner guards yourself. Then they can be as high or a long as you want.– SteveShJun 9, 2021 at 1:05
2 Answers
Water flows downhill
In any downspout system, the water will flow from higher points to lower points. So when you install downspouts, you don't lay them flat; you install them with a slight slope, and you make the low points where the downspouts are. That way no matter where water lands in the gutter, it always flows toward a downspout.
The trouble is readily apparent in your photo. That rule has not been followed. The gutter in this corner is the lowest point in the area. So all the water collected by the gutter is flowing toward that corner. And then it's being met by the flow down that tented metal strip. And there's no downspout there so the water is just piling up in a splashy mess.
Either put a downspout there, or change the grade so it's not a low point.
It's possible it was built properly, and the gutter has sagged for some reason.
For the corner I would add an inside corner conductor head:
Other than that, your gutters may be too narrow, so you may consider replacing them with wider gutters. K-Style is typically 5" or 6", but you can get 7", or 8". A box gutter may also be a better choice because it will hold more water due to its shape.
Another thing to consider is if they are just to low and need to be moved up a bit.
As mentioned by @harper - Reinstate Monica, the gutter may also be pitched the wrong way, so it will be holding more water.
I would say to tackle all issues, bigger gutters with bigger downspouts, positioned vertically correct, pitched the right way with the addition of inside corner conductor heads.
