Gutter Pitch 101: Why Water Pools and How to Fix It

A gutter should slope slightly toward its downspout, typically about a quarter inch of drop for every ten feet of run. If water stands in a clean gutter an hour after rain, the pitch is wrong. That standing water adds weight, breeds mosquitoes, rusts steel gutters, and in Northern Nevada, freezes into ice that pulls the gutter further out of line.

How to check the pitch

• After rain or a hose flush, look for puddles in the trough. Any standing water deeper than a sixteenth of an inch is a sign.
• Use a level on the top edge of the gutter. The bubble should lean slightly toward the downspout.
• Run a string line from the high end to the downspout end and measure the gap at the middle. A sag in the middle shows up quickly.
• From the ground, sight down the gutter line. Dips and waves are often visible from a distance.

What causes bad pitch

Sometimes gutters were installed flat or uneven to begin with. More often, they started right and moved. The most common causes we see are loose or failed hangers, old spike-and-ferrule fasteners backing out of the fascia, ice and snow weight bending the gutter, ladders leaned on the gutter, and fascia boards that have rotted or shifted.

Too much pitch is also a problem

Some installers overcompensate and slope the gutter steeply. That moves water fast, but it can look crooked from the street and leave the high end sitting well below the roof edge, so water runs behind it. On long runs, steep pitch can also overwhelm the downspout in heavy rain. On runs over about 35 to 40 feet, it’s usually better to slope from the middle toward downspouts at both ends.

How we fix it

Fixing pitch usually means removing the old hangers along the bad section, snapping a new chalk line on the fascia at the correct slope, and rehanging the gutter with hidden hangers screwed into the rafter tails or fascia. Hidden hangers are much stronger than the spikes used on older homes, and screws don’t back out the way spikes do.

• Loosen the gutter along the problem section
• Mark the correct slope on the fascia
• Reattach with new hidden hangers every two feet or so
• Reseal any seams that were stressed by the move
• Flush the gutter to confirm it drains completely

When rehanging isn’t enough

If the gutter itself is bent, kinked, or leaking at multiple seams, rehanging just puts a damaged gutter back in place. Same goes for rotted fascia: hangers can’t hold in soft wood, so the fascia needs repair first. In those cases we’ll show you the cost of repair next to the cost of new seamless gutter on that run, so you can decide.

DIY or professional?

On a single-story home with one short sagging section, a handy homeowner can often rehang a gutter with new hidden hangers. On longer runs, two-story homes, or anywhere the fascia is questionable, it’s safer and faster to have a crew do it.

Battle Born Gutters repairs pitch problems on homes across Reno, Sparks, and Carson City. If your gutters hold water, call (775) 414-4526 or request a free estimate and we’ll find the cause.