Gutters are designed to do one thing — guide rainwater away from your walls and foundation into the drain. Without gutters, rainwater will damage the structural integrity of your home, endangering you and your family. What lets your gutter do its work is its slope towards the downpipe. If your gutter is not pitched properly, then you have one of the most common problems of gutters—incorrect fall.
What is incorrect fall?
Incorrect fall happens when there is a problem with the way the gutter is sloped. In gutters, the slope or pitch is the amount of slant from one end to another. Gutters depend on gravity to guide the water into the downpipe then into the drain. If water doesn’t flow at all or if water flows too quickly, then you have an incorrect fall.
What fall should a gutter have?
The slope of your gutter depends on the length of the gutter on one side of your home. In addition, all guttering must slope towards the downpipe. A general rule is that gutters need to slope at least a quarter of an inch per 10 feet to avoid standing water.
Ask your guttering professional for the right amount of slope for efficient water flow.
How do I identify incorrect fall?
If the flow of water is very slow or even non-existent, it points out to a gutter with too little slope. Since the gutter relies on gravity to guide water to the downpipe, water can’t move downward if the gutter is level. When this happens, water can collect in the gutter channel and weighs it down. This puts too much stress in the fascia, eventually damaging the fascia boards as well as the gutter itself.
If rainwater is flowing too quickly towards the downpipe that means your gutter slope is miscalculated and the gutter has too much slope. If the downpipe cannot contain the flow of water, it results in gutters overflowing into eaves, damaging the fascia and your foundation.
How do I solve incorrect fall?
If you noticed that your gutter is incorrectly sloped, you need to fix it as soon as possible, especially if the rainy season is close. Correcting the slope of your gutter can be time-consuming and if you don’t have DIY experience, you may need the help of a professional.
Correcting gutter slope to avoid incorrect fall can be a hassle. With the EASY FALL® Guttering System, however, correcting the slope of the gutter is a breeze. Our guttering system features adjustable brackets which controls the flow of water through the gutter while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing roofline.
Find out why EASY FALL® Guttering supplies over 30 jobs a month. Get a free quote by calling 1800 897 444. Consult our guttering experts today!
