Recently, a customer asked this question ( below) : I felt it was worth copying to the blog, because the answer is informative to so many whose gutters may be positioned a little too low, causing the fast rain water to overshoot the gutter
Hi, will your product stop rainwater from overshooting the gutter in heavy rain? Or will I need a larger gutter?
Below is our answer to the gutter overshoot customer. We are so pleased to be able to provide a very simple gutter-overshoot solution for those slightly-low positioned gutters.
Your question:
Hi, will your product stop rainwater from overshooting the gutter in heavy rain? Or will I need a larger gutter?
Answer:
The answer to your question depends on a few factors. Sometimes, rain water will be overshooting the gutter because the water is coming off of the roof too fast, so it misses the gutter because the speed and the angle of the roof is not dropping the water into the gutter. With fast rain water, gravity has less opportunity to pull the rain water's trajectory downward into the gutter. With slow rain water, gravity easily takes effect but fast rain water has force to miss the outer edge of the gutter. This problem often occurs in cases such as when a new roof is installed but the gutter has not been changed; often the new roof might be a little thicker or a little higher so the fast water exits the roof drip edge a little higher than the gutter and therefore misses the gutter and cascades to the ground. If this is what is happening, then the answer to your question is absolutely yes, you can install GutterBrush with bristles to extend out of the top of the gutter so that the water hits those bristles and they draw the water into the gutter. The Gutterbrush extended bristles can definitely stop rainwater from overshooting the gutter. We have worked with some metal roofing companies that will use GutterBrush in this manner because they will install a metal roof over the old roof, so the water comes off the roof faster due to the new smoother metal roof surface and since the new roof is installed over the old roof, the new roof is a little higher (thicker), further adding to the reason why the water is missing the gutter. When metal roofs such as standing seam roofs, ribbed metal roof panels or PBR roofs are installed over the old roof and the gutter is not replaced or position-adjusted, the contractor will use GutterBrush to solve the rainwater overshoot problem and turn unhappy customers into five star reviewers.
Also, often a builder will use a vented drip edge which extends the roof drip edge further than the standard drip edge; requiring that a larger gutter be used or the smaller gutter must be packed out or shimmed out to accommodate the location of the drip edge. In this case, the home does not really need the larger volume that a larger gutter would provide, rather they will just install a larger gutter not due to the fact that the roof water volume requires a larger gutter, but merely because the larger gutter has an outer edge that is higher and further "outward" to catch the fast rain water. This is common when a builder normally uses a standard 5 inch k style gutter, but the builder uses a vented drip edge. The vented drip edge sends the water differently than a standard drip edge causing the roof rain water to overshoot the gutter; so the contractor can solve the problem and stop rainwater from overshooting the gutter in heavy rain by either adding a 1.5" thick piece of lumber behind the gutter to shim or pack out the gutter to a different outward position, or simply save all of that labor and install a larger 6 inch gutter.
GutterBrush offers 5 different diameter sizes, so if you were to choose a GutterBrush size (diameter) in which case the profile of the installed bristles extends out the top of the gutter in a "raised bristle" or "crowned fashion, then it is only logical that since the bristles extend higher than the outer edge of the gutter, then they will intercept the water and draw it into the gutter thereby stopping the fast rainwater from overshooting. Gutterbrush accepts rain water better than any other gutter guard.
However, if your gutter is too small: in other words if the size of your gutter is so small that it will not handle the volume of water passage ( volume of water is proportional to roof area) due to the gutter size limitations on drainage, then the extending bristles would not help your situation. Using GutterBrush to draw the water into the gutter would not have much of a positive effect if the gutter is too small to channel or move the required volume of rain water, in the first place. If such is the case, then the water is not entering the gutter simply because there is no room in the gutter for more water. Adding downspouts at opportune locations could help solve a gutter size and water volume problem. It is always a good idea, when possible due to landscape and terrain, to add more downspout drain age to improve performance and decrease maintenance.
I have 25 years of roofing and gutter experience. If you let me know what type of gutter and what style of gutter you have, as well as your address, I could look at your property from Google satellite and give you my opinion on the overshoot problem and other gutter issues.
Feel free to call, text or email with questions.
Sincerely
Alex
alex@gutterbrush.com
888-397-9433
Of course, if you decide not to maintain your gutters or clean your gutters, it is likely that they will clog and the rain water will over shoot or simply splash to the ground. Not maintaining gutters can be one of the leading causes of home degradation and the loss of a home's value. If you are in this category, and a lack of gutter maintenance in the past has caused your home to lose value, you can always sell it. If you happen to be looking to sell houses Chicago or some other area, there are lots of companies willing to buy houses that are discounted for the repairs they require; so you do not have to foot the repair bill.
Above is our response to a customer who wants to invest in her home and improve her gutters. Check out how easy it is to install GutterBrush. Every improvement you make to your home increases the homes value and installing GutterBrush is a great, quick and easy home improvement investment. Click here to visit the frequently asked questions about GutterBrush.
For more info, call 888-397-9433, info@gutterbrush.com
