Proper Gutter Placement
I’m wrapping up a build and I need to add some gutters to my building.
I’ve got a 7/12 pitch metal roof, with a 2×6 as a fascia board on the eaves. There is a drip edge trim placed under the metal roof and over the trim coil covering the fascia board.
As you can see in the pictures, the drip edge is almost 3″ long and has a “kick-out” to help shed water. I’m renting a gutter machine so I can make a one-piece seamless gutter (about 40′ long). The machine makes a 5″ K-style gutter profile.
Normally, the back side of the gutter is placed up under the drip edge. Is that still the best place to position the gutter in this situation? The drip edge seems pretty long. If I tuck the gutter up tight just below the metal roofing overhang (overhang is about 1″), would that be a problem? The kick-out would prevent the gutter from laying flush with the fascia board.
The metal roofing overhangs the drip edge / fascia board about 1″ on the sides of the building. I also have an awning on the end of the building but the overhang is longer – about 2-3/4″ (see the last pic).
I don’t get much winter weather (located in southern middle TN). Heavy snow and ice aren’t a concern. I also plan on installing the stainless steel mesh screens for leaf guards.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks and have a good day.
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Replies
Yes, you want the gutter's back wall behind the drip edge. If you put the gutter in front of the drip edge, you'll get water between the back of the gutter and the fascia, which tends to build up gunk over time and rot things out, in addition to water dribbling down past the gutter during rain storms. You want the edge of the roofing material to be somewhere over the open part of the gutter too, ideally with the gutter stickout out far enough that water "sheeting" down the roof in a heavy storm won't shoot over and past the top of the gutter.
Note that the ends of the gutter should extend an inch or two beyond the edge of the roof on the ends too, it shouldn't end right in line with everything else.
I'd be careful with your choice of gutter guards. Those can work, but you have to use one that works with whatever type of tree debris you expect to have falling on your roof. Gutter guards that work great for heavy oak leaves might not work well at all for pine needles, for example.
Bill
Bluegoose,
I've never installed the gutters behind the drip-edge. The most common ones here have straps across the top which would preclude it, but also I like to have the top of the gutter just below the edge of the roofing so no wind-blown rain gets behind. That's why I use drip-edge flashing with no hem on the leg against the fascia.