Gutters
Choosing The Right Gutter and downspouts For Your Home
The gutter preserves your facades by collecting rainwater, which can possibly be directed to a collector to be reused, and also prevents infiltration. It can also become a decorative accessory in its own right on the exterior of the house. The function of gutters and downspouts is to direct rainwater away from the foundation of your home.
Gutters, gutters, downspouts, and other roofing accessories are essential to facilitate the drainage of rainwater from your roof. This equipment is available in different materials and dimensions, to be adapted to the size of your roof and the local rainfall. You can also install a rainwater harvesting device to water your garden. Warning: washing the car, with rainwater as with that of the network, is prohibited to avoid the release of polluting products into the environment.
Contact Raico Roofing, our experts will help you to find the right gutter and downspouts for your home.
Technical standards
When it comes to building a house, you must respect certain obligations before installing the various equipment necessary for the evacuation of rainwater: gutters, roofing & gutters, downspouts, etc. Certain accessories are compulsory in the implementation (provided for in the DTU – Unified technical documents – which set the implementation rules for building work), according to standards defined according to the region, the slope of the roof, etc. Other accessories have a more decorative function: you can thus personalize your roof to your taste.
The hanging gutters. These are the most widespread. They look like a pipe resting on a cornice or on a part of the roof. They are traditionally half-round in shape, but they can also be square, molded (which is found mainly on old facades), Lyonnaise (with a larger hem, therefore more rigid), or English (half-round shape classic but with a larger diameter). They are attached to the roof sewer (end of the roof) or to the roof strip by hooks at the ends of the rafters of the roof of the house.
Creeping gutters. Their shape is most often classic half-round, but there are also two local forms of gutters: the Nantes gutters which are distinguished by an angled profile (of 70 °) and a finish with an open cylindrical hem, and the Levis seamless gutters which feature a rounded profile. Both rest on a strip of lining at the lower end of the roof slope.
The descent of rainwater. Otherwise called a downspout, it is a pipe with a circular, square, or rectangular section, generally vertical, which connects the birth of a gutter or a gutter to a rainwater collection network. To prevent the passage of plants that can obstruct the downspout, you can add a crapaudine at its birth, or equip the gutter with leaf guard grids. A dolphin (or stump) can be installed in the lower part of the roof descent. Made of concrete or cast iron, this part protects all of the impacts. Particularly useful in the case of a facade on the street or near a garage.
Dimensions adapted to the home
The development (width of the sheet required) of a gutter, a gutter, or a downspout will be calculated according to the water surface to be evacuated, the roof area served, and the slope of the roof (The higher the slope of the pan, the smaller the water surface to be evacuated. To calculate the water surface to be evacuated, the inclination of the roof must be taken into account. Here is an estimate:
- less than 35 m² (veranda, awning, garden shed): 16 cm gutter and downspout with a diameter of 50-60 mm,
- 35 to 80 m² (house, garage): 25 cm gutter and one (or two) downspout with a diameter of 80 mm,
- over 80 m² (large house, shed): gutter of 33 cm and one (or more) downspouts with a diameter of 100 mm.
In regulatory matters, you must refer to the Unified Technical Documents (DTU) relating to the drainage of rainwater in force. They indicate in particular the development of the vinyl gutters and the number of downspouts necessary for the proper evacuation of rainwater.
Maintenance of the gutter
The most frequent maintenance to be carried out is the removal of waste which could obstruct the drainage: leaves, branches, piles of dust. To limit this accumulation, anti-leaf nets exist. They simply sit on the gutter and secure with clips.
Regularly, especially in the fall, visually check the condition of your gutter. Do not allow any leakage between two profiles or a fixing defect that would jeopardize the evacuation slope to deteriorate.
The criteria for choosing a gutter
In addition to local regulations and the specifics of your region, the descent, cover, facade and climatic conditions (rainfall, winds) will influence the choice of the shape of your gutters Calgary. The surface of the roof also depends on the development and scope of its future gutter. Find out, depending on the types of gutters, there are different calculation methods.