Re-pitching Gutters Explained - My Gutter Pro Official Blog

What is Gutter Pitch?

Gutter pitch is the slope or angle that gutters are installed in so that they drain properly. The most important thing to remember regarding gutter pitch is that water can not flow up hill. Thanks to gravity and gutter pitch water is able to freely flow towards the downspouts without any help. All gutters must be pitched in accordance to the downspout locations. If the downspout is on the left hand side like in the photo below, then that must also be the low point of the gutter. The end opposite the downspout must be the high point so that the water flows correctly.

 

 

Signs Your Gutter Pitch is Wrong

1. Visual Inspection

There are a couple signs to look for to confirm that your gutter pitch is off. The first step is a visual inspection of the gutter system. All downspouts should always be the low point of any gutter. If you observe your gutters to not be tilted towards the downspout, than the gutter pitch is off for sure. We call this “back pitched” when the gutter is tilted opposite the direction it should be. It is not always easy to tell by looking at the gutter. Most of the time the angle is so slight that you can’t see it without a level. Keep in mind if you can reach your gutter and put a level to it you can confirm if the gutter is pitched correctly.

 

In the above photos you can see one of the most common areas we see gutter pitch issues occur. That is on small gutter sections. Notice the smaller section of gutter that extends past the downspout? If you look closely you can see that it is tilted the wrong way. Because of gravity the water is going to run downhill, which in this situation is away from the downspout. 

When this happens you will often see the water pour over the end cap like in the video attached further below. Eventually the water will ruin the seal of the end cap and that will need to be re-sealed with caulk or replaced. 

Keep in mind you will need to re-pitch the gutter first or the problem will not go away.

2. Standing Water in Gutter

Another sign to look out for is standing water in the gutter. If you look into your gutters after it recently stopped raining and there was still water present. That is a perfect sign of incorrect gutter pitch. When you have a back pitched gutter the water is unable to flow uphill to the downspout. The water has absolutely no where to go when this happens but to drip from any seams. Overtime the constant excess weight from the water will lead to you needing to get your gutters re-secured with new hardware. Or possibly worse if the fascia board becomes pulled loose from the rafters.