DIY Network

Roofing: Gutters and Downspouts From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-104

One important decision with respect to building a house is how to handle the rainwater that runs off the roof. In this segment of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, our contractors discuss an important topic that's related closely to roofing -- gutters and downspouts -- and how they integrated these components into their roofing structure.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H

Gutters and Downspouts

• Gutters and downspouts are critical to ridding the roof of water and getting it away from the home's foundation. For Michael Buchtel's home, which has a lot of roof-space, the issue of rain- and snow-runoff is particularly important. Gutters and downspouts are an important part of any roofing installation (figures A and B), but are elements that are sometimes overlooked. Michael acknowledges that, for many people building a home, these items are some of the last items on a list of priorities -- but they shouldn't be.

• Betty King and John Spracklen neglected to consider the importance of proper drainage from their massive roof (figure C) until late in the construction of their Kentucky home.

• Since they didn't plan for drainage channels and ditches in advance, Betty and John had to retrofit their property with these after much of their landscaping had already been done. Without proper drainage, erosion would ultimately damage that landscaping.

  Gutters and downspouts (figure D and E) are not expensive, and they play a vital role in the roof doing it's job. For any house, it's important to remove the water that runs off the roof as quickly as possible. The downspouts can be buried or positioned to carry that water away from the house (figure F).

Snow and Ice

Snow was a special concern for Andy Beasley since his home is located in Hillsdale, CO at an elevation of 8500 feet (figure G). In a climate that has multiple freezes and thaws throughout the year, snow, ice and runoff can create special problems. Ice shields along the edges of the roof and in the valleys can help overcome this problem.

For protected nooks and valleys of the roof where sunlight seldom reaches, during peak snow season the weight of unmelted snow could create structural problems for the roof itself. The solution for Andy was the installation of de-icing cable in those areas (figure H). The cable loops through the gutters and along edges of the roof. Switches inside the house cause the cable to heat up and melt the snow in these critical areas.