Roof Gutter Requirements

What does it mean for installers.

Roof gutter requirements.

Design of roof drainage systems roof drainage the roof is one of the most essential parts of a building as it protects occupants contents and interior of the structure from the elements. If gutters slope too severely they don t hold water and water could splash over the sides in heavy rain. A square inch of downspout can drain 1 200 square feet of roof during a rain with an intensity of one inch per hour. Doubling the number of downspouts halves the required capacity for each.

Roof area the locale s rainfall intensity and gutter capacity determine how many square inches of downspout are needed. The gutter slope also called the pitch is the amount the gutter tilts down to let rainwater flow out of it. Roof drip edge flashing serves multiple functions on a building the foremost of which is to assist water in leaving the roof edge with minimum damage to other building components by directing the water off of the roof and into the gutter. The particular overflow measure installed may vary depending on the needs and requirements of individual sites so the victorian building authority has outlined several different options that will ensure guttering compliance.

The international codes i codes are the widely accepted comprehensive set of model codes used in the us and abroad to help ensure the engineering of safe sustainable affordable and resilient structures. 1 gutter channels that run horizontally along the roof edge to collect runoff and 2 the downspouts that carry the collected water down. In order to decide for yourself whether rain gutters are necessary for your home it is best to first weigh the facts. If gutters don t slope water gathers in them.

Roof drainage requirements specifications. Hold one end of the level against the roof level it and then measure the distance between the roof and the underside of the level at its midpoint which gives you a 12 inch run. Rain gutters are the most controversial type of gutter. They are generally not required by law on a sloping roof and many modern homes omit them even in instances where they are beneficial.

Once an architect has determined the kind of roof he intends to use he must give equal attention to the design of the roof drainage system. Plumbers must now amend their guttering installation practices to ensure that they are up to date with the new standards. You can measure pitch with a 2 foot level and a tape measure. This article describes several methods for determining the drainage capacity required to safely drain water off of building roofs whether from rainfall melting snow or a combination of those water sources.

Size downspouts to fit the gutter. The steeper a roof s pitch the more windblown rain it can collect. Gutter systems consist of two parts. The international code council icc is a non profit organization dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design build and compliance process.