As those who have lived here for just about any amount of time will agree, Minnesota - in particular the Twin Cities area - is known for its severe weather.  Our winters can be deep freezes with heavy snow, our summers can be blisteringly hot and sticky, and in between we get those thunderstorms and downpours that can wreak havoc on our homes.  Part of protecting your house from the effects of those heavy rains is having a gutter and downspout system that can handle a massive amount of rain hitting in a short time. Take a look at the photo at right. See the water flowing over the edge of the gutter?  That's not supposed to happen.  Rain coming off a roof is supposed to be channeled by the gutters to openings through downspouts and away from the home. If the water is spilling over the edge or overshooting the gutters, you can get damage to your home, its foundation and your landscaping. When you see water coming out of the top of the gutters, it means two things:
  • Gutters are clogged with debris; OR
  • The gutter system isn't sufficient to handle the amount of rain
If you've seen this happening to your gutters, the first step is to check them for leaves and other debris and then clean them out if that's the case. After removing the gunk in the gutters, use a garden hose to flush the downspouts to make sure there isn't a clog in that part of your rain-handling system.  If you've eliminated clogs as the issue, then most likely you have a gutter system that isn't adequate to handle heavy rain coming off your roof.

Gutters that are too small or are improperly installed can result in water moving off the roof in amounts the gutters just can't handle. You may need gutters that are larger, and you may need more downspout openings.

Gutters come in several different sizes, the most common being 5". But if you've got a roof with an overhang, those 5" gutters may be insufficient.  A steep roof pitch or a larger roof area may also require larger gutters.  We've also got something else than can help: larger downspouts.  Standard downspouts are either 2-inch round or 1.75 by 2.25 -inch rectangular. We don't believe that either of those is sufficient for our heavy Minnesota rains, and so on our seamless steel gutter systems we use the revolutionary SuperSpout. These 3-inch downspouts and elbows are about 50% stronger than comparable products, and they can improve the rain handling capacity of your gutters by at least a third.

If you're questioning whether your rain handling system can effectively deal with the heavy rains that are in the forecast, give us a call for a no-obligation consultation in your home. We'd love to share more of the benefits of our seamless steel gutters with you and give you an installation quote.

Quarve Contracting, Inc. is a licensed Minnesota home remodeling contractor specializing in exterior services, including seamless steel gutters.