If you are installing a metal roof in an area that gets snowfall, you need to choose your gutters carefully. Snow on metal roofs tends to melt and slide off quickly. As a result, it can damage your gutters, but you can easily avoid this issue with the right tactics. Here are a few tips on choosing and installing gutters as well as exploring alternatives:
1. Use narrow gutters.
When a metal roof sheds snow, the snow tends to overshoot the edge of the roof a bit and come down in almost a wavelike motion. In contrast, rainwater tends to fall straight over the edge of the roof. Narrow gutters are the perfect compromise in this situation.
Narrow gutters don't jut out from your roof as far as wide gutters do. As a result, snow tends to jump over them, but rain just falls right in. This allows the gutters to catch rain and move it away from your home, and it also ensures you gutters don't get damaged by snow. This approach is especially effective if you live in an area with a bit of snowfall but more rainfall, as unfortunately, the snow will fall next to your home and may release moisture near your foundation as it melts.
2. Increase your overhang.
Alternatively, skip the gutters and increase the size of your overhang when you install your metal roof. To increase your overhang, a contractor will have to nail rafter extensions onto your existing rafters, and then, he or she can install your new metal roof over that whole area.
When you have larger overhangs, both rain and snow fall off your roof further away from your home. As a result, there isn't a lot of moisture deposited right next to your foundation.
3. Change your landscaping.
If you decide to forgo gutters with your metal roof, you may want to modify your landscaping. Imagine you get a lot of rain and you have grass on the ground just below your eaves. The rain that falls off your roof will start to erode the grass-covered ground. To prevent this, put in rocks, concrete patios or other types of landscaping that are more resistant to erosion.
4. Divert the rain.
Finally, if you decide to skip gutters on your metal roof, you may be able to use rain diverters instead. Rain diverters are specially made pieces of roof flashing. They are designed with ridges and channels that move the rain to another part of your roof as desired.
In most cases, a metal fabricator will need to make your rain diverters, and you will need to work with a roofing contractor to help determine which shapes and pieces work best for your needs.
To learn more about choosing the best gutters for your new metal roof or to explore alternatives to gutters, contact a metal roofing contractor.
Share25 April 2016
Hey! Welcome to my blog. My name is Walter and I live in Alice Springs, Australia. Last year, I woke up in a state of shock. The roof of my home had collapsed. I walked out into what use to be my living room only to discover a complete disaster zone. There were bits of slate and wood everywhere. Thankfully, no one in my family was injured. I called in a local roofing company and I worked with them to replace the roof. I learnt a lot about roofing during that week so I decided to start a new blog.