as I was cleaning my gutters today...

[Nate Nagel]

I was wondering about something. My gutters are the typical aluminum things, just like you'd find on the shelf at your local big box. Even the back side of the house, which really has no overhanging trees, had a lot of garbage in it. I was wondering why the shape of a typical gutter was the way it was. I would think that something like a half-round shape would be less likely to clog, as all the garbage would settle to the very bottom, to be washed away by even a light rain. Without a regular heavy rain, the flat bottomed gutters would seem to me to be more susceptible to buildup.

Is my reasoning wrong?

ISTR seeing old copper gutters that were, in fact, a half round shape...

nate

[RobertPatrick]

Nate Nagel wrote in news: [e-mail]:

My neighbor has the half round gutters. His house was built in the 1950s. Come to think of it....my in laws house was built in the 50s and they have the half round, also. My guess is that the flat bottom kind are easier and cheaper to make. Those half round type were made out of sturdy metal.

[Bob F]

My cedar gutters are round inside, and they still clog. I don't think the shape will make significant difference. Mine are easier to clean, since there are no ferrules or anything else to obstruct the passage of tools, or in my case, my 10 foot air nozzle I use to blow them out in one pass.

[RickMerrill]

There will be buildup. I think the shape is mostly for looks.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

The shape is intended to look like a formal look. It does provide some stiffing to the product. Half round also collects about the same amount of trash.

I had a house that had square shaped "gutters" built in as part of the roof and not added on. The house was over 100 years old nearly 50 years ago when I moved there. I lived there for about 20 years and they never blocked up or had any problems. If the did clog it appears they would just wash the blockage over the side.

[Nate Nagel]

yes, they would have to be much thicker, and possibly have reinforcements across the top, otherwise they'd collapse when you set a ladder against them. I thought about that, but I figured the longer intervals between cleanings would still make them appealing enough to justify the higher price... or is the hypothetical advantage not as great as I'm envisioning it to be?

nate

[Big_Jake]

The big reason is capacity. 5" K-style gutters (the common size and style) have about the same capacity for handling water that a 6" half round would. Gutters that large would probably look out of proportion with your house, and I would think they might still collect debris.

JK

[aemeijers]

Y'all are over-thinking this. Gutters with a flat backplane are easier (and faster) for less-than-expert installers to put up without getting them crooked. I think modern gutter styles are a post-WWII-building-boom innovation. Leastways, all original gutters I have seen that are older than that were short sticks, either half-round or feed-trough style.

-- aem sends...

[Kurt Ullman]

I am also thinking that the other kinds would require thicker metal so you couldn't roll it up and then run it through the machine on site as easily.