How Far Below Shingles Do Gutter Go

You trade one problem cleaning the gutters for another foundation leaks and landscape wash out.

How far below shingles do gutter go.

The fact is gutter covers have been installed under shingles for more than 100 years. Gutters hung too high or too low. In fact they go as far as reinterpreting roof shingle manufacturer warranties and installation instructions to lead you to believe your roof shingle warranty will be voided if you consider an application under a roof shingle. One thing that comes up a lot is how far below the shingles the gutters get hanged.

Gutters should be hung where a straight edge laying on your roof shingles can easily extend over the front lip of the gutter this is the proper installment location for the high point of the gutter. The back edge of the gutter should tuck up behind the dripedge if you have it otherwise the edge of the shingles should extend well over the back half of the gutter so the drips cannot get behind it and rot the fascia board. The gap can vary some because the gutters must slope towards the downspout. If you live in a warm place with sporadic rain you can hang gutter hangers close to the middle of the gutter with a spacing of no more than 36 inches or three feet apart from the center.

They work excellent under light rains but in heavy rains it s like the gutters aren t even there. A normal gutter will have about 1 2 3 4 of its width sticking out beyond the shingles to catch the runoff. Any more and you run the risk of water running off the tile and overshooting the gutter. I started hanging mine based on a this old house episode which said to hang the gutters low enough so that snow sliding off the roof won t damage the gutters about 2 inches below the shingles.

The shingles should overhang into the gutter at least 1 in most cases.