How to Choose Between 5 or 6 Inch Gutters 

As a consumer you have to make a tough choice, here in Florida we get incredible rain during a good summer, which is needed. We had a day in June of 8-10" in a matter of 4-6 hours. I agree with the downspouts being the key so here is my calculation. I have a section of 14' roof that pours onto a concrete padding. The 6" gutter holds 2 gallons per foot so for that section its 28 gallons.The 3x4 downspout gets rid of 7.7 gallons of water per second or 464 gallons per minute. So you go to these rain harvesting calculator websites and you can calculate for a scenario. I calculated my extreme situation at around 5.1 gallons per minute rolling off that section of roof, but lets double that extreme situation to 10 gallons per minute , the 3 x 4 downspout can still handle 454 more gallons per minute. So in my situation the 5" works.

This channel is exactly what I was looking for👍 Thank you!

People, think of a funnel! I don’t care if you put a 5” or 6” gutter up, if it doesn’t have the proper downspouts, it’s going to fail! Just because you use a bigger gutter doesn’t mean it’s more efficient, a funnel only works as well as the drain opening. 2x3 downspouts are outdated and proven to be failures, use a 3x4 downspout on 5” gutters on most applications and you’ll be just fine. 6” gutter are suitable for metal roofs and those with stronger shingle or metal overhang( greater than 2””). So many people fall for the 6” trap and think they need it, 5” gutter with proper downspouts on 90% of homes is all that’s needed. I know there’re going to be those that disagree and that’s fine, just use common sense when thinking about these decisions for your home, don’t be “up-sold” on something not needed. And, yes, I do have @ 18 years of gutter experience. Putting larger tires on a Honda Prius will improve the MPG as well!

I am writing this time about the 5" gutters on the *back* of my house,about 20' up,and a straight 40' long. I have the traditional 5" downspouts at both ends,but they are constantly getting clogged with elm seeds,and I can't personally clean them anymore,as I am a senior with a fear of heights. The company I hire to clean them charges $180 a visit. My two car detached,low slope garage has 5" gutters as well,and I had a gutter company cut the end of the gutter off at the back lane end,and they installed an gutter extension to carry the water to the back lane,where the gutter is open,with no downspout. Recent heavy rains showed they easily handle heavy downpours,and are so far clog free. So to cut down on visits from my gutter cleaning company,I am considering either a big mouth gutter outlet tied to a 6" downspout,or just cutting the end off the 5" gutter,and feeding that directly into a 6" downspout through a hole cut in the downspout. I would use standoffs to attach the downspout to the house.Which would you recommend? Aesthetics are not a concern. Thanks!

You talked me into getting 6 in gutters. Thank you for the advice

Very informative video... thanks for posting.

Thanks for the video. Getting ready to make sales presentation tomorrow.

You absolutely right!!! I am changing my to 6in previous owners didn’t know about this. Even my current gutters look in good condition they caused damage to the house.

Pretty neat truck! Thanks for the info.

Thank you for your advice 👍

Shoutout from Cordova!!! Those storms we have been having recently and I noticed yesterday that my gutters are overflowing and still having a strong output through the downspout. Time to upgrade and being a Zero Lot should be a relatively easy improvement.

Great job….Thank you

OK....I'm UPGRADING 2 the 6" gutters! ~Thanks

You explain to me what I needed to do. I'm going to 6 in gutters.

We had an extensive debate about the difference between 5" and 6". Thanks for helping us settle an argument hahaha

I rather have too much then don't have enough.. Good Point

Very informative video, really excellent at explaining about roof pitches etc Quick note though is you got your percentages around the wrong way. The 6" gutters hold 65% more water than the 5", and the 5" holds 40% less water than the 6" 😂

If you have a problem with elm seeds clogging your gutter,would a larger,funnel type downspout feeding a larger capacity downspout help minimize clogging? My 5" gutters are on a steep pitch 40" long roof with two 3x4" downspouts. The gutters are about 10" off the ground,and I can clean them with my battery leafblower in a few minutes,assuming the seeds are dry.

How do you deal with canted fascia? The "typical" brackets (the kind that are half-round with spring clips that hold down the front edge of the gutter) we have on 5" half-round cause the front edge to be lower than the back edge, thereby lowering the capacity of the gutters. Maybe the original gutters were hung that way to prevent water going over the backside. We're in a forested area and I'm concerned about 6" half-round gutters getting weighed down with debris from time to time. 3-1/2"/12 over most of the hip roof, with a taller center section having 7/12, half of which spills onto the lower roof, and half of which goes directly into a downspout.

Nice Video. BTW, I believe that is not a 40% increase rather it is a 67% increase in capacity. On a personal note I currently have 4", yes 4" gutters and am moving to 6", which I'm really looking forward to.

I like 6" gutters, but I do t like that they stick further down than the 5" and aren't flush with the sofit. That creates areas for wasps all around the house that are harder to see. Do they make 6" that aren't as deep? I'm FL on a not steep roof so I'm leaning towards 5".

I have a single wide mobile home 60 foot by 14 foot size. I’ve ordered the 6 inch gutter. My home has very little overhang.

I have a Prarie style ranch house , built 1957 . 3,000 square foot . 5 or 6 inch ? Where is best place to locate downspouts - inside corners or outside corners ?

Could the weight of the 6” gutter with water pose a structural issue for a house that has always had 5”gutters? We just had a new roof installed and wanted input on which size gutters to install. We had lots of rain flowing over the old gutters(especially in the entryway but perhaps that was due to the GutterTopper. 😬

I have a 6/12 roof, with a straight 66ft run. How many downspouts minimum would you recommend ? If I could get away with 2, that would be perfect. Thanks for any input

Hi, I have a 1950 Ranch house with 50ft long gutters on front and 50 on the back I want install gutters and gutter guards, do you recommend to put the 6” here in summer rains a lot and we also have snow on winter. Thanks a lot 😁

Hello Sir, I stumble into this informative video. I am about to have gutter to be installed on a flat roof 50'x45' with 50 feet is the length on the gutter side. What size of gutter would you recommend and how many downspout should I have? I appreciate your time and response.

Someone else already mentioned that the 6" gutter actually has 66.67% more capacity than the 5" gutter, which I didn't read until I had typed all of the following: To figure the increased percentage (and this is the same as any increase or decrease in percentage math problem), it's: ((value 2 - value 1) / value 1)) * 100. So, first subtract 2.0 minus 1.2, which is 0.8 gallons more. Then divide 0.8 by 1.2, which gives you 0.66666666. And finally multiply by 100 to give a percentage of 66.67 (rounded). To check your work, you should be able to multiply the original gutter size (1.2 gallons) by 1.66666667 and get 2. On a calculator, if you multiply 1.2 times 1.66666667, you actually do get 2. (You always add the increase in percentage to 1.0, because you want the current number plus the increase, so multiplying by 0.67 would actually give you two-thirds of the current value----a lower value.) This is an even bigger reason to go with 6" gutters. I have noticed that, in the area where I live, we get so much more volume of water with rains these days. It never rained so much water in such short amounts of time twenty-five years ago. Well, my house was built 35 years ago, so it could very well be that many years ago when many of these houses with smaller gutters were built, they may have been perfectly fine. But with the climate changing, now they are not. (I guess climate change is good for gutter installers! ha ha)

Hey Brent, We just had a metal roof installed on our home. We have a 12/12 pitch main roof transitioning into a 6/12 pitch. From this video, I'm guessing I'd better use the 6" gutter. We have a downspout at both ends with a 42' span... Any advise? Thanks, Stan

What a low sloped hipped roof (1,600 sq/ft mid-century) but have a larger 8" facia?

I'm thinking the weight of a 5" gutter is going to be more since it can't displace the water as fast, and all that force is on the soffits?

Wish I had gotten 6 inch gutters.

hello I live in homers Association saying they want to keep the look of the building is the same and it will not let me put 6 inch gutters on building my personal opinion is they don't look any different from the ground could you help me win this argument Thanks

What about metal roofs water flys off the roof

Bigger gutters = fewer downspouts needed if also sized right = fewer yard/foundation drainage issues

BTW 2/1.2=1.66666666 thus the 6" would have 66.66% more capacity.

Actually, the 6" gutter has 66% more capacity than the 5" .... regardless the difference is substantial

Why would one ever go with 5"? Hell its only 7" for us!

6 inch is better