Gutters for sheds come in various shapes, colors and sizes.
They facilitate directing the rainwater away from the shed’s foundation.
If you do not install a gutter for your shed, the rainwater will erode the surrounding area of your shed greatly impacting the shed and reinforcing your foundations.
You can select a guttering system that suits you, but certain situations will limit your possibilities. The roof surface area, climate/location, cost/maintenance will be some of the factors limiting some gutter designs.
In Most Situation – Normally Larger sheds will come with a gutter system but smaller sheds may not have a gutter installed.
However gutter systems need maintenance because they can get clogged or damaged, and this can ultimately damage your roof system- which will be way more expensive to repair compared to the maintenance.
Once you have installed your gutters, do not get too comfortable – making sure to clean gutters regularly and unclog debris inside your gutters, will keep your gutters operational and functional!
Do You Need To Install One On Your Shed?
If you recently purchased or built a shed, you may be asking yourself whether it is necessary to put a gutter on your shed and how you need to get the job done.
Absolutely, a gutter system is necessary regardless of the size of your shed.
You may not witness the deterioration of your foundation, or the rotting of your wood, from the rainwater until weeks, but it will happen nonetheless.
Here are reasons to install a gutter system on your shed:
- Prevent soil erosion: If the soil surrounding your shed starts to wash or you have some holes forming from the drip water from your roofs; you will want to get a gutter installed. If your soil is washing away, it would be a real concern if your shed’s foundation.
- Prevent damage to shed inside: Standing pools of water will damage the wood. It might take time for your shed wood to actually show damage from the standing water, and the damage will have happened before you see damage. The wood will discolored in spots and possibly rot in spots from the standing pools of water, you will need to contact a pro to replace and repair the wood when you see the damage.
- Protect shed foundation: It doesn’t matter how high you raised your shed; the water can wash the bottom out, and your shed may start leaning or falling over.
- Your gutters will save on water: gutters, and you can hold rainwater into a rain barrel, you will be amazed how quickly rainwater fills up a container, and you will be able to save a few dollars on water.
Types Of Gutters You Can Install On Your Shed
1. Aluminum Gutters
Aluminum gutters are your most standard option when getting installed in homes or storage sheds.
They are long-lasting and come in various colors, which is why most homeowners prefer this option.
Gutters can also be cut into lengths from the contractor to fit the length of your roof line without seams.
Although they are more expensive than vinyl.
2. Wood Gutters
Wood gutters are not often considered a common option for most people due to their high-maintenance and relatively expensive costs compared to aluminum and vinyl options.
You will have to clean them more often than the typical recommended twice a year.
Wood gutters also rot effortlessly if leaves and other debris is not taking care of in an appropriate time frame.
On top of cleaning, you will have to oil them annually and/or two times a year with heavy-duty oil to extend the life of the gutter.
As stated earlier, most people, will clean their gutters two times a year, but, you will have to do it once every three months or four times a year at least with wooden gutters.
All of this said wooden gutters are far richer in aesthetic than other options.
3. Vinyl Gutters
Vinyl gutters are simple to set up and inexpensive.
They are readily available at any home improvement store and come with accessories such as:
- caps
- gutter brackets
- and downspouts
Therefore, they are a common choice homeowners will make.
However, they are not as durable as other options of gutters after all; they can crack from bad weather.
Also – vinyl gutters have a cheap look because of their shape, color, and plastic looking so, if you are looking for an expensive look on your shed, This would not be a very good option.
4. Mini Gutters
Mini gutters have a wide variety of materials.
They have their brackets and claps based on if you have a fascia board.
They work best for a shed with a slightly void roof surface area and roofs that don’t have excessive downpours.
Heavy rain may overweigh the little gutters, especially those that are smaller than three centimeters in diameter.
Mini gutters are designed as a kit that makes it easier for you to install a gutter all by yourself as every accessory and fastener are in the kit.
How Do You Install Gutters In Your Shed?
When setting up a gutter system, the most important thing to remember when installing the downspout is to ensure you install it where it flows toward the water outlet.
If you feel you can’t do the job, you will want to hire a pro to take care of it for you.
Design Your Guttering Systems As You Want
Your choice of system will depend on a few things such as whether or not you have a fascia board.
If you do not have a fascia board, you will have to resort to using clamp-on gutters or install the gutter system using other conventional methods.
The amount of rain you receive can also affect the gutter system. The more rain you receive calls for gutters with a wider diameter and vice versa.
The type of climate can also determine the type of gutter system you will buy.
Water melting and freezing in the gutters, can put stress on them causing them to fail. Vinyl might not be the best choice for those types of climates, as they can get easily weighed down.
Mark The Areas Where You Are Going To Place Your Gutter Brackets
Mark the position where you intend to fasten your gutters.
On either the fascia board or on the shed roof using straps, place them approximately three feet apart.
If you live in an area with snow or ice, or the roof will accumulate too much debris, place the straps or brackets two feet apart to support the weight of the snow or ice.
When marking your brackets, do not forget to mark along with the downspouts.
You will want to angle the guttering system towards the downspout so the furthest bracket will slant down towards the downspout for effective water flow.
Cut The Gutters And Join Them
Measure your gutters to size correctly.
If you are going to join two gutters at the same time, make sure you have connectors.
Additionally, caps on the end of the guttering to ensure to direct water into the downspout, are important.
If you want to use aluminum gutters, you can simply give your roof lengths to either contractor to build accurate gutter lengths for your roof line.
Install The Downspout
A downspout should be installed at the end of the guttering.
The ideal location for the downspout is the lowest slope of the guttering so the water drains properly and does not create a puddle at the foundation.
Do not terminate the downspout going vertically straight to the ground. It will leave the end of the downspout dangling away from the structure.
Use a few downspout elbow pieces, so you can direct the downspout to wherever you want. Use a flexible pipe to have easy ways to control the water at the outlet.
Final Thoughts
Gutters serve an important purpose both for your home and shed as they help protect your foundation and save water.
Moreover, gutters would also help keep your shed in better condition. They are not too complicated to install since it requires basic technical skills and knowledge.
Finally, when deciding on the type of gutter system, do not always base it on its appearance; rather, consider its function first.
Choose the best-type for your environment and for the intended purpose.