Dallas downpours, clay soil and shade trees: what they demand from your gutters

What North Texas asks of a gutter system

Around Dallas, gutters have to do three things well: carry a lot of water in a short, heavy storm, send that water well away from a slab that sits on clay soil, and keep working under trees that shed for much of the year. That usually means sizing runs for downpours rather than drizzle, placing and extending downspouts so they discharge away from the foundation, and planning for debris with guards or a cleaning schedule. Hail, and the rules of your homeowners association, round out the picture.

At The Brothers that just do Gutters, every house we look at in the Metroplex gets the same questions: how much water does each roof plane send, where does it land, and what will the trees put in the gutter. This guide explains why those questions matter here, and what you can check yourself.

Storms that deliver the rain all at once

Our spring storms often drop a lot of rain in a short time. A gutter that copes with a steady shower can be overwhelmed in those bursts, because the roof is shedding water faster than the gutter can move it to a downspout. The water goes over the front edge onto the beds, or over the back edge into the fascia.

Our sizing guidance notes that heavy rainfall and water continually overshooting the gutters are reasons to consider a wider system, and that a 6-inch gutter can carry about 40 percent more water than a 5-inch. Not every run needs it. Long runs, valleys and lower gutters that take water from an upper roof are the usual candidates, and my guide on which gutter size your roof needs explains how to spot them.

Clay soil and why discharge distance matters

Much of the region sits on expansive clay that swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries. A slab foundation on that soil does best when the moisture around it stays reasonably even. A downspout that empties at one corner of the house, storm after storm, makes that corner much wetter than the rest, and that uneven moisture is something foundation specialists look at when doors start sticking and brick starts cracking.

Gutters are not the only factor in foundation movement, and I would never tell you a new downspout will fix a foundation problem. But drainage is one of the easiest pieces to get right. If you are already seeing cracks or sticking doors, a foundation contractor's guide to stair-step brick cracks and what they mean is the right place to start. On the gutter side, the EPA's advice is simple: make sure gutters drain rainwater at least 5 feet away from the foundation, and keep the ground near the house sloped down and away from it.

Where every downspout should send its water

Walk the house and look at the bottom of each downspout. Many homes have downspouts that end in a short elbow right at the slab, or a splash block that has settled and now tips water back toward the wall. Extensions get taken off for mowing and never go back on. Each of those puts water exactly where you do not want it.

The fix is usually not complicated. Extensions, correctly placed splash blocks and, where needed, drainage that carries water farther from the house all do the job. Drainage solutions are part of our work, and we would rather add one more downspout in the right place than send a whole roof's water to one corner.

• Every downspout discharges at least 5 feet from the foundation
• Splash blocks slope away from the house, not toward it
• Extensions are secured and not routinely removed
• Water does not run across walkways or drives where it can ice in a freeze
• Water does not empty onto a neighbor's lot
• Underground drain lines are clear and actually flowing at the outlet

A drainage walk to do during the next big storm

The most useful twenty minutes you can spend on your gutters is a walk around the house during a real Dallas downpour, with an umbrella and your phone. Dry-day inspections miss most of what matters, because the problems only show up when the roof is shedding water at full speed. Take short videos of anything that looks wrong; they are far more useful at an estimate visit than a description from memory.

Afterward, look again once the rain stops. Note where water stood longest, where soil or mulch washed away, and whether any puddle sat against the slab rather than draining off. Those spots, more than anything else, tell you where the system needs attention first.

• Any run where water spills over the front edge or the back
• Corners under valleys that overflow in a sheet
• Downspouts that cannot keep up, or that stay dry while the gutter overflows
• Discharge points closer than about 5 feet to the foundation
• Water flowing back toward the house across the yard
• Erosion trenches in beds under the eaves

Live oaks, pecans and the debris calendar

Mature trees are one of the best things about older neighborhoods here, and one of the hardest things on gutters. Live oaks drop leaves and catkins in spring, right as the storm season builds. Pecans and elms add their own loads, windstorms bring down twigs and seed pods, and shingle granules wash into the gutters with every rain.

That calendar is why we suggest cleanings two to four times a year for unprotected gutters, with spring and fall the usual times, and why guards make sense on many houses under big trees. The fall cleaning window is short and books up fast. If you want to get off the ladder entirely, guards on the tree side of the house, plus a yearly check, are a common answer here.

Hail and wind leave their marks on gutters too

When hail comes through, people check the roof and the cars, and often forget the gutters. Aluminum gutters and downspouts can dent, hangers can be knocked loose, and wind can pull a run away from the fascia or bend a downspout. Broken branches can crush a gutter outright. Dented gutters may still drain, but a run that has been bent out of pitch will start holding water. Start with the side of the house the storm came from, since that side usually takes the most hail.

After any significant storm, walk the house, photograph what you see, and look for runs that sag or downspouts that have come apart. I cover what to check, how insurance documentation works and what to do through the rest of the year in keeping gutters working after hail and through the seasons.

HOA approvals and choosing a color

Many neighborhoods in the area have a homeowners association with rules about exterior changes, and some require approval before you change the color or style of visible features. If you are switching from white to a dark color, or from k-style to half-round, check your HOA's guidelines first and allow time for any approval.

Color is rarely a problem once you know the rules. Our seamless aluminum comes in almost twenty colors, with Royal Brown the most popular because it is neutral and suits most homes. You can match the gutter to the trim and the downspouts to the brick or siding, and Copper Penny or Dark Bronze give a copper look without the cost of copper. Bring your HOA's approved palette to the estimate and we will work within it.

Rain barrels: what Texas law allows

Some homeowners want to catch roof water rather than send it away. Texas Property Code Section 202.007 says a property owners association may not prohibit or restrict an owner from installing rain barrels or a rainwater harvesting system. The same section lets the association refuse installation in the area between the front of the home and the street, or a barrel in a color that does not match the home's color scheme, and lets it regulate size, type, shielding and materials for devices visible from the street, another lot or a common area, as long as an economical installation is still possible. If your situation is unusual, your HOA documents or an attorney can give you a firm answer.

If you add a barrel, keep two things in mind. First, it fills fast in a heavy storm, so it needs an overflow that sends the excess away from the foundation just like a downspout would. Second, the CDC advises tightly covering water storage containers such as rain barrels so mosquitoes cannot get inside to lay eggs.

Planning gutters for your house

If water is already coming over the edge or pooling at the slab, start with our guide to overflowing gutters and water at the foundation, which walks through the checks you can do from the ground. Then think about the house as a whole: which runs carry the most water, where each downspout ends, which sides sit under trees, and what your HOA allows.

That is exactly what a Solutionist looks at on a free estimate visit, usually within a few days of your call: the roofline, the pitch, the overhang, the fascia and the valleys, plus the trees and where the water lands. You get a written recommendation for sizes, downspouts, drainage and guards that fit the house, and most projects are completed within one to two weeks of approval. If drainage beyond the downspouts is needed, we include it in the same recommendation, so the whole path of the water is planned at once.

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