Industrial commercial 7" gutters on metal storage buildings

Industrial or commercial gutters on metal storage buildings tend to be undersized, but as you could see on this properly sized and installed project in Seymour, CT it is not the case.  This is a heated metal building with storage units and in the winter gets large ice dams and icicles.  

Some history on this project is that the building owner over the past decades has replaced damaged gutters numerous times but unfortunately it was always the residential grade materials 5" K-Style or 6" K-Style gutters.  The original gutters that come with the metal buildings are never pitched, made out of small sections that leak at the seams and are out of galvanized steel that rusts out at every cut and scratch into gapping holes and use the same strength materials as the residential gutters.

Due to the fact that this building has a pitched metal roof we were concerned about water overshooting the gutters just as much as we were concerned about roof ice dams or snow/ice sheets coming down the roof and damaging the gutters as what has happend with all the previous gutters.  As can be seen in the following video, water tends to shoot out over 6" past the metal roof edge in heavier rains so the gutter must be wider than 6".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgv-gGh4l_U

Since this roof doesn't have any snow stops nor snow rails the gutter would have to be below the roof angle so as to avoid damage from snow or ice sheets coming down that roof.  Most property owners that have metal roofs prefer that the snow/ice comes off rather than trapping it on the roof with snow stops or snow rails.  As the snow/ice that is trapped on the roof tends to melt due to the heat loss from the building then freeze at the bottom edge where the gutters are and cause enormous ice dams and or icicles.

They chose to go with the 0.040 guage 7" box industrial seamless gutter with fascia hangers and roof hangers staggered every 12 inches.  The hangers for these gutters are 1/8" thick aluminum by 2 inches wide secured with 3" self piercing stainless steel fasteners with neoprene washers. Since the 16 guage steel eave strut, that is on the interior corner of the roof and siding, is 1.5" past the back wall of gutter due to the corrugated metal siding and insulation roof hangers had to be at least 10" long so as to reach the eave strut through the roof.  Otherwise, the gutter wouldn't be as secure if it was only to be attached to the corrugated metal siding panel and or corrugated metal roof panels.   With all the ice that builds up on the edge of the roof of this property must be sure the gutters are secured into structural substrate and could handle it.

For waterproofing, generously dabbed professional grade stretchy gutter sealer in the area where the fasteners would be penetrating the roof.  Prior to the sealer curing, place the roof hanger on the flat surface of the metal roof panel.  Screwed in the self piercing stainless steel fastener with neoprene washer through the 1/8" thick hanger, through the 20 gauge roof panel and through the 16 gauge eave strut.  As a precaution, seal around the hanger and around the fastners.

Rolled out the sierra tan color 0.040 guage aluminum 7" commercial box gutter on site so that it is seamless.  The sierra tan color matches the faded wicker color metal siding the closest.

This metal roof is 150 feet long by 20 feet wide with 4 underground 6 inch drains.  Comes to only 750 square feet per 4x5 downspout that can handle up to 2,000 square feet of roof.  Therefore, the 4x5 downspouts were sufficient and did not need to be replaced.

Benefits of open faced downspouts

Prevents popped downspout seams due to ice-build up.  The open-faced downspouts allow for ice expansion rather than having the ice pop the downspouts seams as it is expanding due to freezing temperatures.  Downspouts seams are typically behind the downspouts and when popped cause leaks behind the downspouts deteriorating walls they’re attached to.  Contributing to water penetration through the walls of the property especially with cinder block or concrete walls.  On metal walls, these leaks contribute to rusting.  On stucco walls these leaks contribute to stucco soaking up and falling apart.

Damaged industrial downspout due to ice

Allows for daylight/sunlight into the downspout.  In turn, the sunlight thaws the ice reducing the ice build-up in the downspouts and the weight of ice on the downspouts.  With regular closed downspouts the weight of the ice built up rips the downspouts out of the walls they’re attached to.  This usually happens when the temperatures get slightly warmer and the ice releases from the wall shifting all the weight to the downspout.  The damage these ice blocks could cause is unbelievable.  Anything below the downspout is a potential victim to the enormous crushing power of the ice blocks.  Could crush a vehicle or a person, push in the house wall or damage exterior fixtures such as a/c units or gas pipes and or meters.

Allows air intake, increasing the water flow capacity.  Preventing vacuum gulps at the gutter outlet and throughout the downspout.  Same reason why interior plumbers provide air intake, stink pipes, every so many feet.  The faster the water escapes through the controlled path of the downspouts the less chances of uncontrolled gutter overflows in the heavy downpours.  The gutter overflows could cause water into the property, landscape deterioration and or splash back onto siding contributing to rot or rusting.  Therefore, it is best to get all the water into the downspouts and out in designated areas.

Easier to inspect for clogs and easier to clean.  Given that the interior of the downspout is visible just with a glance, the clogs will be noticeable immediately.  In turn, they could be addressed right away.  When the clog is within reach with an extension post the ladders may not be needed at all.  Reducing the ladder related injuries.  Using an extension post the clogs could be broken up fairly quickly as opposed to the alternative when a closed downspout gets clogged they must be taken apart to unclog.  Taking apart closed downspouts for cleaning is a time consuming process that could add up in cost significantly over the years of maintenance.  In addition, the open-face downspouts will not clog nearly as much as a closed downspout since the open-face allows debris to come out of the front opening.

No, the water will not spill all over the place.  Water has surface tension capabilities where it sticks to the surface as much as possible.  Same reason why when pouring water on your hand it travels down your arm and finally drips at the lowest point such as your elbow.  The only areas where there may be an issues is at the elbows of the downspouts or at the outlet of the gutter.  Therefore, the elbows are not open-face and the downspout portion closest to the gutter outlet actually has a splash guard to prevent any splashing out of the downspouts.

7" Industrial Seamless Box Gutters on Buildings with Metal Roof

First of all one of the biggest issues out there with buildings and metal roofs are that the gutters get damaged by all the avalanches off the roof once all the snow builds up and comes down all at once!

This issue of gutters getting damaged could be solved with the proper industrial gutters. Not some residential or commercial product with same grade materials as the residential, but a thick strong industrial series product.

Lets discuss materials. Industrial gutters come in a thicker gauge stock, such as 0.050 gauge aluminum or more common 0.040 gauge aluminum. Could also be done in galvanized steel, or any other coil stock that could go through the industrial machine.  The hangers are 2 inches wide and are 1/4" thick aluminum.  Now that's not all, the frequency of the hangers could be as often as one every 12" especially for those large metal roofs. Most of the time one every 18" is all that is necessary for us to guarantee the gutters for life. How could one leave out the fasteners. That is what the whole system relies on.  Without strong stainless steel fasteners the whole gutter system would be compromised.  Each project calls for a specific product depending on the substrate that the fasteners are securing to.  Most of the time it would be a 3" long 1/4" thick self-piercing stainless steel fastener. Two per hanger into the substrate and two 1" fasterners per hanger into the gutter.

Installation is the most important factor in guaranteeing the product for life.  One of the most important factors when it comes to extremely large metal roofs is installing the gutters below the roof angle.  That is so once all the snow and ice sheets start coming down they would shoot right over the gutter rather than taking the gutters down with it.  Imagine the momentum behind an ice sheet that is say 200' up by say 400' wide.  In case of the typical metal roofs, having the industrial seamless gutters above the roof angle is actually a better option as that could deter some of the avalanches. The industrial grade gutters could handle your typical avalanches off of a metal roof.  The gutters serve the purpose of a roof snow rails or snow stops. This is of an advantage since the cost savings of installing the rails could be significant.

Pitching the gutters will determine how long the metal will last.  Most don't realize that the acid in the rain and acid from the compost from all the debris in the standing water puddles will eat through the metal of the gutter and within as soon as 10 years cause pin holes through the bottom of the gutters. Also, the standing water quickly becomes ice which in turn contributes to more ice and ice dams! Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to pitch the gutters so as to prevent bellies. Keep in mind in order to pitch an industrial gutter it requires that the gutter could freely move during the installation process. That is why we discourage the use of gutters with a back flange as that makes it impossible to pitch the gutters. The purpose of the flange is to direct the water into the gutters, which could also be done with drip-edge without restricting the ability to pitch the gutters.

One thing most engineers will quickly address is the issue of expansion and contraction of a metal product such as the industrial seamless gutters.  When required it is often solved per SMACNA guidelines but that restricts the placement of the downspouts and the number of downspouts as well as seams as often as one every 50 feet. What we prefer is installing a free-floating seamless industrial gutter as described in the diagram below. The industrial gutter rests on the bottom bracket, and the industrial gutter lip is secured to the roof. This way the gutter is able to expand and contract without any buckling or straining on the materials or the fasteners.  

Now that we've address all things about materials and installation. Lets review the issue of water shooting off a metal roof up to 6.5" inches before it becomes vertical.  After all, what is the purpose of having gutters if the gutters will not capture the water in a decent rain?  Who would want to deal with water damage, erosion, and flooding especially when it comes to water off of industrial size buildings that could fill a small pond within an hour?

The way to solve the overshooting issue is over course raise the gutter above the roof angle, but with a metal roof it must be an industrial gutter system that could handle the beating from avalanches year after year.  If having the gutter above the roof angle is not an option due to an extremely large metal roof or the property owner prefers that the snow would slide off the metal roof rather than be caught by the gutter, then it is adamant that the gutter is wide enough so that it is a minimum 6.5 inches past the edge of the metal roof. This is so that all the metal roof water is caught instead of overshooting the gutter.

In the next release, we will discuss industrial gutters on buildings with a flat roof such as EPDM.

To discuss your project please complete the estimate request form or call us at (866)981-5036

7" Industrial Seamless Gutters on metal roof building

New 6 inch Seamless Commercial Box Gutters

We are proud to announce that we are now offering seamless 6" commercial box gutters.  We have found that most architects request 6" box gutters for most of their commercial projects. Therefore we realized an outstanding demand for this profile in seamless runs. 

As most of you may have realized the 10 foot sections that roofers have been installing all these decades leak at all the seams within a few years of installation. Without fail, every project that has ever been done out of 10' or 20' sections has a seam directly above at least one door or walkway.  Ofcourse, in turn causing dangerous and unsafe conditions in the winter when those annoying drips become ice patches on the walkways. 

Not only that we now offer a seamless 6" box gutter, they are available in all metal roofing colors. That's over 60 unique colors and in additon if need be we also offer custom colors in baked on enamel or powder coating finish

What's even more exciting is that our 6 inch seamless commercial box gutters come in 0.040 gauge or 0.050 gauge aluminum. This is so that we could meet the SMACNA and or Hickman specification requirments.  Of course, other metals are also available such as galvanized steel in 16, 18, 20, or 22 gauge. Could also be roll out in copper or lead coated copper in 16 ounce or 20oz.

We have cad drawings, pictures, and sketches. If you're not sure if the specifications of the project you're working on will be met by our products, feel free to send us your blue prints, drawings, and or sketches from your architect and we'll help you find the product that will meet or exceed their expectations.

In case you're concerned about expansion joints often times required by SMACNA detail, worry no more. We have documentation from Englert, worlds largest metal roofing and gutter supplier, explaining and proving that SMACNA expansion joints in most cases are overrated. But don't fret if you prefer expansion joints, we accomodate all the common requirements. We also offer custom hangers to meet all those detailed specs.

If a back flange or a forward flange is necessary that is an option too.

Here's a look at the all new seamless 6" Commercial box gutter:

6" seamless commercial or industrial box gutter