38' Gutter

klrz28

The back of my house spans 38 feet long. I have the gutter that was there is 38' long is that too much to have one downspout? or should I split it? What do you need to have for inch per foot? 1/8th inch per foot?

DexterII

I usually try to shoot for at least 1/8" per foot, for any application that involves channeling water, but, with eaves trough, aesthetics sometimes preclude that much. Nevertheless, for a 38' run, I would definitely go for two downspouts. You could have one at each end, but, again, for aesthetic purposes, I would look at placing them 9-10' in from the end, so that, using 1/8" per foot as an example, you would have a maximim drop of 1-1/4" in a ten foot length of eaves trough, versus 2-3/8" in a 19' run of it.

handy man88

If you're going to add a downspout, you might as well make them both 3x4.

seeyou

38' is too long for one downspout unless it's in the middle. Then it depends on how much roof is feeding it, gutter size, & downspout size.

In a situation with only one downspout at the end of a gutter run, you should strive for 1/8"/ft. If you have a downspout at either end, you can get away with hanging it almost level.