Gutter installation and repair for Phoenix homes

Honestly, not always all the way around. A lot of Valley homes were built with partial gutters or none at all, and many get by fine because it rains so few days a year. Where the roof overhang is generous, the ground slopes away and runoff lands on gravel well clear of the walls, adding gutters may do very little. We'd rather tell you that than sell you a full system you don't need.

Where gutters do earn their keep is anywhere runoff causes trouble: over entries and garage doors, above walkways and patios, along walls where splash-back stains stucco, and above soil where water soaking in next to the slab can cause settling. Tile roofs with valleys can concentrate a monsoon downpour into one spot, and that spot is often right over a door. Partial gutters on those runs, sized correctly and discharging somewhere sensible, solve most of the problems we see.

Phoenix rain comes in bursts. A monsoon cell can drop a lot of water in fifteen minutes, and a gutter that would be fine in a steady drizzle overflows almost at once. We size gutters for the roof area draining into them, favoring 6 inch continuous aluminum, formed on site with no joints along the run, on larger runs and tile roofs, and we add downspouts rather than relying on one at the end of a long run. More downspouts mean less water in any single gutter section.

Where the water goes is just as important. Downspouts should discharge onto splash blocks, into extensions that carry water several feet from the house, or into landscaping set up to take it, never straight down beside the foundation. On homes with flat or foam roofs, scuppers and canales do the job gutters do on pitched roofs, and those details need their own care. Our scupper and canale repair page covers that side.

Many gutter complaints turn out to be fixable without replacing anything. Joints that leak get resealed, sections that sag get rehung with hidden hangers spaced closer together, and downspouts crushed by a lawn mower or a stray car get replaced. After a haboob, gutters can fill with fine dust that turns to mud in the next storm, so a cleanout and flush is often the first step. We also check that every section still pitches toward its downspout, since a run that has settled flat will hold standing water and grit between storms.

Gutters also depend on the fascia behind them. If the fascia board is rotted from years of overflow, new gutter hangers won't hold. We check the fascia while we're on the ladder and repair fascia and soffit damage before rehanging. And if water damage around the house is happening during monsoon storms in general, our monsoon roof prep checklist walks through what else to check before the season starts.