Gutter Installation in Kentfield

Kentfield has one of the highest average rainfall totals in the Bay Area. It sits at the foot of Mount Tamalpais, and storms coming in off the Pacific dump their heaviest rain as they rise over the mountain. Long-term records put the yearly average somewhere around 44 to 48 inches, noticeably more than towns closer to the bay. On top of that, many Kentfield homes are large, with big roof areas and steep pitches, especially up in Kent Woodlands. Put a big, steep roof under that much rain and a standard gutter that would be fine in a drier town starts overflowing in every serious storm. Here, sizing really is the whole job. Get it right and the gutters keep up with the storm. Get it wrong and they spill over the front all winter, no matter how clean they are.

Most Kentfield homes do best with larger seamless gutter installation and downspouts sized to match, plus a solid downspouts and drainage plan to move all that water off the property. We size every run from the roof area that feeds it and give you a free written estimate with the details.

Sizing Gutters for Heavy Rain

The right gutter size depends on how much roof drains into it and how hard it rains. In a town with Kentfield's rainfall, the math tips toward bigger gutters sooner than it does elsewhere. A 5-inch gutter that handles a modest roof in Novato may overflow on the same roof here during a heavy downpour. Six-inch gutters carry noticeably more water, and pairing them with 3x4-inch downspouts instead of the standard 2x3 lets that water leave the gutter fast enough to keep up. We also look at valleys and long roof slopes that feed a single short run, since those are the spots that overflow first. On large homes it's common to add downspouts as well, so no single outlet is carrying too much. Kentfield's neighbors in Larkspur see some of the same heavy storms, especially up in the canyons.

Big Roofs in Kent Woodlands

Up in Kent Woodlands, homes sit on large, wooded lots on the lower slopes of Mount Tamalpais. Roofs are big and often complex, with multiple wings, deep overhangs and long runs of gutter. Trees overhead add oak leaves, bay laurel and needles to the mix, which means the larger gutters also need guards or regular cleaning to keep their capacity. Many of these homes are also two stories or more on the downhill side, so the work takes proper ladders and staging. And all that water has to land somewhere. On sloped lots we plan each downspout's path so the flow is spread out or carried to stable ground, rather than sent down the hill as one fast stream. We'll walk the full roofline with you, since on a house this size the problem spots are rarely where people expect. Homeowners on the larger hillside lots in Tiburon ask us the same questions about big, complex roofs.