Gutters · Clermont

Gutters in Clermont, FL

NOAA Atlas 14 puts the five-minute burst of a 10-year storm in Clermont at 9.02 inches an hour, more than three times the 2.83 inches an hour the same storm averages over a full hour. A gutter sized only to the hourly figure handles far less roof during that burst, and the burst is when gutters overflow.

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Updated October 2026

Drone view of a single-story home with a brown-gray shingle roof and box vents under large oak trees, a metal carport roof in the corner and a street behind.

Local know-how

Clermont rain and where it goes

The NOAA normals station 9 miles south of town records 50.64 inches of rain in an average year, and 23.48 inches of that falls from June through August. Storms bring their own totals: 10.83 inches from Hurricane Milton north-northeast of town in 2024, and 8.58 inches from Hermine just southwest of it in 2016.

Ground matters as much as rainfall here. Clermont sits on the northern end of the Lake Wales Ridge, where rolling hills are unusual for Florida, so roof water that leaves a downspout keeps moving downhill. The code asks for downspouts to discharge at least 1 foot from the wall, by splash block, tail extension or underground pipe; on a sloped lot, the direction of that discharge decides whether the water runs away from the house or along it.

On the 24.2% of Clermont homes built before 2000, the fascia a gutter hangs from may be as old as the house. Florida's contractor rules let a roofing contractor repair or replace fascia as needed during roof repair or replacement, so a re-roof is a natural time to fix it.

Sizing

Sizing for a 9.02-inch burst

The plumbing code's table gives a 5-inch half-round gutter at 1/8 inch of fall per foot a capacity of 74 gallons a minute, and a 6-inch one 110 gallons, about 49% more. One gallon a minute drains 96.15 square feet of roof at 1 inch of rain an hour. Put Clermont's rates into that math and the design basis changes the answer:

6-inch half-round in the 9.02-inch burst: about 1,173 square feet of roof plan area (110 × 96.15 ÷ 9.02).
5-inch half-round in the same burst: about 789 square feet (74 × 96.15 ÷ 9.02).
6-inch half-round at Clermont's 100-year, 1-hour rate of 3.86 inches: about 2,740 square feet (110 × 96.15 ÷ 3.86).

The plumbing code sizes storm drainage on the 100-year hourly rate, while SMACNA-style gutter tables use the five-minute burst, and in Clermont the two answers differ by more than double. Those are plan-area figures, and the same industry tables multiply plan area by 1.05 to 1.30 as pitch rises.

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Rain on your roof

How much water a Clermont roof sheds

Rain on your roof

Roof area (square feet)Rain (inches)

Preset: 5.97 inches, the 10-year 24-hour rain (NOAA Atlas 14 at Clermont).

7,439 gallons run off that roof, all of it toward the gutters and downspouts.

Math: square feet × inches × 0.623 gallons.

Questions

Gutters in Clermont: questions

Are gutters required on Clermont homes?

Only on houses with short eaves. FBC-Residential R318.5 requires gutters with downspouts where the eaves project less than 6 inches, except at gable-end rakes or on a roof above another roof, and the same rule sits in FBC-Building 1503.7. Each downspout has to discharge at least 1 foot from the sidewall. On wider eaves gutters are a choice, and in Clermont the rain argues for them: Hurricane Milton alone left 10.83 inches on a gauge north-northeast of town.

Source: 2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., R318.5 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription); FBC-Building 1503.7, read Oct 5, 2026

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Should a Clermont home have 5-inch or 6-inch gutters?

It depends on how much roof each run drains. At Clermont's five-minute, 10-year rate of 9.02 inches an hour, a 6-inch half-round gutter at standard slope covers roughly 1,173 square feet of roof plan area and a 5-inch about 789, using the plumbing code's capacities and the industry conversion of 96.15 square feet per gallon a minute at 1 inch an hour. Big roofs, long runs and steep pitches push toward 6-inch gutters or more downspouts, and only a measured roof plan sizes it properly. On the Lake Wales Ridge, plan where each downspout sends the water, too.

Source: 2023 Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th ed., Chapter 11 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription), read Oct 5, 2026

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When should gutters be cleaned around Clermont?

Plan on two cleanings a year as a floor, with extra passes under trees. A Florida home insurer recommends spring and fall cleanings, and Central Florida's calendar explains the timing: pollen and oak debris peak in March and April, pine needles fall heaviest from September through November, and the months between bring 23.48 inches of rain from June through August at the NOAA station 9 miles south of Clermont. A clear gutter before June and another pass after the needle drop fit that pattern, and homes under heavy canopy need more passes than that.

Source: thig.com, read Oct 5, 2026

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