Gutters · Groveland
Gutters in Groveland, FL
NOAA's Atlas 14 puts a 10-year, five-minute downpour in Groveland at 9.2 inches an hour, in a city where water already covers 24.1% of the map. Gutters in Groveland have to be sized for that burst, not the yearly total, and their downspouts have to drop the water at least a foot from the wall.
Updated October 2026
Groveland figures this page uses
- People (2020 Census)
- 18,505
- Population estimate (ACS 5-year)
- 22,012
- Median age
- 40.8yrs
- Housing units (ACS 5-year)
- 8,497
Local know-how
The sizing math at 9.2 inches an hour
Florida's plumbing code gives the capacity of a half-round gutter laid at 1/8 inch per foot: 74 gallons a minute for a 5-inch gutter and 110 for a 6-inch. A sizing table used across the trade converts that to roof area: 1 gallon a minute drains 96.15 square feet of roof at 1 inch of rain an hour.
At Groveland's 9.2-inch burst, that works out to about 770 square feet of roof plan area per 5-inch run and about 1,150 for a 6-inch run. On the plumbing code's own basis, the 100-year one-hour rate of 3.9 inches an hour at Groveland, the same 6-inch gutter covers about 2,700 square feet. The design basis more than doubles the answer, so ask which rate a gutter quote was sized for. This is arithmetic on the cited figures, not a code requirement.
Yearly totals matter more for cleaning than for sizing. NOAA's normals give 43.78 inches a year at the Leesburg airport and 50.64 at Clermont 9 S, and Milton alone left 11.26 inches near Groveland in 2024.
Where it goes
Downspouts, lakes and trees around a Groveland house
Florida's residential code requires gutters with downspouts on any house whose eaves project less than 6 inches, except at gable rakes or a roof above another roof. Wherever downspouts go, they must discharge at least 1 foot from the wall, by pipe, extension or splash block. The rule sits in the code's termite-protection section, a reminder that water at the foundation is the real risk. Ask the City of Groveland Building Division whether your gutter job needs a permit.
If live oaks or pines shade your roof, plan cleaning around them. University of Florida extension work flags live-oak litter, and pine needles fall hardest from September through November. A Florida home insurer recommends cleaning gutters at least twice a year, and more often under trees.
IllustrationIllustration: a seamless K-style gutter along a ranch-home eave.
Rain on your roof
How much water a Groveland roof sheds
Rain on your roof
Preset: 6.03 inches, the 10-year 24-hour rain (NOAA Atlas 14 at Groveland).
7,513 gallons run off that roof, all of it toward the gutters and downspouts.
Math: square feet × inches × 0.623 gallons.
Questions
Gutters in Groveland: questions
Do Groveland homes need gutters?
Florida's residential code requires gutters with downspouts only where the eaves project less than 6 inches from the wall, with exceptions at gable rakes and roofs above other roofs. Beyond the code, the case is water volume: NOAA's Atlas 14 puts Groveland's 10-year, five-minute burst at 9.2 inches an hour, and Milton left 11.26 inches on a gauge near town in 2024. Without gutters, that water lands at the foundation, which is why the code's downspout rule sits with its termite rules.
Source: 2023 Florida Residential Code R318.5; NOAA Atlas 14 and the Milton report, read 2026-10-05.
Should a Groveland house get 5-inch or 6-inch gutters?
Six-inch, for any roof section that drains more than about 770 square feet into one run. By the plumbing code's table, a 6-inch half-round gutter at the same slope carries about 49% more water than a 5-inch one, 110 gallons a minute against 74. At Groveland's 9.2-inch burst, that is roughly 1,150 square feet of roof per 6-inch run. Steeper roofs shed more: a sizing table used in the trade multiplies the area by 1.05 to 1.30 as pitch rises. With water covering 24.1% of the city, where the downspout sends that flow matters as much as the size.
Source: 2023 Florida Plumbing Code Table 1106.6; Berger/SMACNA sizing table, read 2026-10-05.
Do I need a permit for new gutters in Groveland?
Ask the City of Groveland Building Division before work starts, because the call is the building official's. Florida's code requires a permit to alter or repair a building but lets the official approve ordinary minor repairs without one, and the division issues Groveland's residential permits. Whatever the permit answer, two code rules shape the job: gutters must be metal or approved plastic with lapped, soldered or caulked joints and compatible corrosion-resistant fasteners, and downspouts must discharge at least 1 foot from the wall.
Source: 2023 Florida Building Code, Building 105.2.2 and Residential R903.4.2 and R318.5, read October 5, 2026.
Sources for this page(23)
- 1.Wikipedia, "Groveland, Florida" (revision 1374420569). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 2.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual/seasonal (normals-annualseasonal-1991-2020), NCEI Access Data Service. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 3.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Milton (AL142024). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 4.Permit office: City of Groveland Building Division. City of Groveland Building Division. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 5.NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 6.2023 Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th ed., Chapter 11 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from COM-20 (the research cites it "as COM-20").
- 7.bergerbp.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 8.NOAA Atlas 14 (HDSC Precipitation Frequency Data Server). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 9.ask.ifas.ufl.edu. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 10.ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 11.thig.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 12.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., Chapter 8 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from NC-2 (the research cites it "as NC-2").
- 13.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., R318.5 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription); FBC-Building 1503.7. Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7).
- 14.FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 15.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., Chapter 9 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from COM-29 (the research cites it "as COM-29").
- 16.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, point precipitation frequency estimates (partial-duration series) at Groveland's 2020 Census internal point, NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026. 5-minute 10/25/100-year: 9.2/10.5/12.5 in/hr; 60-minute 100-year: 3.9 in/hr
- 17.City of Groveland Building Division, City of Groveland. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 18.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026). Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 19.Florida Statutes, section 553.844 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 20.Florida Building Commission, "Florida Building Code Effective Dates". Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 21.FBCR Ch. 9. Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 22.ICC Building Safety Journal, Karl Fippinger, 2024-02-07. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 23.NOAA Atlas 14 at Groveland: 9.2 in/hr (5-minute, 10-year). NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data Server. Read Oct 5, 2026.
South Fork Roofing
Gutters in Groveland
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