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Gutters · Union Park

Gutters in Union Park, FL

In a 10-year storm, a 5-minute burst of rain in Union Park falls at 8.72 inches an hour, according to NOAA Atlas 14. That short, hard rate is what gutters have to handle here. A gutter sized for a gentle rain can overflow in minutes when a storm like that arrives. Sizing starts with that number, and the downspouts and the lot grading decide where the water ends up.

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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.

Sizing for the storm

Sizing gutters for Union Park's short, hard rain

Gutter size depends on the roof surface that drains into it, the slope of the gutter, and the rainfall rate used for design. In Union Park the 10-year, 5-minute rate is 8.72 inches an hour. A 25-year storm pushes it to 10.1 inches an hour. The plumbing code's sizing table uses a different basis than many older gutter charts, so ask any installer which rainfall rate they used.

Close-up of an old sagging gutter pulling away from a rotted, water-stained fascia board with peeling paint and mildew under the eave (illustration)Illustration

Illustration: rotted fascia

Under the code's table, a 6-inch half-round gutter at 1/8 inch per foot slope carries 110 gallons a minute. That is about 49 percent more than a 5-inch gutter at the same slope. By our arithmetic, going from 5 inches to 6 inches is a meaningful step up when the roof is large or the house sits under a heavy storm track.

Keeping water off the foundation

Downspouts, discharge and where the water goes

Downspouts must discharge at least 1 foot from the building's sidewall, whether through underground piping, tail extensions or splash blocks. Only 1.1 percent of Union Park's total area is water, and 69.7 percent of its homes are single-family detached houses, so most runoff lands on private yards and soaks in beside the foundation rather than draining away.

  • A 3 by 4 inch downspout carries 192 gallons a minute under the code table.
  • A 2 by 2 inch downspout carries only 30 gallons a minute, so it is too small for most roof areas.
  • Confirm the discharge point with the Orange County Division of Building Safety if you are unsure.

Trees and upkeep

Leaves, pollen and cleaning on Union Park lots

Southern live oaks can reach 60 to 80 feet with a spread of 60 to 120 feet, and their leaves and fruit are a litter problem. Pollen from oaks and pines runs from January to June, peaking in March and April. Pine straw collects in gutters mostly in the autumn months of September through November.

Tower Hill Insurance Group recommends a gutter cleaning schedule of spring and fall at minimum, adding visits when storms roll through Orlando's wet season. Under oaks and pines, a practical rhythm is after the spring oak drop, before the June to September storm season, and after the autumn needle peak. Left alone, a blocked gutter in Union Park's wet summers can spill rain right against the foundation.

Rain on your roof

Preset: 6.26 inches, the 10-year 24-hour rain (NOAA Atlas 14 at Union Park).

7,800 gallons run off that roof, all of it toward the gutters and downspouts.

Math: square feet × inches × 0.623 gallons.

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Questions

Gutters in Union Park: questions

How hard does rain fall in Union Park?

In a 10-year storm, a 5-minute burst falls at 8.72 inches an hour in Union Park, according to NOAA Atlas 14. A 1-hour rain in that same storm falls at 2.93 inches an hour. Over 24 hours, a 10-year storm brings 6.26 inches of rain and a 100-year storm brings 10.6 inches. Gutters and downspouts should be sized against the short, intense burst rather than the average rainfall for the year, because that is when overflow happens.

Source: NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, partial-duration intensity estimates at the Union Park 2020 Census internal point (28.5669, -81.2386), read Oct 5, 2026

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What size downspout does Union Park need?

The code table lists a 2 by 2 inch downspout at 30 gallons a minute, a 3 by 4 1/4 inch or 4 inch round at 192 gallons a minute, and a 4 by 5 inch or 5 inch round at 360 gallons a minute. Smaller downspouts can overflow in a hard Union Park storm, where a 10-year burst falls at 8.72 inches an hour. Ask your installer which downspout size matches the roof area draining to it.

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

Related: Gutters

Where should downspouts drain on my Union Park property?

Downspouts must discharge at least 1 foot from the building's sidewall, using underground piping, tail extensions or splash blocks. Water in Union Park is 1.1 percent of the total area, so most runoff stays on the property and soaks into the ground. Discharging water right at the wall can settle the foundation over time, so the extra distance matters.

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

Related: Gutters

How often should gutters be cleaned near oaks in Union Park?

Tower Hill Insurance Group recommends cleaning gutters at least twice a year, typically in spring and fall, and more often if trees overhang the roof. Southern live oaks can grow 60 to 80 feet tall in Orange County yards, and their leaves are a litter problem. Pine needles peak from September through November. Check gutters after each of those periods.

Source: thig.com, read Oct 5, 2026

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Nearby

Gutters near Union Park

Sources for this page(29)
  1. 1.Water share of total area: 1.1%. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 MapServer: POP100, HU100, AREALAND, AREAWATER). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  2. 2.Single-family detached share of housing units: 69.7%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  3. 3.Permit office: Orange County Division of Building Safety. Orange County Division of Building Safety. Read Oct 10, 2026.
  4. 4.NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal), access-data API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  5. 5.bergerbp.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  6. 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. 7.2023 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").
  8. 8.2023 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).
  9. 9.ask.ifas.ufl.edu. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  10. 10.blogs.ifas.ufl.edu. Read Oct 5, 2026.
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  12. 12.thig.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  13. 13.NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  14. 14.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, partial-duration intensity estimates at the Union Park 2020 Census internal point (28.5669, -81.2386), NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  15. 15.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 MapServer: POP100, HU100, AREALAND, AREAWATER), U.S. Census Bureau. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  16. 16.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API, U.S. Census Bureau (via Census Reporter). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  17. 17.Orange County Division of Building Safety, ocfl.net. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  18. 18.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, partial-duration 24-hour depth estimates at the Union Park 2020 Census internal point (28.5669, -81.2386), NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  19. 19.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API, table B25034, U.S. Census Bureau (via Census Reporter). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  20. 20.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API, tables B25034/B25035, U.S. Census Bureau (via Census Reporter). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  21. 21.Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, inspections FAQ (updated 2026-03-17), Citizens Property Insurance. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  22. 22.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 15 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription), UpCodes (Florida Building Code transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  23. 23.Orange County Government, Division of Building Safety, ocfl.net. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  24. 24.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 1 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription), UpCodes (Florida Building Code transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  25. 25.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 MapServer: POP100, HU100, AREALAND, AREAWATER), U.S. Census Bureau. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  26. 26.NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (2017), National Weather Service. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  27. 27.NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian (2022), National Weather Service. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  28. 28.NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Matthew (2016), National Weather Service. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  29. 29.NOAA Atlas 14 at Union Park: 8.72 in/hr (5-minute, 10-year). NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data Server. Read Oct 5, 2026.

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Gutters in Union Park

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