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Gutters · The Acreage

Gutters in The Acreage, FL

A 5-minute downpour in a 10-year storm falls at 10.3 inches an hour in The Acreage. Your gutters and downspouts have to clear that burst off the roof. Many gutters on homes here were sized for gentler rain, so the question is whether yours can still carry a storm like this.

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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 local rain

How much rain your gutters must move in The Acreage

Gutter size depends on the short, heavy bursts, not the yearly total. Here the 1-hour rain in a 10-year storm runs 3.16 inches an hour, and a 24-hour storm of that size drops 8.52 inches. Over a full year the county airport records 61.75 inches. Gutters are sized for the peak minutes, so the 5-minute figure matters most.

The same house in the same downpour with a white seamless gutter catching the runoff and a downspout discharging onto a splash block, flower bed intact (illustration)Illustration

Illustration: downpour with gutter

The plumbing code sizes horizontal gutters from the flow off the roof, using a table of capacities. A 6-inch half-round gutter at a 1/8 inch per foot slope carries 110 gallons a minute. A 5-inch one at the same slope carries 74. By our arithmetic the 6-inch size carries about 49 percent more, which is a real margin in a heavy storm.

  • Ask whether a wall above the gutter drains onto the roof, since that wall's area must be added to the roof area.
  • Check the slope. A gutter that is level or sags holds water and overflows during a burst.
  • Compare the gutter width to the roof area it drains, then the downspout size to the gutter.

Where the water must go

Downspout discharge rules for Palm Beach County homes

Under the Florida Building Code, downspouts must discharge at least 1 foot from the sidewall of the building. Crews here can meet that distance with buried pipe, a tail extension or a splash block. On a house in The Acreage, where most homes are single-family detached on their own lots, that discharge point is the most common place water ends up against a foundation.

The code also says gutters with downspouts are required where eaves project less than 6 inches. Downspout capacity is set separately. A 3 by 4 1/4 inch leader carries 192 gallons a minute, and a 2 by 2 inch leader only 30. Many older homes here may still have undersized leaders, so check them against the gutter they serve.

Keeping gutters clear

Leaves, trees and the gutter cleaning schedule

Southern live oaks, which grow 60 to 80 feet tall in Florida, drop fruit and leaves that become a litter problem in gutters. Pollen runs from January to June here, with peaks in March and April. Pine needles fall heaviest from late summer into late autumn, so gutters under pines fill fast in the fall. Blocked gutters can lead to water damage, mold, roof damage and foundation problems.

A workable rhythm under oaks and pines is a cleaning after the spring leaf and pollen drop in late April or May, another before the June through September storm season, and one after the autumn needle peak in late November or December. Clean more often under a heavy canopy. Gutter screens help, but Consumer Reports found even the top-scoring fine-mesh screen only middling at handling a severe downpour.

Rain on your roof

Preset: 8.52 inches, the 10-year 24-hour rain (NOAA Atlas 14 at The Acreage).

10,616 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 The Acreage: questions

How big should gutters be for a Palm Beach County home?

Base the sizing on the heaviest short downpour, not on the total rainfall for the year. In The Acreage a 5-minute rain in a 10-year storm falls at 10.3 inches an hour, and a 6-inch half-round gutter at a 1/8 inch per foot slope carries 110 gallons a minute. A 5-inch gutter carries 74. The gutter has to match the roof area it drains, so check the roof area, any wall that sheds rain onto the roof, and the slope before choosing a size. Confirm your plan with the Palm Beach County building office.

Source: NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, partial-duration intensity estimates at The Acreage 2020 Census internal point (26.7742, -80.2769), read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Gutters

How far from the house must downspouts discharge in The Acreage?

The Florida Building Code requires downspouts to end at least 1 foot from the structure sidewall in The Acreage, where 95.2 percent of housing units are single-family detached homes. Buried pipe, tail extensions or splash blocks can meet that distance. Many of these homes sit on their own lots, so water that lands close to the foundation is a common problem. If your downspouts end at the foundation, have the discharge checked against the code.

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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How often should gutters be cleaned near oak and pine trees in The Acreage?

A common rhythm is after the spring oak leaf and pollen drop in late April or May, before the June through September storm season, and after the autumn pine-needle peak in late November or December. Live oaks grow 60 to 80 feet tall in Florida and drop fruit and leaves that litter gutters. Tower Hill Insurance Group advises cleaning gutters at least twice a year and more often with overhanging trees.

Source: ask.ifas.ufl.edu, read Oct 5, 2026

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Are gutter screens worth it in Palm Beach County?

Consumer Reports found fine-mesh screens did better than screens with larger holes, but even the top-scoring screen was only middling at containing a severe downpour. Inserts performed poorly, and screened gutters still need brushing in high-pollen areas. In Palm Beach County pollen runs from January to June, peaking in March and April, so plan on checking screens through spring. Confirm screen performance against the Consumer Reports test before you buy.

Source: consumerreports.org, read Oct 5, 2026

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Nearby

Gutters near The Acreage

Sources for this page(39)
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  2. 2.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (access data service). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  3. 3.Single-family detached share of housing units: 95.2%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25024, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
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  11. 11.2023 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").
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  14. 14.2023 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").
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  36. 36.Florida Statutes, section 553.842 (2026), Florida Legislature. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  37. 37.Florida Building Commission, Florida Building Commission. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  38. 38.Florida Statutes, section 713.135 (2026), Florida Legislature. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  39. 39.NOAA Atlas 14 at The Acreage: 10.3 in/hr (5-minute, 10-year). NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Data Server. Read Oct 5, 2026.

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Gutters in The Acreage

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