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mbturner
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2023 09:41pm
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Hello all,
We made it thru our 1st winter with our off-grid cabin. We have a metal roof and a lot of snow in North Central WI. Due to snow melting on the roof before it all slides off we have about 4" of ice on the ground on the South facing side.
Question. At times the snow hangs quite a bit before it falls. What is the best rain gutter option? I worry that a conventional gutter might get torn off by the snow hang or the fall.
Any help would be appreciated.
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MJH
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2023 10:13pm
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My place is in north central wisconsin as well. We have a shingled roof, but no gutters (and two of the roofing guys told us not to put on gutters because "you have no idea what the ice will do...").
We're on 32 inches of blocks, though.
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curious
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2023 11:00pm - Edited by: curious
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Key to having no problems is to insulate the roof near and over the wall to keep the snow from melting and refreezing near the eve edges.
Then install 'snow stops' to keep the snow from sliding off. Do a search.
We have used metal roofing for decades and have alwats used commercially available snow stop tabs or pipes as the Swiss have done for centuries. We have not lost gutters to sliding snow.
You must build a robust roof structure to be able to support the heaviest snow loads.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2023 11:20pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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We are not far from central WI and have long overhangs and opted for no gutters. There is a good sized snowbank each side, e & w come spring. I wait until it has melted before reinstalling the rain barrel. So far it catches water from just the metal roof section above it, no gutter down the side, though I may put about a 6' section up there this year (removable come fall).
I like the auto-snowslide off the roof.
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2023 08:23am
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With the amount of snow we get we opted for no gutters. I didn't want the snow to stay on the roof with the catchers.
One night I arrived to camp, got the place heated up and went to bed. In the middle of the night I heard what sounded like a freight train, it was 3' of snow shedding off the roof. I don't think any gutter system could have survived that.
Having said that I would think your best bet, if you really want them, is to use a wider fascia board and keep them lower.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2023 09:32am
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If you want the snow to slide you cant have gutters. Its prety hard to keep snow on a metal roof. I have seen even commercial ladder style snow breaks rip right off.
Why do you want gutters? Are you there enough in the winter to remove the snow from the bottom 2ft of the roof? Even in a unheated building the snow will melt and create ice dams at the eve end at the gutter.
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2023 09:59am
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I have a Metal Roof 9:12 Pitch so it is fairly steep with 2' wide Eaves and considered rain gutters but they'd never survive. The snow builds up to roughly 18" before it gives and when it comes down, "Freight Train" rumbling on the roof is the order of the day. It can give the l heart an extra bit of Ooommmph if you're not used to it...
At this moment on March-20 The snowbanks under the eaves are 3m tall (approx 9') and I can put my hands on the roof proper... OK, I am WAY NORTH of you folks near Algonquin Park Ontario Canada and we got a LOT of winter this year 
When a Roof Pitch gets above 9:12 things get tricky especially if Snow/Ice are involved... In fact after this winter the reconsideration for a full wrap around porch has come to the top of the thinking... fortunately due to the way the house & roof system was designed this would not be a hard upgrade...
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2023 01:04pm
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One of our neighbors does have Gutters to collect rain water. We get considerable snow, over 16' so far this winter. His roof is steep, a 12/12 pitch... 45 degrees.
He has had good success by covering the Gutters with flat metal each fall. His metal is approximately 2' wide with enough pieces each approximately 4' long to cover the length of the gutters. He shoves the flat metal up under the metal roof far enough that the top of it is over the sheeting this allows the rest to extend over, and cover the Gutters. The snow can then slide off without hanging up on the gutters.
We hope to try this next year as we want to begin collecting rain water for our gardens.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2023 08:08pm
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As said, a wider facia board for more of a 'drop mounted' gutter might work. Depending upon the rain and the speed it comes off the roofing edge to fall you would get it all or some overshoot. The snowslide I think would overshoot the lower gutter but you will still get drip melt and probably gutter freeze.
Of course you could always have one of those 'gutter guys' come out to give a look over, answer (or not) your questions about this and give a quote. If like me you will learn something (like they are way too expensive, lol) and can 'think about it'.
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Steve961
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2023 10:10pm - Edited by: Steve961
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I also have a cabin in North Central Wisconsin with a metal roof, rain gutters, and a water collection cistern. I installed the gutters about 8 years ago and haven't had any problems with snow damage. I followed the following guidance and it seems to have worked so far.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2023 08:21am - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Quoting: mbturner I worry that a conventional gutter might get torn off by the snow hang or the fall.
It will, you need snow jacks to stop the sliding snow, but then the sliding snow is great for getting rid of heavy snow loads. Steep pitch too. Just put long enough eves.
Looks like Steve has a handle on it. 
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deerslayer
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2023 07:32pm
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I was glad to see this thread as this is also something I have been considering. Our cabin is also in north-central Wisconsin, near Doering, so it especially good to see a few more from our area. We replaced our roof with metal last year following storm damage. The south face I only have snow blocks to protect the chimney for the wood stove. The snow on that side can slide/ melt as it wishes. But on the north face, I have snow blocks the full length. The reasons I would like to put a gutter on the north are to keep from dripping on the treated wood deck- plus the people and cooler below. I also want to put a rain barrel on that side. I assumed installing the gutter below the fall line as Steve pictured (4/12 here) would be the way to go, but am interested in the opinions of others on this forum.
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MJH
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2023 12:25am
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Quoting: deerslayer near Doering
Is X to C still in business? Haven't been there in years but they used to have great chicken.
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Steve961
Member
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2023 05:01pm
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If anyone is interested, here's a picture of my gutters and cistern.
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DryCreek
Member
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2023 07:55am
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We have a 12:12 metal roof and gutters mounted as per Steve961's diagrams, just below the projected roof line. They survived one winter so far. We don't get more than a few inches of accumulation before the snow sluffs off, and when it does the slide goes over the gutter.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2023 09:09am
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That is impressive, Steve 
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