Half Round Gutters Vs. The K Style Gutters

The half round gutters

The half round gutters used to be very popular in the past.
Their manufacturing was quite simple, they could be produced easily from the hollowed raw tree stem (wooden gutters) or from the bended steel plate (metal gutters, later galvanized or zinc coated).

Even today the half round gutter is still very popular in Europe as it offers some advantages compared to square or K style (OG) gutters.

Half round gutters avantages

- the half round gutters provide less chances to develop clogging.
Their inner shape is smoother than the inner shape of square or K style gutters (no edges where the mess can sediment), the debris is better conducted by the rain water;
- the half round gutters are least affected by corrosion than the square or style K gutters.
This has the same reason as above, having smoother inner shape than the gutters with edges, there is smaller chance the wet areas will form that usually cause the corrosion.

The half round gutters combine the reliable service with smart and stylish design.

Half round gutter disadvantages

The main disadvantage of the half round gutter is that the inner space of the half round gutter is smaller than the inner space of the square gutter.

E.g., the flow area of the half round gutters with 5 inch (approximately 12,7 cm) diameter (2*PI*r or PI*d) is only 15,7 square inch (39,9 square cm), but the flow area of square gutter with 5x5 inch profile represents 25 square inches (161,3 square centimetres).

Thus, when designing the gutter system you have to be aware of the fact that the diameter of half round gutter must be always little larger than the width of the square or K style gutter to drain the same volume of rain water.

The square or K style gutters

The style K gutters (OG gutters, OGEE gutters) have been frequently used the last 40 - 50 years.
They fit better the modern architecture trends (are less visible as they blend better with the other building components).

K style gutters advantages

The K style gutters advantages are opposite to the half round gutters disadvantages and vice versa.
- the main advantage of this gutter profile is that they can transport more rain water than the half rounds with the equivalent diameter;
- another advantage is that - because of the shape - the K style gutters are firmer than the half round gutters (harder to bend or protrude). Therefore, when compared with half round gutters, thinner material can be used to achieve the same mechanical properties and the square or K style gutter are lighter (easier to manipulte).

The K style gutter disadvanatges

- the edges offer more chances for the wet debris and mud to sediment and cause corrosion and leaking;
- for the same reasons the K style gutters are harder to clean (they require more effort to achieve the same results as with the half round gutters).