A professional-quality gutter installation is a serious investment in your home's longevity. Not only does it reduce the annoyance of water running off of the roof, but it protects the foundation from water that can encourage cracks. You and the contractor will need to plan to ensure that the work is effective as possible though. Watch for these five potential issues when installing gutters. 

Slope

The goal of any gutter system is to encourage the water from the roof to go in a specific direction. Adding a slight slope to the gutters ensures that gravity will do the work for you. The grade doesn't have to be extreme, but it needs to be enough that the water will naturally flow toward the end of the gutter and then down the spout.

Capacity

You should choose gutters with ratings based on your location's peak possible rainfall. This leads to some surprising dimensions in unusual environments. It might not seem sensible to install wide gutters if you live in the desert, for example. However, some places get heavy rainfall all at once. You have to plan for that peak rainfall based on the history of the region, otherwise, your home's gutters may be overwhelmed. It is better to have a little more capacity and not need it than to see the gutters not handle the job on the worst day of rainfall that you'll ever see.

Maintainability

Ideally, the gutter installation should connect to the house at spots that maximize maintainability. You will want to be able to access the gutters to verify that they're clear of debris and to clean them. Similarly, you should try to avoid making future gutter repair work harder. If necessary, you might want to trim trees near the gutters to avoid overloading them with debris. Also, avoid installing complex curves or connections that can be troublesome in the future.

Distance

Gutters need a slight stand-off distance from the roof to catch all of the water. This is because the water coming off the roof will have momentum. If you place the gutters too close to the roof, some of the water may overshoot the target.

Downspout Positioning

Finally, you want each downspout to solve more problems than it causes. If there's a French drain along the foundation, for example, you might want to position the downspout to discharge water into the end of the drain away from the house. Also, try to avoid directing water toward other structures like the garage or a neighbor's property.

Contact a local roofer to learn more about gutter installation.