Guide
Florida Rain & Hurricane Gutter Requirements
Building code references, wind-load specs, and what installs survive a Cat 3+ hurricane.
Hidden hangers, screwed fascia, oversized downspouts
Our default install spec meets Florida Building Code 2023 wind-load requirements: hidden hangers every 24 inches max, lag screws into the fascia (not nails), and 3×4 oversized downspouts on coastal homes. Spike-and-ferrule hangers (the old style with a long spike driven horizontally through the gutter face) are not code-compliant on new installs and are the single most common failure mode we see when storms knock down older Florida gutters — the spike loosens over years of thermal expansion and the first real wind event pulls the whole run off the fascia.
Pre-storm checklist
Forty-eight hours before a tropical storm or hurricane lands, run this checklist. First, clear your gutters completely — a clogged gutter under hurricane-force water sheets the overflow behind the fascia and into the soffit, where it does five times the damage of overflow on the ground. Second, walk every downspout and confirm flow with a hose; any clog that survives even a moderate storm becomes a fire hose pointed at your foundation. Third, look at the hangers from the ground or with binoculars — any visible sag, gap between gutter and fascia, or hanger that has worked itself out is a place the wind will lift. Tell us before the storm and we will come tighten or replace; we keep one truck on emergency rotation for contracted properties during named-storm windows. Fourth, on coastal properties (Daytona, Melbourne, Titusville) bring outdoor furniture inside or strap it down — a chair launched by 100 mph winds will tear gutters off a house regardless of how well they were installed. Fifth and last: take photos of every gutter run and downspout from the ground before the storm. If you need to file an insurance claim afterward, before-photos taken within 48 hours of landfall are the strongest documentation you can have.