How to know if drip edge will overflow?

I would like to add a drip edge to the front of my roof. I want to divert the water into the gutters that are on each side. There is no gutter in front; the side gutters go to downspouts on the back of the house.

A roofer friend said a diverter will not be good enough because it will not be able to keep up with heavy rain. And that I will have to add a front gutter and rip out the existing side gutters in order to to do it right since I don't want any new downspouts in the front.

Is he correct that I can't do what I want with a simple diverter? It would slope down to the sides slightly as shown in red in my pic.

 

That's probably one of the worst ideas I have seen in a while. Listen to your roofer friend. It would divert some water... not all, and it would probably also make a roof leak more likely, and would certainly make ice dames more likely in the winter. A diverter is an option in places like over a front door... where it's only going to be about 4' long.

Any seamless gutter company should be able to add onto your existing gutters just by knocking off the end caps and adding an outside corner.

 

LOL I'm honored to get the prize for the worst idea . I have no problem doing the front gutter if they can join it to the existing sides. He told me it can't be done but I will go with your advice. Doing the whole thing over would be $$$.

 

Well, not "the" worst... but its right up there... lol!

I'm sure a few gutter guys would say they need to replace all the gutters but only if they are trying to make a fast buck. It would be pretty unusual if your gutters weren't a standard size and shape.

 

I suspect the reason he said the side gutters would have to be rehung has to do with the slope. The front gutter will need to be high in the middle and lower on the ends. If the side gutters are set so they are all the way up in the front (which they should be if the spouts are in the rear), there will be no way to set the front gutter with the proper slope. The sides will have to be reset so they are an inch or two down in the front and lower in the back. It's really important to get enough slope when you have such long runs of gutter with no spouts or you will have issues with ice in the winter.