painted white brick exterior with black gutters

7 years ago

I’m mortified! We are putting up a painted white brick exterior and the downspouts are right at the front sides of the entrance. I hope you can see where the downspouts will go into the ground.

1) Position- Should it move back along the same wall or stay where it is? What will be more obvious. I don't want my entryway to be frames by gutters.

2) Color- Should I use white downspouts even though the fascia, soffits, window frames and gutters are black?

Your advice is appreciated.

Jen

Featured Answer

PRO

Jerome DeMarco ART.chitecture

7 years ago

Hi Jen, lovely house. Talk with your general contractor or gutter installer and have them run the downspouts away from the end of the gables and position them away from the front entry. You will need to move the drain lines in the ground to accommodate this type of request. Please have the gutter installer match the white brick color and if they can't have your painter take care of matching the downspouts to your brick. Best of luck. Jerome DeMarco ART.chitecture

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Comments (7)

Janie Gibbs-BRING SOPHIE BACK
7 years ago
"I'm Mortified!"

That's your answer right there.

Change whatever you want right now while you can.
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chispa
7 years ago
This is one of those things that when you are in the middle of it, it seems so so important, but think back to all the houses you have visited. Do you remember their gutters? Probably not, unless they were some truly weird setup or painted neon orange!

Many gutter installers will make gutters in one color and down spouts in another. I have a Spanish style house and my gutters are brown to match the brown soffits and beams and my downspouts are a light tan to match the house color. They each blend in with the surface they are next to.
Jen Jerome thanked chispa
lyfia
7 years ago
The gutters should be the color of the background so the downspouts that go over the white should be white and the ones over the black trim should be black.

I would prefer the downspouts to be more in the back, but can't tell from your photo if this will cause an issue with drainage. You want the water to move away from your foundation and not pool or run towards the house.
Jen Jerome thanked lyfia
PRO
User
7 years ago
Definitely have downspouts match the color of the brick. You don't want to highlight them. As for the positioning, I would speak with the gutter installer and architect since this involves drainage issues. Let them know your hope of discrete gutters near the entrance. I'm sure you will all be able to come up with a creative and functional solution/position.
Jen Jerome thanked User
worthy
7 years ago
The downspouts can be colour-matched to the brick and will blend in fine.

OTOH, contrasting colour downspouts can be used to reinforce architectural features of the home:
Jen Jerome thanked worthy
Jen Jerome
Original Author
7 years ago
thanks everyone for your comments. Originally I wanted to have black as a design feature but I think I'll go with white downspouts as I don't want these to be a highlight of the home. Jerome- you are SO right. It seems like a big deal right now. I'm sure it will all work out.