Gutter profiles
Half-round, square or ogee gutters: which is best?
The short answer
No profile wins on every house. Half-round is the plain, traditional shape and suits most homes. Square, also called box, holds a little more and gives a crisp modern line. Ogee has a moulded face like a classic fascia and suits period fronts. All three drain well when they are fixed to a proper fall, so choose by the look of the house, the size of the roof and the fascia behind, not by a claim that one is best.
How half-round, square and ogee gutters differ, what each does best, and how to choose between them for your house.
What each profile looks like and does
Half-round is a gutter whose section is a half circle, hung on brackets just below the roof edge. It is the shape the word gutter brings to mind, it sheds water smoothly and it sits quietly against most fascias. Square, or box, guttering has flat sides and a flat base, so the section is a small rectangle. Ogee takes its name from an S-shaped curve in classical mouldings and has a face worked into a gentle wave, like a strip of cornice, with the run of the curve catching the light along the front of the house.
The difference you notice from the street is the line. Half-round reads as light and traditional. Square reads as sharper and more modern, and its flat face echoes the lines of a boxy fascia. Ogee is heavier and more decorative, which makes it look right on a period villa and fussy on a plain 1960s bungalow.
How they handle water
A rounded base pulls water to its low point and tends to carry grit along with it, so half-round runs do not hold much debris in the base between storms. A flat base is more likely to leave a thin film of silt, particularly if the fall is on the lazy side, so square gutters earn their keep on a regular clean. Where square is stronger is in capacity: the larger cross-section of many box systems holds a bigger flow before it overtops.
That matters on a large roof, or where a long valley or a dormer concentrates the water onto one length. The better answer, though, is usually the size of the gutter and the number of downpipes rather than the shape. A slight, even fall towards the outlet matters more than the profile, and a run that is too small for its roof will overflow in a downpour whichever shape it has. If you are unsure, ask for the outlet positions and the gutter size to be shown on the written quote.
Choosing for the house in front of you
Look first at the roofline and the fascia, and at what the neighbours have. A plain, flat fascia board suits half-round or square. A deep or ornate fascia, or a cornice detail that has survived on an older front, often calls for ogee, or a matching cast-iron style, so that the new run does not hide the old detail. On a chalet bungalow or a modern estate house, half-round in a quiet colour usually looks right and costs less to match later.
Material changes the picture more than shape does. Plastic comes in all three profiles. Cast iron and aluminium are available in half-round and ogee, and cast iron in particular is heavy and needs well-fixed brackets. Our answer on uPVC against cast iron compares the materials, and the one on seamless gutters covers the type with no joints along the run.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
Where a house has listed status, or stands inside a conservation area, the profile and material of the gutters can be part of what the council wants kept. Replacing like with like is the usual safe route, but the listing, or the town's own rules, decides it. Contact Arun District Council's planning team, or your own council if you live elsewhere, before you swap an original cast-iron ogee run for plastic half-round.
Our answer on guttering and planning permission goes through when consent is likely to be needed. Where the building is protected, keeping the original shape is nearly always the sensible starting point, and a roofer can often repair rather than replace it, which keeps the cost and the character.
What to ask before you decide
Ask for the profile, the material and the size to be named on the quote, together with the downpipes that go with them. The gutter size and the number of outlets should suit the roof area draining into them, and whoever recommends a run ought to explain why it suits your house. If the existing gutter was sound and has only worn, a like-for-like replacement is the smallest job, and the elevation stays as it was.
We look at the roofline, photograph the details and put a single total on paper after the survey visit. If the profile already on your house is working, the recommendation is to keep it. Our guttering, soffits and fascias page lists everything the job can include, and the choice of profile rarely changes the price as much as the height of the eaves, the length of the run and the condition of the board behind it.
Related questions
Gutter shape queries
Do square gutters cause more leaks than half-round ones?
Not by their shape. Leaks come from failed joint seals, bad brackets and poor fall, and those can affect any profile. A square gutter has sharper corners to seal at each union, so the fitting has to be done with care. A well-fitted run of either profile should stay watertight for years.
Can I change profile without replacing the fascia?
Often yes, provided the fascia is firm and true enough to take the brackets. A deep ornate board may limit your choices. We check the board when we survey, and say whether it will hold the new run.