Gutters on 1920s Tudors and cottages in Dallas

Dallas's older housing stock is concentrated in a few neighborhoods. Greenland Hills, the M Streets, began building in 1923, and over 65 percent of its homes were Tudor Revival when its conservation district formed in 2002. Lakewood was mostly built in the 1920s, when Dines and Kraft built Tudor, Dutch Colonial and Prairie-style homes. Vickery Place was subdivided in the 1910s and 1920s, and Kessler Park is known for homes from the 1930s.

A molded K-style gutter is the default on newer homes, and it can look like an afterthought on a 1920s Tudor. Half-round gutters on brackets, with round downspouts, read as part of the original trim. Copper is the traditional material and ages from bright to brown to green.

Half-round holds a little less water than K-style of the same width, so it has to be sized for the roof. Aluminum half-round in a painted finish gives the look at a fraction of copper's cost.

Tudor rooflines with steep, intersecting gables break the eave into short runs with many inside and outside corners. Each corner is a joint that has to be sealed or soldered, and each is a likely leak point as it ages. Short valleys also pour concentrated streams onto entries and walks, which is where rain diverters and splash guards earn their keep.

Many older homes still carry original fascia boards and exposed rafter tails, and decades of overflow have often softened the wood behind the gutter. New gutters hung on soft wood pull loose. We probe every board and rafter tail before hanging anything, repair or replace what is soft, and prime new wood on all sides.

Some older homes have gutters framed into the roof edge rather than hung from it. When those linings fail, the leak shows up inside as a stain on a ceiling or wall near the eave. Relining keeps the original look from the street; converting to hung gutters is sometimes cheaper but changes the appearance.

The M Streets and Vickery Place are conservation districts, which keep the character of their homes and protect their mature trees. Conservation districts can regulate exterior changes, so check with the city before changing materials or profiles on a house in one. Matching what is there, or going back to a profile that suits the original architecture, is usually the safest choice.

Older houses forgive less. Brick, stucco and stone are drilled only where straps must anchor, using masonry fasteners set in mortar joints rather than the face of the brick. Decorative trim is never nailed through to hang a gutter. Colors are matched to existing trim in daylight, and copper joints are soldered rather than sealed. Downspouts are placed around foundation plantings and walks so water leaves the house without carving through beds that may be decades old. And when a run is replaced, the old profile is noted first, so the new one fits the character of the street.

• M Streets architectural history, mstreets.org
• Lakewood neighborhood history, D Magazine
• M Streets and Vickery Place guide, Compass
• Kessler Park homes, D Magazine

Figures are national or regional planning numbers from the sources above, not a quote for your home.