On a multi-story house, some section of the upper gutters do not have a
direct connection to the ground level storm drain, but instead dump its
water onto the lower level roof, which eventually reach another gutter that
drains to the storm drain.

Why do I need this type of gutter? Without it, the water would run off the
upper roof and drop down to the lower roof anyway.

I'm trying to see if I can reduce the amount of gutters on my house to ease
cleaning and to reduce cost should I replace them with new and better
gutters.

"On a multi-story house, some section of the upper gutters do not have
a
direct connection to the ground level storm drain, but instead dump its

water onto the lower level roof, which eventually reach another gutter
that
drains to the storm drain.

Why do I need this type of gutter? Without it, the water would run off
the
upper roof and drop down to the lower roof anyway. "

I have a roof section where there is no gutter on the upper story. It
overhangs the garage roof and it works fine. The garage roof is even
relatively low pitch and in 17 years, no problem. One thing that you
would think might happen would be more erosion of the shingles near
where the water lands, but I see no evidence of that.

Having said that, in my case, I am probably going to put in a gutter
there. That's because the upper roof is about 7 feet longer than the
garage roof, which means in that last 7 foot section water drops all
the way to the ground. To keep that water away from the house would
require either a short gutter which would look stupid, or else one that
runs the length of the upper roof.

So, that leads to another realted question. In my case, there is no
way to get the water from the upper gutter down to the ground. It
would have to use a leader taking it down to the garage roof. So now
I'd have that water exiting all in one spot on the garage roof. Is
that OK? Any problem with erosion of the shingles?

It would look stupid not to have a gutter where one should be

it would be noisy in heavy rain

dirt from lower roof would splash onto wall

lower roof would discolor unevenly

possible uneven discolor of wall due to excess water splashing on it

damage to lower roof over time

etc.


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hwm54112
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It would look stupid not to have a gutter where one should be

To whom?

it would be noisy in heavy rain

Rain sounds are way cool. Gutters are not even entirely necessary. While
gutters hauling away rain water and ejecting it away from the foundation
are a good thing, one need not become overly compulsive about the subject.

As I've said, I've actually had experience with a upper roof without a
gutter over a lower roof that has a gutter for 17 years now. And I can
say:

"It would look stupid not to have a gutter where one should be "

Not an issue for an upper roof like the OP has, where the roof is above
and set back over another roof. The gutter area typically isn't even
visible unless you stand way back from the house. And then it looks
fine.

"it would be noisy in heavy rain"

I haven't noticed any difference in rain noise


"dirt from lower roof would splash onto wall"

The overhang on my roof extends out enough that this is not a problem.
No difference in color or paint wear on the wall at all


"lower roof would discolor unevenly"

Well the shingles are 17 years old and no sign or any difference in
color or wear
possible uneven discolor of wall due to excess water splashing on it

"damage to lower roof over time "

It's been 17 years, the shingles are nearing the end of their life on
the roof in general, and absolutely no evidence of any difference in
wear on the section exposed to water coming down from the upper roof.

Bert Byfield Wrote:
It would look stupid not to have a gutter where one should be

To whom?

To anyone who knows what a house should look like such as a home
inspector, future buyer, etc.


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hwm54112
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It would look stupid not to have a gutter where one should be

To whom?

To anyone who knows what a house should look like such as a home
inspector, future buyer, etc.

And if you don't care about *them* ?