On Monday, May 15, 2017 at 1:31:22 PM UTC-4, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 5/14/2017 2:24 PM, BradMM wrote:
Do I need them??? Where we are, be get about 32" per year and it comes at
different times of the year. We can go months with no rain at all. Are
gutters just something people install because they don't know any better or
do they indeed serve a purpose. If there is drainage away from the house,
does it make a difference if the rain falls directly under the eaves or a
couple of feet out with a gutter spout?


Not every house needs them but they offer benefits. Rain falling off
the roof in the same spot will erode the soil and leave a depression.
It can make a mess of flower beds if you want them near the house. The
higher the house, the greter the force.

Depending or drainage, soil conditions and foundation, gutters can keep
water from seeping in through the foundation by routing it away.

Too assume people install them because they don't know any better could
make people think you are an arrogant prick.

My old rain gutter came down at one end of the house, and I did not
bother to put up a new one. It did not take many years for rain water
to rot away the bottom of the wall below.

The problem was that you could not see what was happening inside the
wall until it was too late!

Fred

Water that falls from the roof to the ground can pool and splash
back up, essentially going in the opposite direction to that which
the siding is designed for. Sounds like that might have happened to you,
ie the water can get underneath the siding at the bottom. I guess how
far out the soffit extends is a factor too.