Rain Gutters
 

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?

Rain Gutters
 

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.

Rain Gutters
 

On Sun, 14 May 2017 11:24:52 -0700 (PDT), 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?
Gutters allow me to get out the door without the runoff from 20mfeet
of roof running down my neck. They also keep from having a trench
washed out all around the house, and help keep rain out of the
basement window-wells. On top of that, they allow me to collect
rainwater in catchment barrells for use over the often long breaks
between rain. 3 barrels only catch an hour or two of rain, but that
water can be used to keep many plants alive for several weeks of
drought. I even put gutters on my garden shed - connected to another
barrel. Before I put on the gutters there was always a trench where
the water came off the roof.

Rain Gutters
 

On Sun, 14 May 2017 11:24:52 -0700 (PDT), 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?

If you only get ~ 3.2 inches per year on average like I do then no. If
you get 32 inches of rain per year, I'd say yes you need them. Make up
your own mind. Report back and let us know.

Rain Gutters
 

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?

they can be very useful if you want to collect and
store rainwater or avoid the splash of dirt and
erosion (if you don't have a surface which can withstand
the drips).

we don't have them here, but if we ever have the house
siding and eves redone it may be worth it at that point
to put some up. though i think they'd end up being yet
another place that animals and insects would have to
build nests/homes.

with our snows/ice they would need to be sturdy.


songbird

Rain Gutters
 

On Mon, 15 May 2017 08:47:31 -0400, songbird
wrote:

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?

they can be very useful if you want to collect and
store rainwater or avoid the splash of dirt and
erosion (if you don't have a surface which can withstand
the drips).

we don't have them here, but if we ever have the house
siding and eves redone it may be worth it at that point
to put some up. though i think they'd end up being yet
another place that animals and insects would have to
build nests/homes.

with our snows/ice they would need to be sturdy.


songbird
I have screens on mine so I don't have to crawl up and clean them,
and with proper slope they drain well, not holding any water for
insects to breed. We get lots of snow here in "normal" winters as
well.

Rain Gutters
 

On Sunday, May 14, 2017 at 3:46:36 PM UTC-4, 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.

And it splashes back on the house, dirtying the siding. It also
provides more moisture there, on the siding, where you don't want
it.


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


And with a gutter, the rain doesn't have to end up just a few feet
from the leader, using only one of those short blocks. I have several
where 4" pipe takes it much further. Walking under rain pouring off
a roof to get in the house is no fun either.

Rain Gutters
 

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

Rain Gutters
 

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.