Why Do Houses Have Gutters

Unless your roof slopes in all directions you probably don t need your house surrounded with gutters.

Why do houses have gutters.

For instance if your roof slopes two directions toward the front and back of. Homes that were constructed with no gutters may have been built that way for a reason. Do i need gutters around the entire house. The higher the slope of a roof is the lower the chances that you ll face any type of water damage.

Now that we know why rain gutters exist let s figure out why your house doesn t have them. You do need them at the bottom of any slope though. There are some reasons why having rain gutters may not be necessary. Steep slope roof if your home s roof has a very steep slope and a long overhang it might already be working to direct rainwater away from your house.

If you don t have gutters and downspouts to direct runoff away from your home this will happen every time it rains. One house was built in 1956 and the other in 1978 so the absence of rain gutters is definitely not a new trend or specific to your neighborhood community. Your house has a roof overhang that s 6 10 inches wide your house has an apron made of stone gravel or concrete surrounding it and there s enough drainage for supporting it. Either you have to climb the ladder and do it yourself or you need to hire a professional gutter cleaning company to do it for you.

The rule of thumb is to clean your gutters at least twice a year but more if you have a lot of trees hanging over your house or you live in an area that experiences a lot of storms. If a metal roof is fitted with a gutter improperly the gutters themselves can be ripped off as a result of harsh weather heavy snowfall or excessive ice naturally forming on your roof. Rain gutters are affixed to your roof and are usually made of aluminum copper or plastic. Steep roofs allow rain and snow to slide right off.

Why does a house need gutters anyway. Why your house might not have gutters. Below are 6 instances in which your house might not need to have gutters. Both of my houses have had sloped roofs and a fairly wide overhang which seems to allow the water to run off the roof a couple feet from the exterior walls foundation.

This seems like a logical train of thought but the reason clogged gutters cause damage is because they let water flow over the sides where it pools all around the foundation. The water hits a peak of your home and essentially just slides right off onto the ground where it belongs. Some metal roofs lack gutters because it can be difficult to install and maintain a gutter properly. Gutters have a limited capacity and may overflow although they still effectively remove a large volume of water.

Why don t most houses in louisiana have gutters. In short you almost definitely should have gutters on your home.