Are Gutters Necessary on Your House?

Are gutters necessary on your house? As in essential? Maybe not.

That’s according to CJ Browning, owner of Browning Aluminum in Ocala, Florida. If gutters were essential, local building codes would require them, he says.

But it’s pretty much indisputable that gutters are incredibly important for protecting your roof, siding, and landscaping in the long term.

“I highly recommend gutters if you want to protect your investment,” Browning adds.

While it is possible for you to go without gutters if you want, it poses a great risk to your home and can result in severe water damage. We’ll walk you through the reasons why gutters are a necessary investment that can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

We’ll also list ways to tell if your home needs gutters or whether you can go without them.

Why Gutters Are Important

Gutters are basically long troughs that run along the roofline to catch rainwater. Water in the gutter flows to a downspout, then to the ground and away from your house. Gutters are attached to the fascia board at the edge of a roof, positioned where they can catch all the rainwater that falls off the roof.

Here are 7 ways  gutters can save you thousands of dollars – or tens of thousands of dollars – in repair bills:

1. Prevent Foundation Damage

Gutters protect your home’s foundation from water damage. Without gutters, rainwater will pool around your home, weakening the foundation. With time, your home’s foundation may not be able to hold the weight of your home, and the foundation may collapse. 

2. Protect Siding

Siding is your home’s protective layer. If the siding stays wet from frequent rain, mold can develop and even infiltrate the interior of your house. Excess water on siding can peel off exterior paint and form stains, decreasing the curb appeal of your property.

Those ugly brown stains are largely an aesthetic concern, but they can also cause issues such as rot. Wood siding is the most vulnerable to water damage. For homes with a lot of wood siding, install gutters to protect the wood from rotting and weakening from water damage.

Surprisingly, vinyl siding can take a beating as well.

“Vinyl siding has a wax coating on it that protects it from the sun,” Browning says. “But as water keeps hitting it, it washes off that wax coating. That’s why, with a lot of older homes, you see the vinyl siding on the bottom of the house is cracked.”

3. Protect the Attic

Gutters are necessary to protect your attic and roof from water damage. 

“What I see a lot of when people don’t have gutters is that water works its way up into the roof itself,” Browning says. “The trusses get wet and you’ll end up with rot in your plywood.”

If you live in a region that gets heavy rainfall and you don’t have gutters, your fascia board and soffits may rot or warp. 

4. Prevent Soil Erosion and Damage to Landscape

Without a gutter system, water cascades in heavy sheets off your roof, pounding the soil and plant beds below. The force of the water erodes soil and batters tender plants and flowers.

Flowers and fragile plants may not be able to survive sheets of stormwater pouring down on them during rainy days. Plants need soil to survive, and pooling water causes major soil erosion.

5. Prevent Basement Flooding

Basement flooding is common when land slopes down toward the house. If you don’t have rain gutters, your basement will flood more quickly.

Basement flooding can damage your home’s foundation, wiring, and insulation. It also can cause health issues due to mold growth and mildew formation.

Tip: Get a sump pump. Install a sump pump to force water out of your basement, and have a backup power source, as there may be power outages during heavy rain. 

6. Prevent Damage Caused by Clay Soil

Clay soil absorbs water but doesn’t drain quickly, causing the soil to expand, which can damage the foundation. When clay soil dries, it shrinks and cracks, allowing stormwater to penetrate.

If you live in an area with clay soil, gutters will direct water harmlessly away from clay soil, or at least to an area of your yard where clay soil expansion and contraction won’t affect your foundation.

7. Prevent Cosmetic Damage

Water falling off your roof to the ground can cause ruts in your lawn. Rainwater cascading to the ground splashes dirt and debris against the house, making it grimy and stained.

When You Should Have Gutters

Most homes benefit from gutters, for all of the reasons stated above. Browning strongly encourages homeowners to get gutters if:

• You live in an area where it rains a lot.
• Your property slopes toward the house.
• Your yard has a lot of clay soil. Red clay, in particular, directs water in consistent patterns, which results in water going toward the same spot again and again. It also absorbs a lot of water. A large amount of red clay soil in your yard means you need a gutter system. 
• Your roof has no overhang. Overhangs help direct water away from the home’s foundation. You should have gutters if your roof has less than a foot of overhang. A small overhang isn’t enough to protect your foundation from erosion. 

When You Can Do Without Gutters

Although he installs, repairs, and maintains gutters, Browning is honest about this: Some homes don’t need them, and other homes only need them in certain locations.

“If your property is graded away from your home and foundation and you don’t have landscaping directly under the roofline, you may not need gutters,” he says.

You can manage without a gutter system if:

• You live in a dry area that doesn’t get much rain or snow. States like Arizona and Utah have arid climates. They don’t receive enough rainfall during the year to necessitate a gutter system. 
• The roof overhang is at least a foot long. A long overhang will carry water well past the edge of the roof and harmlessly into your yard, away from your foundation.
• Your house is surrounded by concrete, asphalt, or landscaping rocks. Soil erosion occurs when dripping water washes away exposed soil. If your home has concrete, asphalt, rocks, pavers, or some other hard surface all around it, you probably don’t need gutters.
• The roof has a steep slope. Steep roof slopes don’t need gutters as much as low-sloping roofs. A roof should be angled at a slope of at least 2 feet for every 12 feet.

If you are thinking about going without a gutter system, have a roofing contractor inspect your home and ask them if your house can go without gutters. They also can recommend gutter alternatives, such as rain diverters.

Home Gnome editor Tom McNiff, who lives in Ocala, Florida, interviewed CJ Browning to add his gutter expertise to this article.

Main Image Credit: Oleh Marchak / Adobe Stock Free / License

Editorial Contributors

• 

  Danielle Gorski

  Author

  Danielle Gorski has a degree in professional studies and a minor in marketing. Her hobbies include reading, drawing, writing, and tackling home improvement projects.

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• 

  Tom McNiff

  Editor

  A veteran editor and writer, Tom McNiff has DIYed just about everything in his Ocala, FL, home at least once, from fixing appliances, to painting, tiling, plumbing, building shelves, and even a little electrical work. When he isn't roaming home improvement stores imagining ways to transform his home into the Taj Mahal with a bit of plywood, PVC, and some Hardie board, he's probably spending time with his adult children, his two amazing grandchildren, or his friends.

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