On a scale of 1 to 10, how important are gutters on a single story house?

lancevance

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10:27a, 3/6/23

1 being least important. I can see their value on a two story home so that rain water doesn't pour into a window.

The Fife

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11:00a, 3/6/23

10, or 11 if you're on a crawlspace. There's still a lot of water that needs to be redirected away from the house regardless of the number of stories. I run the gutters at my place into 4" pipe that goes out to the bar ditch by the street to keep the crawlspace drier.

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Olag00

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11:01a, 3/6/23

AG

10

Also need to get the water away from the foundation, not just dumping straight down.

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tgivaughn

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11:24a, 3/6/23

AG

IMHO gutters rate a 10 only over entryways, HVAC, any fenestration saved from leaking from hard storms.

Gutters rate a 1 when you are on a slab-on-grade concrete with perimeter grade well prepared to carry "flood" waters off & well away. Slabs-on-grade perform best when all sides graded have equal moisture content, so support is equal and nothing wants to crack.

Many have borrowed from the past in using gravel/bull-rock as erosion control & roof-runoff-catch in garden beds, then drain this off to French drains or less as required.
In-the-day, dry wells also served in such a capacity ... last publicly seen in Aggieland = TAMU Campus Course Clubhouse. Dry wells are located at roof valleys' spillage but also when a long gutter's leader/downspout needs to dump a large load.

If you go gutters, the smart money is on
6" w/leaf guards that work
leaders at outside foundation corners (where the foundations are needy/thirsty and tend to droop = cracking)
grade pipes 10ft long outbound

options include
mosquito-proof water barrels, also with 10ft overflow grade hoses outbound
in-ground septic-cisterns w/pump
piping to a pond, garden

Ten words or less ... a goal unattainable

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Howdy Dammit

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5:58p, 3/6/23

AG

Depends on where you are. We are in central texas and have a slab on grade house on rock/limestone. I opted no gutters.

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agdoc2001

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In reply to tgivaughn • 8:47p, 3/6/23

AG

tgivaughn said:
IMHO gutters rate a 10 only over entryways, HVAC, any fenestration saved from leaking from hard storms.

That "over HVAC" is key…I only had gutters over entryways previously, then during the freeze all the rain, snow, and ice dumped onto my outdoor units and they were encased in ice and couldn't defrost. I now have gutters over them as well.

No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.

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62strat

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In reply to lancevance • 3:21p, 3/7/23

AG

lancevance said:
I can see their value on a two story home so that rain water doesn't pour into a window.

lolwut?

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Thisguy1

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9:04p, 3/7/23

I see a lot of this with work, but it blows my mind that all of these neighborhoods build these houses 10 feet away from each other without gutters on the sides of the house.

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AgLA06

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8:37a, 3/11/23

AG

West or Central Texas, 1.

Houston or near the coast, 11. Not having gutters in Houston is suicidal.

Apache

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12:05p, 3/12/23

AG

Quote:
Central Texas, 1

Our annual storms are some of the most intense non-tropical downpours in the lower 48. Combine that with the periodic tropical depressions that move through the area & I can state from experience that gutters are 100% the way to go. Not that uncommon to get 4-5" of rain in a single day here.

I would also caveat this to day that every single home location is different. In a jammed in subdivision or with extensive landscaping around the house, gutters are necessary.
A home on a large lot with great natural drainage, maybe not.

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