Ground Gutters – Minimal Overhang
Tim_O
| Posted in General Questions on
I am curious who has ground gutters and how well they would fit our situation? We have a house that has fairly minimal roof overhang. I know that minimal overhangs are a bad idea practically with or without gutters. With gutters, I get an extra 6″ of rain protection is what I’m thinking? But from a practical standpoint, I like the idea of ground gutters. Our land has enough fall to it, the foundation drains to daylight. Windows are Euro flange-less and will be slightly recessed in double stud walls. The roof is rather large and a 12/12 pitch.
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Replies
Tim_O,
It's not just the the increase in the overhang depth gutters give you. They stop all the water that comes off the roof falling past and onto your walls, and reduce splash-back.
I know the concerns are different in colder and dryer climates, but here I would only consider ground gutters where I had wide overhangs.
I agree with Malcolm. I look at that picture and that building needs gutters. Otherwise the rain coming off the upper roof will hit the lower roof and splash on the wall. This will cause the siding and trim to rot in a few years.
I'm thirding Malcom and DCcontrarian.
Normal conditions are no big deal. But that's not when you need the gutters. You need them for the extreme conditions. When you get a big rainstorm you also get plenty of wind. Think of how much water lands on your roof. All that water is going to be blown against your walls, washing down your walls, being blown into every crack and crevice, before it makes it to the ground.
We need to be designing for extreme conditions. Look at the rains that have been happening in Spain the last few weeks. Things are changing, and faster than many of us expected.
sf
Thanks guys! I'll stick with the plan for gutters.
Tim_O,
A couple of years ago I was approached for advice by a reader of GBA who was building a house just down the road from me. The house had a very similar aesthetic to the one you are building. I reviewed the drawings and made some suggestions, among them to add overhangs. I had the owner come up to our place after a 10mm rain storm and see that the walls were dry, as was the ground around the perimeter out to about 16". The combination of gutters and overhangs adds so much resiliency to the walls in both windy and calm conditions without ruining the look you are after. I'd urge you to consider doing the same.
Oh - and a big shout out to Jordie and Jordan for doing such a great job of the build.
It's too late for us now, facia is up. There is about 5" of overhang. That house looks excellent!
Tim_O
They did well. Both bright and hard working. Identified the things they didn't know, and set about learning them.