Summary:
- Rain gutters protect your home by directing water away from the roof and foundation, which can prevent foundation cracks and basement leaks. In rare cases, homes with steep roofs, large overhangs, and sloping landscaping might not need gutters.
- Without gutters, water can erode the soil around your home and accumulate along the foundation, leading to structural damage over time. This damage can cost thousands of dollars to fix.
- Gutters are cheap and protect your property from water damage. Regular maintenance, like clearing debris and ensuring they’re securely attached, helps keep water flowing freely away from your home.
- Keeping shingles in good condition is key to a strong roof. Roof Maxx restores flexibility and waterproofing in aging shingles, helping them repel weather and withstand the elements for up to 15 years.
Of all the important features that keep your home safe and sound, the rain gutters might not seem that important. In fact, they serve a number of vital functions that keep your home strong.
Are there instances, though, when you might get away with not having gutters? You might ask, do I need gutters on my house? There can be circumstances in which a home might not need gutters. To understand why, it’s important to know why gutters are typically so critical.
Read more: How to Clean Your Home’s Gutters
What Do Rain Gutters Do?
Rain gutters seem pretty straightforward. They line the edges of a structure’s roof to catch the rain and melting snow running down the roof to direct it to downspouts. The downspouts then direct the water away from the building.
Without gutters, the rain would run straight off the roof along the entire edges. But is this a bad thing? Do you need gutters on your house, or can you just let the water run off the roof?
In most cases, you need rain gutters. However, if you’ve built your roof very steep with a large overhang that already directs the water far from your home, then you could get away without gutters.
Also, if the landscaping around your home slopes away from the structure, then gutters are less necessary. The water that falls to the ground around the house would then flow downhill away from it.
In climates that receive very little rain, gutters come in less handy. However, even in a dry climate, you still get rain, and it’s often heavy when it does fall. If you live in a dry climate and are thinking about going without gutters, the landscaping around your home would still need to slope away from your house.
Read more: 10 Causes of Roof Leaks (& How to Identify Them)
Why Do You Need Rain Gutters?
As you can see, there are only a few very specific circumstances that would allow you to safely get away without gutters on your house. The question then is, what makes gutters so important?
The answer to that question becomes quite clear when you see what can happen to a home that lacks rain gutters. Since rain gutters direct water away from the structure, not having them would allow rainwater to accumulate along the house. This can lead to serious problems.
Water accumulating along your home can seep into the ground and damage the foundation. Cracks can form and cause basement leaks. This compromises the entire integrity of your home.
Allowing the water to flow off your roof will also lead to the formation of channels in the surrounding soil. This can eat away at your yard and cause additional issues.
That’s why you can only get away with not having gutters when the roof has a large overhang and the landscaping slopes away from the home. These elements would help carry the rainwater and snowmelt away from the house and keep it from accumulating near the foundation.
Rain gutters are recommended for nearly all homes. It’s a simple way to protect your property from significant damage. It’s also important to maintain your gutters so they continue to function properly. This means clearing debris and potential blockages from your gutters and making sure they stay completely secured to the roof.
Find Out How to Keep Your Roof Strong While Saving Money
Keeping your gutters in good shape is only part of the equation. You also need to make sure your shingles stay strong and function as they should. As shingles age, they lose their ability to expand and contract with changes in the weather. They can then crack and allow water to penetrate your roof and cause damage beneath.
Roof rejuvenation from Roof Maxx restores your shingle’s ability to repel the elements and keep your home protected. One application of Roof Maxx instantly adds five years of life to your roof and costs just a fraction of what replacing it would run.
Learn more about Roof Maxx today to find out how you can keep your roof going strong.
