Why Gutters?

[JimD]

We built our current house partially so we could have a basement in South Carolina. Southerners would like basements if they tried them. Lack of basements is why you can't park two cars in many two car garages in my neighborhood. On the other hand, when the frost line is 6 inches down, it is a lot of extra digging to put in a basement unless your lot slopes (ours does).

Anyway, we have leafguard gutters. It is like a gutter guard incorporated into the gutter. They are kind of pricey but they've been on the house 6 or 7 years and I haven't cleaned them yet (and they work). We have trees overhanging the house on one side and lots of tall oak trees so they get tested. They cost more but my experience is they work well. Our house is two or three stories (two in the front, three in the back with the walk-out basement) so splashing was bad before the gutters were installed. We got a little water in the basement before gutters too that has completely disappeared with the gutters.

Jim

[BobSch]

Jim,

How do the leafguards work in a heavy rain? The designs we've seen look like a gully-washer would shoot water right over the guard. Or does the curved front edge really work?

[mleichtle]

My grandmothers old house was on a slab. The gutters were bad and leaked every where for a long time. eventually water started coming up through a crack in the slab, and formed a puddle in the center of the house. That house was an a very flat grade, and the back yard sloped toward the house.

[JimD]

Bob,

The water follows the curved front well. I see almost no bypass on the straight sections. Corners are the weak spot of the design. Too much water comes down inside corners for it to follow the lip well. To compensate, the installers put holes on the top of the gutter. That lets junk into the gutter. The secret is to put in just enough holes to do the job thus letting not too much junk into the gutter. The other thing they do is put in large downspouts and lots of downspouts. That lets whatever does get in flow out with the water. I still think they work well but another guy who used to work in the plant I work at got them and was dissatisfied. I never went over to his house so I don't know if they were installed poorly, his house was different from mine, or whether he was just being picky. If you have lots of inside corners or an area with an inside corner where a bit of bypass would be a bad issue maybe they would not be the way to go. We have several inside corners on both the front and back and we are satisfied.

Jim

[Stick]

On the other hand, when the frost line is 6 inches down, it is a lot of extra digging to put in a basement unless your lot slopes (ours does).

Jim

What am I missing here? how does a frost line that's only 6 inches down mean extra digging? The frost line up here is around 4.5 feet down. Our water and sewer piping is all buried 8 feet down minimum, lots of people go 10 and 12 feet. we all have basements and there's not a hill in sight. Dead flat land for hundreds of miles.

[JR]

What am I missing here? how does a frost line that's only 6 inches down mean extra digging? The frost line up here is around 4.5 feet down. Our water and sewer piping is all buried 8 feet down minimum, lots of people go 10 and 12 feet. we all have basements and there's not a hill in sight. Dead flat land for hundreds of miles.

A 6" frost line means you can safely build on a slab. Therefore, installing a basement is "a lot of extra digging".

Here in SoCal basements are virtually unheard of.

JR

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Lack of gutters is probably the #2 reason for flooded basements where ground water enters the home. Sump pump failure or failure to keep up is #1. Neither are covered under a typical homeowners policy.
If you have a basement don't get rid of the gutters.

[Kristofor]

A 6" frost line means you can safely build on a slab. Therefore, installing a basement is "a lot of extra digging".

Here in SoCal basements are virtually unheard of.

JR

I always figured that was because the ground tries to eat people every once in a while out there rather than an extra $15K on a $500K house.

I love having a basement, and would look to add one anywhere it was safe & feasible to do so. It's 1500 square feet of almost "free" space with negligible heating/cooling costs, better security than a garage, and so forth.

Kristofor.