Gutters
Do I really
need gutters on my house? My neighbor took his down and laughs at
me every time I go to clean mine out. My brother says I need them.
I grew up in
the 1960s with strong feelings about the metal gutters on my
folks' house. It seemed like my mom was always hollering at me to
get out there and work on those gutters. Cleaning them out was a
standing chore. Then almost every other summer it was scraping
peeling paint, priming with zinc-chromate, and painting. Pink
paint! I hated pink paint and I hated those gutters. In 1974 I was
buying my first house and I made sure to pick one that had NO
gutters!
Since then I
have learned a few things about buildings and gutters.
Just like every
other old-house issue, you have to understand what gutters do and
then figure out if you need them. Gutters catch the water close to
the source (the roof) where it is easy to control, then downspouts
and ground leaders or underground drainage lines dispose of the
water away from the building. It's important to get rid of that
water because it can damage your house.
For example, A
New England Victorian may have a complex roof with many valleys
that concentrate roof runoff, so gutters are needed, especially to
prevent water buildup in the ground just
outside the foundation. In the winter that water will
freeze and heave against the foundation. Here in
Portland
,
Maine
, I was call in to assess the situation when the previous owner
had removed gutter two
years before (to save the $80. yearly cost of
cleaning out the gutters). The first winter frost heaving
had displaced a couple
of foundation stones 4" to the interior of
the basement. The second winter those two stones fell into
the cellar and a dozen
more were displaced a few to several inches inward and a vertical
crack appeared in the wall, right down to the basement floor. In
just two years the lack of gutters caused $5,000 worth of
foundation damage. Now, would you rather pay a
contractor $5,000, or would you rather have that $5,000 in
the bank where it
would give you $150. in interest at a modest 3% which is enough to
pay for cleaning the gutters plus a little more for the occasional
gutter repair. THAT is why you need gutters. Gutters give you
similar benefits over the long-term as they protect exterior walls
from deterioration. They will help slow down deterioration of
exterior paint, woodwork and windows--saving dollars and saving
historic character.
Maybe you don't
need gutters. A Craftsman-style house in southern
California
where it doesn't freeze in the winter, is designed with wide
over-hanging roof eaves that protect the walls from water and it
doesn't need gutters. So,
you see? You need gutters because your HOUSE needs them. Or, maybe
it doesn't.
When I bought
my second house in 1995, a Victorian, I made sure to pick one that
had gutters. Now, I don't love these gutters, but I have gotten
friendly with them, and I take care of them. In return, they help
me take care of my fine old house.
Learn more
about gutters in Leeke’s Practical Restoration Report, Wooden
Gutters. Contact Leeke directly for answers to your questions and
more information on techniques for restoring and maintaining your
historic building. Write to John Leeke, Preservation Consultant at
26 Higgins St.
,
Portland
ME
04103
, 207 773-2306; or by E-mail at johnleeke@HistoricHomeWorks.com
or visit his Internet Web Site at www.HistoricHomeWorks.com
Live Video Conferences &
Replays:
http://historichomeworks.com/hhw/conf/vidconf.htm
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© John Leeke
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