Gutters or no gutters? Pros and cons?

When I do a pro/con analysis of having gutters on the house or deleting them I come out heavy on the side of ditching them. I'm older now and have two titanium joints, so my climbing and crawling ability is a little reduced. I also know it's less likely that I'd survive a fall off a ladder or roof. The only thing I'd miss would be water collection, but I could quickly rig a catchment system if I needed one.

After years of cleaning gutters I'm looking at a metal roof and potentially deleting the gutters. I will talk to the roofer about tying the new roofing into the existing porches and maybe adding a deflector above the garage door so I don't get soaked when I go out in a storm. Other than that, having water running off the roof is the same as other houses I've lived in without gutters. There is some erosion in a line where the water falls, and some mud splashing. Since we are all beach sand and stone around the house, and well drained, this is of little concern.

Am I missing anything here? The roofer I'm talking to can bend new metal trim to replace all the old peeling stuff and make the roof as maintenance free as possible so I can grow old without having to worry about scampering up on the roof to nail a hunk of trim down..

Thoughts? Comments? Recommendations?

 

You need gutters depending on how the front is made around the door since the splashing over the years will rot the lower door molding.
Cleaning out gutters? Hire a kid and keep that old ass off the roof, we no longer bounce as high as we used too!

 

Depending on your foundation - gutters will keep frost heave and ice lensing to a minimum.

Get the gutter covers if you have issues with leaves.

 

I would not delete the gutters. Install good leaf guards and it will keep you from having to clean them. There are also pressure washer attachments that can be used (at least for 1st story gutters).

 

I'm on the beach, so storm surge is more of a concern than snow and ice.

I haven't heard any long term reviews on any of the leaf filter systems that were favorable. I have heard about some gutter systems for metal roofs that allow water to roll under into a gutter system while leaves and pine needles fall straight off. Haven't see such a system yet.

 

Gutters = always.

 

Everyone in my region has shifted to metal roofs.

I know of only one place here that still uses gutters. It is a commercial warehouse and they have a LOT of heat tape. Every foot of gutter must have heat tape, and three runs of heat tape for each downspout [two inside each downspout and one spiral wrapped on the outside of each downspout].

The last place I owned that had gutters was down South in Connecticut. When gutters fill with ice they can easily exceed two tons a piece, plus if the downspouts fill with ice, ouch. In a wind storm all of those many tonnes of ice-filled gutters and downspouts ripped half the siding off my house.

Gutters and downspouts can be nice for rain water collection, in the summer, or if you live in a drought-prone region. But you need some way to deal with the ice build up.

 

We had a gutterless system in place on Mom and Dads place in Salem, and it flat out SUCKED, it was that kind of louver system that's supposed to deflect the water and not collect leaves and needles or moss, but it didn't do any of that! We found out that the STATE absolutely Requires gutters and will fine you if you don't have them on new builds or any time you re roof, the inspekters show up and you get a 30 day fix-it ticket with hefty fine! We ended up doing the Leaf Guard which can be added to most existing gutter systems pretty easy, and it really does keep the gutters free of most debris, though with a composite roof, you do get the sand washed off and will have to get up there now and then to hose it out, but for keeping the larger stuff out, it really does work as advertised!

Outside of that, Hire a Kid, a $20 spot goes a long ways to a pre teen, or teen, especially if that teen likes to fish, or drives a Pickup!
I made a KILLIN as a kid, hired my self out all over the place, made Serious cash, enough to buy my first TWO Cars, buy gas, marry my sweetheart, and rent a nice place and keep food and beer in the fridge!

 

I have 375 gallon totes fed by my rainwater, so my vote is gutters.

Edit, Leafguard gutters

 

I think I spotted some of those rolled under gutters on a metal roof on my drive home. Will see what I can learn about them.

 

Gutters

 

House should not be built with roofs terminating over a door way.
Thought should be taken when designing a house for winter weather, and for solar power.
I have seen very few homes built with thought toward the future. People are too stupid.

 

We opted for no gutters. I don't think there is a gutter made that can handle to volume and velocity of the rain coming off our roof. Two foot overhangs keep it away from the slab.

Gotta look at your individual circumstance and make the best choice based on that.

 

I just bougt some gutter guards for a ladys house ,, I think they're called Shur-Flo ,, they have a screen built into them to help keep the leaves out. They come in 4 foot sections ,, for 6" gutters ,, the cost is about $ 1.40 per foot ,, plus tax . Should be a little cheaper for 4 and 5 inch gutters . They're not hard at all to install . I picked them up in Wilmington last week. Let me know if your interested , I can get ya their number . The Shur-Flo ones , you'd have to buy a whole box ,, they dont sell individual pieces . I can let ya know how many pcs are in a box tomorrow.
But I would definetly put gutters on your house.

 

If you don't have gutters this guy is out of a job

 

I have had gutter guard since 2004 and have not had to clean a gutter since. Occasionally (once a year) get up and run over the roof with a blower to clear and nooks and crannies but that’s it.

 

Brand or style? There are many variants in my parts ranging from screens to fancy drip edges.

 

I believe it is made here and called gutter shield. I have a tiled roof and the one I went with on the tile is a polymer mesh. Not sure what is available in the US.

 

Will gutter guards keep pine straw out --that"s my biggest gutter clogger