Gutters for a New Home

[Michael 61]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

[Babubhat]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

Reduces foundation damage and gets water away from it. Should be included by builder on all new homes

[Bill14564]

Gutters were recommended to me by the irrigation people. Their claim was the dirt and material carried off the roof could hurt the shrubs that the water fell on. My shrubs grow so quickly that I don't need them any healthier.

My thought is I spend a lot of money trying to spread water throughout my lawn so why would I take a free source of water and carry it away from my lawn?

[GpaVader]

The issue tends to be over time when you see trenches from where the water comes off the roof. While looking for our home one thing I noticed in the existing homes were the trenches around the house for those that did not have gutters. The further North you got, the deeper the trenches. That might be a lawn care issue. Sometimes the issue isn't the frequency of rain but how heavy it tends to be from time to time as well.

[villagetinker]

10 years no trenches, looking into removing the few gutters we have.

[Papa_lecki]

I ony have gutters over the area to the door. No gutters on the side or over garage - no trenches, landscaping is fine.
Not even on my top 20 list of things to add to the house

[Michael G.]

I couldn't believe when I first moved here to see gutter less houses.
There's really no need from them, the homes are built on concrete slaps, no basements to flood, and with no gutters, nothing to clean out.:eclipsee_gold_cup:

[Battlebasset]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

I didn't have gutters on the side of my house that was over my concrete area between my house and my neighbor. I got tired of the water pouring off and making a mess so I spent $535 to have 60 foot+ of gutter put in. Two downspouts, one on each end. In front it waters the front yard, and in the back, some of the back yard. One of the better things I have done.

[rjm1cc]

10 years no gutters and no problem. I racked the mulch back from the house about a foot and the run off of rain from the house makes only a small impression. I though of putting in some stones from the big box stores (or putting the mulch back) but I am too lazy and see no need for it.
Since you do not have a basement I would skip the gutters, or at least go a couple of years and reevaluate.

[Altavia]

We only added gutters to prevent water on concrete areas to prevent staining.

[BernieJr]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.
Alamo Gutters
Jeremy
(352) 427-9086

[Djean1981]

It's optional. We had to add gutters to the back of our house. There was an area, where the lanai met the house, where the downpour was wearing away the patio concrete.

[retiredguy123]

Note that there are 2 reasons why fewer houses in the South have gutters than in the North. Most houses are single story, and the roof line extends about 2 feet beyond the exterior wall. Not true in the North.

[bowlingal]

get the gutters as soon as possible, before the rainy season. A lot of people use Stipes for installation. But, call now because they are booked up a few months in advance

[Battlebasset]

get the gutters as soon as possible, before the rainy season. A lot of people use Stipes for installation. But, call now because they are booked up a few months in advance

Whatever you do, don't use Lowes. They quoted $1800 for a job that I had done for $535. Crazy.

[Kasolnic]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

I installed gutters on my house shortly after purchase. My neighbor, however, did not, and the dirt around my AC unit, eroded, causing a large trench. Thankfully, the neighbor chose to install gutters, and I have had no further issues since. I am happy for the people who have had no issues without gutters. But my personal experience demonstrates that there is occasionally a need.

[GmaLisaG]

Larry's gutters did ours.. I'm from Florida and would not have a home without them

[Nucky]

I would do it because it gives the house a bit of a more finished look. Since there are no major league trees around it is not going to be a maintenance issue until I’m not around. I would and will do it immediately because it isn’t going to get cheaper as the years pass. I also like to do improvements that I will enjoy. Not improvements for the next owner. Do it. Put them on now. That’s my vote.

[lordbuffington]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

We added gutters after a couple of months being here only because the dripping off the back of the house caused excess splatter and mess on the lanai and screen. The gutters have stopped that from happening so we’re happy with that.

[sallyg]

We installed gutters as homes are quite close and the drainage is not good during our summer downpours. Unfortunately our neighbor did not, and the run off his roof floods our side yard every time it rains.

[HoosierPa]

Larry's gutters did ours.. I'm from Florida and would not have a home without them

Larry’s Gutters did mine yesterday and did a great job at a great price

[Regorp]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

Without gutters we had rust discoloration on our concrete patio/driveway and flooding into our Topaz lanai during monsoon season, so Stipes installed gutters, no more problems. Well worth the $900.

[joelfmi]

The issue tends to be over time when you see trenches from where the water comes off the roof. While looking for our home one thing I noticed in the existing homes were the trenches around the house for those that did not have gutters. The further North you got, the deeper the trenches. That might be a lawn care issue. Sometimes the issue isn't the frequency of rain but how heavy it tends to be from time to time as well. insist on proper leader and gutters. Their looking for the cheap way out of this.

[Wondering]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.
If your house is on a slab floor put the gutters on. I put them on my first house here in 2005 because I am from NY. Never had a problem. Didn't put them on my second house here, 2009 because I thought the rain water would be good for the shrubs around the house. But what happens is the rain water gets into the slab. The concrete slab acts as sponge. Didn't realize until I put wood floors in the bedrooms and the installer took a moisture reading to determine the correct adhesive for the flooring. Also saw grout lines in the exterior bathroom floor were always "wet" looking. Put gutters on and problem went away!

[Nucky]

Just wondering does anyone know if this improvement needs ARC approval? Hmmm, would rather know now then later.

Don’t want to call ARC because I don’t have the house yet. Want to know from other owners.

[Ohiogirl]

Note that there are 2 reasons why fewer houses in the South have gutters than in the North. Most houses are single story, and the roof line extends about 2 feet beyond the exterior wall. Not true in the North.

I would say the main reason is that most houses in the south have no basement.


It also depends on where the rain runs off your house. On my neighbor's house, which has no gutters except the minimal the builder puts in, the rain runs down their lanai screen in a sheet, pooling on the lanai sometimes. And it floods our side patio (from their roof without butters) and takes a while to drain away. We are glad we have a small stoop outside our dining room sliders and lanai door to give us some elevation there.

[westernrider75]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

We added gutters to help water both the front and back yard in our courtyard villa. Without gutters, when we first bought, all that water just watered the area immediately next to the house where we have rock.

[photo1902]

Just wondering does anyone know if this improvement needs ARC approval? Hmmm, would rather know now then later.

Don’t want to call ARC because I don’t have the house yet. Want to know from other owners.

ARC approval is not needed

[darkim]

I’ve noticed a few new home owners on my street have already had gutters installed, others have not. Is this something I should get on right away, or is this an optional thing. I’ve only been in my home four weeks. Thanks.

Stains! Eventually you'll begin to see brown staining on the concrete. Typically the Developer should've mentioned that during your Closing Walk-Through. Most people will only gutter over concrete patios and driveways.

[Battlebasset]

Stains! Eventually you'll begin to see brown staining on the concrete. Typically the Developer should've mentioned that during your Closing Walk-Through. Most people will only gutter over concrete patios and driveways.

Agree! Water pouring on to the concrete was making a mess, and over time it would erode the concrete. This stops that. Also makes it easier to put such things as a small storage box/closet next to the house. Doesn't dump water on it, and the overhang is increased to further provide protection from rain.

[MrChip72]

Our original gutters that came with our house that was built last spring were minimal. We had water stains and algae on our back concrete pad where there were no gutters. Also the back of our lanai had ground that was constantly saturated in water during the summer rainy season.

In the front we had a downspout that let water drain across the concrete path of our front entrance leaving a perpetual water rust stain and a wet walkway long after the rain had stopped. This wasn't something that we wanted to deal with continuously so we called Stipes and they had gutters all around the house and all the downspouts better locations. In and out in probably less than 2 hours.

[villagetinker]

OP, this has been discussed several times in past threads, I would suggest reviewing these, I really do not want to repeat my concerns about drainage and other concerns associated with gutters, IF not properly installed and the resulting water properly drained.