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GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS
Does your house have gutters?
If not, how can you tell whether or not your house would benefit
from having a gutter-and-downspout system? Here are some
conditions your home inspector will be checking for. Any one of
these conditions could indicate that you should install a
gutter-and-downspout system. There is little or no roof eave
overhang. There are roof valleys discharging concentrated roof
eave runoff onto the ground. The ground surface does not slope
away from the foundation walls. The soil around the perimeter of
the house is not well drained gravel, sand, or crushed stone. The
grade clearance to the sill is less than eight inches. There are
plantings growing in contact with or very close to the house
exterior.
Of course, a gutter and downspout system requires ongoing
maintenance. If there are tree branches hanging over the roof
surfaces, the gutters will fill up with leaves and should be
checked and cleaned fairly regularly in order to keep them
working properly. This is especially important if the downspouts
drain into a system of underground drainage pipes. I have seen
some homeowners disconnect the downspouts from the underground
pipes and install an elbow and extension instead. Downspout
connections and extensions should be maintained. In the spring,
the gutter-and-downspout system should be checked for ice damage
and repaired.
It is not unusual to find a partial gutter-and-downspout system
installed on eaves above exterior doors and exterior decks. These
partial systems are usually installed more for the occupants than
for the house.
Here are some of the needed repairs I have found on houses that
should have had gutters and did not or on houses with gutters
needing cleaning and repairs. On houses with no roof eave
overhang, for example, I have found paint peeling and flaking
from the exterior. Because the house exterior is so close to the
roof eave drip line, water can sheet down over the exterior
wetting the exterior siding and trim. Roof eave runoff also
splashes up from the ground onto the siding at sill level. After
a few years, this constant exposure to water can rot the fascia
trom, siding, window and door trim, and even the sheathing,
studs, and sill underneath.
On houses with a close grade clearance and negative grade
sloping toward the house, I have found rotten siding, sheathing,
sills, and even floor boards and floor joists.
On houses with roof valleys concentrating roof eave runoff onto
the ground alongside foundation walls and/or negative grade, I
have found foundation walls damaged by soil frost action. Soil
frost action is a powerful force that can push foundation walls
in several inches, cracking poured concrete and rearranging old
stone and brick foundations. It is very important to have soil
frost action foundation wall damage inspected by a home
inspector. If it is severe or ongoing damage, your home inspector
is likely to recommend that you have a licensed structural
engineer make further investigations.
Where one side of a house faces an uphill slope, i. e., negative
grade, it is a good idea to install gutters and a shallow
exterior drainage system in crushed stone.
In addtion to the drainage of roof runoff, the drainage system
for the foundation footing is another important part of the
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