Do I need gutters, and why?
What happens without them
- Erosion at the drip line. Water falling off the eave digs a trench in the soil along the house. In Georgia red clay that trench fills with water and drains slowly, right against the foundation.
- Foundation and crawl space moisture. Saturated soil pushes water toward basement walls and keeps crawl spaces damp, which feeds mold, wood rot and musty air. Damp soil next to the house also attracts subterranean termites, which are common across the state.
- Splash-back. Rain bouncing off the ground throws red mud onto brick, siding and windows, and keeps the bottom of wood siding and door trim wet.
- Rotted trim. Without a gutter and drip edge, water wicks back along the fascia and soffit, the boards that end up soft and peeling first on many houses.
- Wet entries. Doors, stoops and walkways under an eave get a curtain of water in every storm.
Why it matters more here
Georgia gets intense warm-season thunderstorms that can drop an inch or more of rain in a short burst, and much of the state sits on clay that sheds water sideways rather than absorbing it. Sloped lots, common across North Georgia, can steer that runoff straight at a basement wall.
What a working system looks like
Gutters sized to the roof, a downspout roughly every 30 to 40 feet of gutter, and extensions or underground drains that release the water well away from the foundation. For houses on problem soils, the International Residential Code calls for roof drainage to discharge at least 5 feet from the foundation, a sensible target for any home. Size and layout are covered in gutter sizing and seamless gutters, and the parts of the roof edge are explained in roof anatomy explained.