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cpacker

Where are the gutters here?

cpacker
9 years ago

How is roof runoff handled in this building? I don't
see any gutters or downspouts, but there's no overhang, either.
I'm considering roof runoff options for house I'm
planning to build in the woods. I'd like to avoid using
gutters. (Here's a link to the context
in a NY Times article about the building shown, which is a
biology field station: http://tinyurl.com/m6rudu6 )

Comments (7)

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    We built on a slope, so we have gutters on the front of the house to protect the foundation, but none on the back where the ground slopes away. We are glad we did that as DH only has to get the ladder up one story in the front to clean gutters...the back is up over 2 stories high and I wouldn't want him up there doing that.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    9 years ago

    Across the nearest side, there aren't gutters, there is a gravel bed that you can just see, probably with a buried drain of some kind. However, this building is less than a year old, and on the front right you can see darker wood near the ground level, which IME would be from water splashing back up against the building as it hits the gravel. I wonder what this will look like and whether there will be rot issues a few years down the road.

    In the article they reference a generous roof overhang in the lab area but I didn't look through the photos to see it.

  • virgilcarter
    9 years ago

    That's the challenge with "modern" style of architecture--all of the decoration, even utilitarian elements like gutters and downspouts, are removed in favor of as "pure" a form as possible.

    As nhbabs describes, without gutters and downspouts, the next best way to drain water away from the foundations with modern design is to place drain tile in a gravel bed along the perimeter foundations. How well this works depends entirely on the workmanship used for installation.

    Good luck on your project!

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    I think if I wanted this look I would have the eaves designed with box gutters.

  • robin0919
    9 years ago

    If the grade around the house is done correctly, you really don't need gutters. Of course there are exceptions like, building on a mountain side. My gutters are a PITA!

  • cpacker
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    nhbabs, I think the "roof overhang" mentioned in the
    article must have meant a section of the second story
    that overhangs on the other side of the building.
    Anyway, I wonder if some building codes might prohibit
    letting roof runoff fall so close to a building. No
    problem, I think a generous overhang might actually
    look nicer.

  • sochi
    9 years ago

    On our very slightly sloped roof there is a drain in the middle of the roof that takes the water from the roof and drains it down and out through piping.

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