To Gutter Or Not To Gutter? Scott Hunt

To Gutter
Or
Not To Gutter?
To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Typically, gutters don't look very aweinspiring.
However, they're about as important to
your home as the roof over your head.
Unfortunately, because costs associated with building
new construction homes are rising, and profit margins are
declining, the fat is being whittled down.
Yet, are some home builders cutting back on the meat
as well as the fat?
 Do builders have a justifiable motive for not installing
rain gutters on the homes they construct?
 Moreover, what are the unfavorable effects that a
homeowner suffers from not having rain gutters?
 Or more importantly, what are the abrogating effects
homeowner’s experience from a poor rain gutter
installation?
 Or, is it simply better not to have rain gutters at all?
To find out the answers to these questions, and more,
let’s sit in on a roundtable discussion moderated by Paula
L Hunt, and consisting of 17 year Rain Gutter Industry
veteran Scott Hunt of The Finest In Rain Gutters.com,
Lawrence Villarreal of AVCO Construction and
Foundation, Steve Carroll of Cariola Homes, and
homeowners Donald Lee of San Bulverde, TX, and Diana
Blount of San Antonio, TX.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Q. Let’s start by establishing the purpose of a rain
gutter system. Mr. Hunt?
Scott Hunt: The main purpose of a rain gutter system
is to safely collect and channel all of the roof water away
from the foundation of the home, to prevent cracks and
breakage due to expansion and contraction of soil.
Secondary purposes include prevention of wood rot,
masonry staining, and damage to landscaping.
Q. Mr. Villareal, as a foundation expert, could you tell
us exactly what causes foundation damage to
homes built in this specific area, South Central
Texas?
Lawrence Villarreal:
Many people are moving
to this area from out of
state and they don’t
realize that here, in
Texas, we have what is
called “highly expansive
clay soil.”
This means that when moisture levels change there is a
high degree of expansion in the soil around the
foundation when moist, and shrinkage when soils dry.
It’s imperative to maintain and monitor the level of
moisture around the foundation of a home to prevent
damage.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Q. Mr. Villareal, looking back at all the foundation
repairs your company has done, do you believe
rain gutters would have made a difference in these
cases?
Lawrence
Villarreal:
Yes,
absolutely, as long as the gutters are
installed correctly. I have seen rain
gutters installed improperly that have
caused more damage than having no
gutters at all.
You have to make sure there are no
downspouts draining to areas where the
grade slopes back toward the home’s
foundation. Grade should always slope
away from the foundation.
Q. Why do you think that some builders are not
putting gutters on the homes they build, Mr.
Hunt?
Scott Hunt:
Two reasons: To cut costs, and to avoid
warranty work that results from improperly designed or poorly
installed systems.
The profit margin in home building has gotten very tight. Builders
are looking for ways to cut cost and gutters are viewed by some
builders as an extra. The general attitude is that gutters are
unnecessary. This is a very risky thing to believe when you
consider the importance of the home’s foundation. Years down the
road, hind sight is 20/20 for the homeowner, who’s facing tens of
thousands of dollars in foundation repairs. This largely results
from not having gutters, or even simply from having the wrong
company install the system. My goal is not really to run down
other gutter companies, but if you are not hanging good product, I
want you to quit. Because you are giving a bad name to an
industry that I have dedicated my life to.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Q. Can an installation really go that wrong?
Scott Hunt:
Anybody can buy a gutter machine. Anybody
can run up a ladder and stick a piece of gutter on a house. I can
teach a monkey how to do that. It doesn’t mean the system is
going to work correctly for you. It doesn’t mean it’s going to help
your home. A lot of gutter companies out there will put anything
up, using the cheapest labor and materials possible. They seem
to be more interested in the profit than in doing a good job. That's
bad business. The sad thing is that the homeowner ultimately
suffers in that scenario, not the builder, and certainly not the gutter
company. It’s experience, experience, experience. That’s who
you’re going to get a good rain gutter system out of, an
experienced, reputable company!
Q. What are some of the things that can happen?
Scott Hunt:
Well, putting
spouts on inside corners or near
valleys is a bad mistake because
the whole purpose of a rain gutter
system is to get the water OUT of
those areas, not to dump it into
them.
Other kinds of mistakes that I see are leaky corners, gutters being
hung too low on the fascia, the wrong size of gutters for the type
of roof, inadequate down-spouting [all of which cause wood rot to
your fascia], hangers too far apart or cheap hangers, not enough
caulk, [these are common ways a company can “cheat” to bring
down its cost] or the wrong method of installation for the individual
application. The list goes on and on. Just drive down any street
in San Antonio and look at the gutter systems and see for yourself.
If you will just take a look, you will start seeing what’s wrong.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Q. Mr. Carroll, as a custom home builder,
homeowners are depending on your expertise. Do
you put rain gutter systems on the homes you
build? Why, or why not?
Steve Carroll: I install rain gutters on my houses. Some say
the homeowner can do this later, but once they move in, they can't
afford it. So they wait. The price goes up, and they still can’t
afford it. The price is only going to go up. I believe in building
homes where the home-owner doesn’t have to do anything once
they move in. It’s all done.
All they have to worry about is moving in.
Q. Mrs. Blount (homeowner), did you have rain
gutters put on your home when it was built?
My builder didn’t
tell me I needed rain gutters. We
built our home, then went overseas
for a few years and rented it out.
When we came back, we had to
replace the siding and all the window
trim because of water damage.
Diana Blount:
Our remodeler told us we needed rain gutters. The builder never
mentioned it.
Q. Mr. Lee (homeowner), you recently had your
foundation leveled. How much did this cost?
Don Lee: Around $19,000.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
Q. What was the main cause of the damage to your
home?
Mr. Lee: The previous owner had put up
his own rain gutters and put two
downspouts in an inside corner by the
garage.
There was no diversion of water, he just put
all the water in one area. I would have been
better off if he had done nothing at all. I’m
sure it was cheap, but you know, you get
what you pay for.
R. If you could go back to when your home was built,
would you leave rain gutters off of your home, or
have them put on?
Don Lee: I would have them done by a
professional, someone with 15-20 years
experience or so. I mean, you could take
the lowest bid, but how did the guy get that
low? What is he leaving off that I need?
I get a better feeling if I know it’s done right
the first time and I don’t have to worry about
it.
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To Gutter Or Not To Gutter?
“To Gutter or Not To Gutter?”
I think this is a legitimate question with an obvious answer.
And although I certainly understand the hesitation of a builder or homeowner
who’s had a bad experience, avoiding gutters altogether is not the
answer. The answer is to do your homework and research the companies
you use, in all areas of subcontracting. Builders that have had a bad
experience with a roofing job do not leave the roofs off of their homes.
That would be ridiculous. It is equally ridiculous to not protect the home’s
foundation.
While bottom line and profit margin are understandably important,
shouldn’t the long term protection of the homeowner’s investment be
even more important?
A Fact Worth Mentioning: We were unable to gain comments from any
builder who does not include gutter systems on the homes they build.
Sources:
Scott Hunt of ATRG, LLC , “The Finest In Rain Gutters.”
210-313-9732
atrg_llc@yahoo.com
www.TheFinestInRainGutters.com
Lawrence Villarreal of AVCO Construction and
Foundation Company
210-737-3826 “Over 40 Years Experience!”
Steve Carroll of Cariola Homes
210-304-9248
Donald Lee, Homeowner, Bulverde, Texas
Diana Blount, Homeowner, San Antonio, Texas
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