Installing gutters on a house make sense, but do you really need gutters on a detached garage? Whether the garage is built on a concrete slab or is supported by a full foundation, adding gutters to a garage’s roof does the same thing they do on your home – direct water safely away from the foundation.
Type of Garage
Backyard buildings, including garages, often serve a variety of purposes. When a garage is multi-purpose, it’s an even more compelling reason to install a gutter system. Today, many one-car and two-car garages include a combination of features such as garden tool storage, attached workshop, and loft storage. Properly channeling rainwater from the roof to the ground will protect not just your vehicle but your other possessions and projects kept inside the garage.
Location of Garage
Where the garage is located is a deciding factor when thinking about installing gutters on a detached garage. Without aluminum gutters or vinyl gutters, water pours off the roof from all sides. If the garage is close to your home, water from the garage roof could seep into the basement. The same applies to a garage without gutters that is near a patio, deck, fire pit or sidewalk.
Water Coming Down
Without gutters, when it rains, you might have to walk through a curtain of water when entering or leaving the garage. Depending on the fit and/or condition of the garage door, water not channeled through a gutter system might leak underneath the door and into the garage. This could especially be problematic if the roof slopes toward rather than away from the garage door.
Landscaping
If there are no gutters on a garage, the water exits directly onto the ground. Over time, this can seriously erode the soil around the building’s perimeter. You will be able to see it as a “trench” or deep depression. Soil erosion can make the concrete slab or garage foundation unstable and vulnerable to cracking, sinking or shifting.
Damage to Siding
Installing gutters on a garage prevents damage to siding. No matter what type of siding it is – wood siding, vinyl siding, cedar shingles – when water is allowed to go wherever it wants it can cause irreparable damage. Should moisture get in behind siding panels or cedar shingles, it can invite mold growth or insect infestation. Where siding is close to the ground, splash back can ruin its finish (discoloration, peeling, bubbling, etc.).
