# What are rain gutters for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145 "2004-04-26T21:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/21 "2004-04-27T16:27:01Z")
I saw this in action just two days ago. My father had put up a building on a hill side. When he built it, he had about a three foot edge on the back side of the building before the hill dropped off. But he neglected to put up a gutter. It’s now only five years later and already the runoff from the roof has completely eroded the hill side away to the point where the ledge of the hillside is now beneath the building at some points. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/22 "2004-04-28T18:30:08Z")
> [@rimshotgdansk](#): > > Wolverines travel in _packs_?! > > I did not know that . . . I knew it. As soon as I wrote that I knew someone would jump one it. I let it go though as it got the point across. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/23 "2004-04-28T18:54:31Z")
> [@rimshotgdansk](#): > > Wolverines travel in _packs_?! Of course they do, [Six Packs!](http://www.mi-brew.com/breweries/W/wolverine/mi-241c/Labels/wolverine-red-label.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/24 "2004-04-28T19:04:54Z")
I’ll see your pine needles and raise you some helecopters off of maple trees. If you wait long enough to clean your gutters, you can actually have little maple trees growing in them. I know. I’ve seen it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/25 "2004-04-28T19:06:03Z")
helicopters, of course… :wally ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/26 "2004-04-28T22:53:32Z")
> [@rimshotgdansk](#): > > Wolverines travel in _packs_?! If you’re travelling with your wolverine, it should be securely packed, of course. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/27 "2004-04-28T23:22:32Z")
Oh Oh Oh Oh, I’ve always wanted to be the leader of the pack. Even though I didn’t get in before Mr Blue Sky and why does he need gutters anyway? BTW you can get guttagaurds for wayyyyyy less than what the guys on tv advertise, thousands less. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/28 "2004-04-28T23:23:01Z")
Oh Oh Oh Oh, I’ve always wanted to be the leader of the pack. Even though I didn’t get in before Mr Blue Sky and why does he need gutters anyway? BTW you can get guttaguards for wayyyyyy less than what the guys on tv advertise, thousands less. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/29 "2004-04-29T03:26:39Z")
Their real purpose is to give squirrels a platform to stand on while they chew their way into the attic. I’d like to find the clown who installed the gutters on my house without aluminum fascia. I had to remove 3 adult squirrels and 6 baby squirrels. Some of whom ended up down my chimney. ---
**Author:** ![Dancing\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Dancing\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancing_Fool)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/30 "2004-04-29T11:25:07Z")
Aside from preventing the runnoff eroding the area around your roof (which by the way around here seems to be called _guttering_ - why they name it after what you don’t have I’m not sure) we have gutters to collect the rainwater and direct it to the water tanks. So we’ve got something to drink later. If you’re really upclass you might have a filter to throw away the first few litres so you wash the roof a bit first. For those of you who don’t need to do this, I’ve seen a gutter replacement system that is designed to break up the water flow and spray it away from the house, so it doesn’t trench the ground. It’s also supposed to be easy to clean or self cleaning, as well as handle snow and ice better. Seemed like a waste of water to me, though. And I’m not likely to run into the snow problem here. DancingFool ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/31 "2004-04-29T12:02:05Z")
My apartment building didn’t have a gutter for part of last summer. The problem there was that there was no overhang on the roof. So when it rained a sheet of water ran down the side of the building. In the middle of this sheet was sombody’s window. Sometimes it was really hot so he had his window open and then it started raining and an incredible ammount of water got in his apartment. Even with the windo closed water got in though. Oh yeah, his apartment was right above mine so the water came into my bedroom after being filtered by his floor. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145/32 "2004-04-29T14:30:14Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Lamar Mundane:_ > That is why the downspouts have the curve at the bottom (and often an extension) to send the collected water away from the house. I find this confusing; do you not collect any run-off from your roof into gullies placed at the bottom of downpipes and then distribute this into a storm sewer system or a soakaway? You just let it run off the side of the building, causing pooling and ponding around the perimeter? Is this at all common? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mangetout:_ > One of the purposes of gutters here (UK) is (actually, was) to collect rainwater and deliver it to the sewers to keep them flowing, but I believe this isn’t the case any more and modern houses are expected to have their own soakaway arrangements for rainwater. Quite correct; you cannot now run a storm water gully into a mains foul line (or a septic tank arrangement) - both are now considered two completely separate systems. The _Water Service_ is trying hard to do away with all runs of combined sewers. BTW, it isn’t necessary to put a storm water soakaway in for all new houses, only for those which cannot be easily connected to the mains storm system (generally in rural areas). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Dancing Fool:_ > we have gutters to collect the rainwater and direct it to the water tanks. So we’ve got something to drink later. This is a joke, right? There are many systems that can collect rainwater for future use (\*greywater recycling \* it is called here). But they are all for non-potable water uses - flushing toilets and the like. Certainly not for consumption. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rain-gutters-for/242145.md?page=1)