Are Gutters Worth Investing In As a Homeowner?

Are you considering installing or replacing gutters on your home? A drainage system is most times overlooked, especially by newer homeowners. This leaves the question, are rain gutters worth investing in and just how much do they help your home?

Gutters are worth investing in because they can prevent wood rot, foundation damage, water damage, and avoid basement flooding. The cost of gutters is worth the investment as installation can prevent costly repairs. With the addition of gutter guards, your gutters will offer the highest amount of protection to your home.

The only time you might not need gutters is if you live in a desert with no basements and no rainwater. Gutters are pretty much essential everywhere else. Relatively speaking, they are very cheap for the amount of money they’ll save you on repairs.

The main purpose of a gutter is to redirect water from your foundation. Without them, you’ll find yourself with foundation issues after a few years, and the amount of money required to fix them will far outweigh anything you’d spend on quality gutters.

There are a few more benefits of gutters, which I’ll go over below:

Main Benefits Of Installing Rain Gutters:

Keep your eaves and exterior walls clean and healthy

Without gutters, water is going to splash dirt all over your walls, which will be ugly and very tedious to clean at best. At worst, it could cause water damage that can be expensive to fix.

Water intrusion is no joke, and if you have smaller eaves anywhere around your house (on a bump out, for example), then gutters can act as an extension of your eaves and help keep water off of your external walls and out of your home.

Minimizes Chance of Basement Flooding

Without gutters, all of the water is going to fall from your house to the foundation right next to your house. If you have a basement, this water is going to seep through your soil into your basement overtime. This can cause water damage and just generally be a nuisance (who wants their basement getting wet every time it rains?) If you have a basement in an area that gets rain, you need gutters.

If it doesn’t rain in your area and you don’t have a basement, then you may be fine without having gutters. However, if one and / or the other are true, then gutters are a no-brainer when it comes to protecting your home and its value.

Does a Gutter System Add Value To a Home?

Gutters do not add much to the value of a home. However, gutters (and gutter guards) are an attractive feature to buyers in areas that receive rain because they offer a lot of benefits.

In short, adding gutters may not add much to the resale value of a home, but they will prevent damage that will greatly decrease the resale value of a home. Homes without gutters are more likely to have water damage on their eaves, fascia, or exterior walls as well as foundation damage from the rain water eroding the soil around the home. As you can imagine, damage like this is going to turn off a lot of buyers.

So, without rain gutters your choices will be to try to find a buyer that will overlook the wall and potential foundation damage or fix the damage yourself, which can be very costly and eat into your bottom line. The best option is just to install gutters and prevent the damage from ever happening in the first place! It will be much cheaper and a lot less work in the long run.

How Much Should Rain Gutters Cost?

Rain gutters should usually cost about $10 per linear foot. How much gutters cost will depend a lot on your home’s location, the type of gutter you’re installing, its material, and the size of your house. This ends up costing $1,200 - 2,000 for installation but can sometimes run up to $5,000.

It’s hard to give an exact estimate on gutters because the prices vary so much. Some people will get gutters installed for as little as $3 per linear foot, while others will pay up to $20 per linear foot. Installing gutters is a very custom process, so what you pay may be wildly different from what someone else paid. Still, gutter installation isn’t a very high-skill process so most quotes should be pretty low, especially when considering the benefits of rain gutters.

It’s important to call around a few places and get a few different quotes. Keep in mind, though, big chain stores are likely going to quote more than smaller local businesses. You can always consider the DIY route, but most of the time a DIY home improvement project isn’t built to last. Many people do an okay job, but an okay job will start to come apart after a few years, while professionally installed gutters will last 10 to 20 years. 

Why Wouldn’t You Add Gutters To A Home?

You wouldn’t want gutters on a home if the home is not at any risk of water damage from rain. If it rarely rains where the home is located, and the rain is not heavy, then there is not much risk of water damage to the exterior walls or foundation damage from rain, so gutters wouldn’t be necessary.

There are only a few reasons to not get gutters (although, gutters won’t hurt even if they’re not necessary.) Gutters probably aren’t necessary if:

• Property is on a hill or has natural draining system

• You do not experience regular or heavy rain

• You have no basement and have eaves

• Home is surrounded by concrete

If you have an older home and it’s gone decades without any form of water damage, then there’s a good chance you don’t need gutters. You can have your home inspected just to ensure you haven’t gotten lucky, but it would be a pretty safe assumption to make.

With that being said, if it rains in your area, most of the time you’re going to want gutters. They’re a relatively cheap home improvement to perform onto your house, and without them you could end up paying a lot more for repairs down the line.

Pros And Cons Of Adding a Gutter System To A Home

Pros

• Quality gutter systems can last 20+ years

• Prevent standing water and fascia damages

• Gutters help keep the exterior walls clean

• Direct water away from your home's foundation

Cons

• Installation costs can be high in some areas and for some homes

• DIY gutters do not always hold up longer than a few years

• Gutters require cleaning and maintenance

While the cost of gutters can seem to be a burden, new gutters or a gutter replacement is a smart choice. The cost of putting in gutters is nothing compared to the cost of repairing your home's foundation damage or cleaning up a basement that gets soaked every time it rains.

If you do get gutters, it’s important to always maintain them and clean them, otherwise they can actually start to warp and cause damage to your walls as they pull away from the side of your home.

In the end, the pros far outweigh the cons of gutters when it comes to both time and money. Gutters are practically essential for the longevity of homes, and pay for themselves with the damage they prevent.

Are Gutter Guards Worth Investing With New Gutters?

If you're a pro-active homeowner and are looking for gutter protection, gutter guards are another great investment for you to consider. Not only do gutter guards keep your gutters clean, but they also help prevent birds or other pests from nesting.

Gutter guards come in a variety of styles and materials, so you’re sure to find an option that suits your budget and needs. If you’re feeling particularly handy, it may even be possible to install gutter guards yourself!

Once installed, gutter guards will protect your gutters from clogging due to leaves and other debris. This allows rainwater to continue draining away as normal and avoids any nasty overflows or clogged gutters. With no need for constant gutter cleaning, you can rest assured that your gutters are always working properly—saving you both time and energy.

Gutter guards also make a good investment due to their ability to prevent damage caused by things like hard rainstorms. By blocking water flow past the guard, these products help protect against water infiltration into basements or siding erosion on buildings. In freezing climates, the buildup of ice dams is also prevented thanks to these protective measures.

Overall, investing in gutter guards is an effective way for any homeowner to ensure their home stays safe from any damages caused by rainfall build-up or debris accumulation in their gutters—and save them plenty of time on regular maintenance too!