It’s hard to believe, but we’re still seeing buildings designed and built without gutters. Take a look at this two-and-a-half-year-old building—already riddled with water damage at the base, peeling paint, and mold buildup. The cause? No gutters.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Across the country, buildings suffer from avoidable damage because gutters were left out of the plan. Whether in snowy regions, coastal environments with heavy rain, or drier high-desert areas, water is a relentless force. Without a system to direct it away from your building, it will find ways to wreak havoc.
Many builders skip gutters because of budget constraints or bad experiences with cheap, failure-prone systems. They think they’re saving a few bucks, but what they’re really doing is setting the stage for costly repairs down the road.
What Happens When You Skip Gutters?
Gutters aren’t just for decoration—they’re essential for keeping buildings dry and structurally sound. Without gutters, water from rain, snowmelt, and even heavy dew has nowhere to go but down your walls and around your foundation. Here’s what happens:
- Foundation Damage – Repeated water exposure at the base of your building weakens the foundation, leading to cracks, uneven settling, and expensive repairs.
- Exterior Deterioration – Water running down the exterior strips away paint, encourages wood rot, and damages siding or cladding.
- Mold and Mildew – Moisture buildup creates the perfect environment for mold, leading to potential health risks and costly remediation.
- Erosion and Landscape Damage – Water rushing off a roof without gutters can erode soil, damage landscaping, and flood basements.
Why This Happens Everywhere
This problem isn’t limited to wet regions like the Pacific Northwest or New England. In fact, it’s common in drier climates like the Southwest, where water damage often goes unnoticed until it’s too late. Snowmelt in cold regions is equally deceptive—water might seem harmless at first, but freeze-thaw cycles push moisture into cracks and expand them, causing long-term damage.
In coastal areas, salt-laden rain speeds up the deterioration process even more. Every climate has its own water-related challenges, but the solution is universal: properly planned and engineered gutters.
This building is only two and a half years old and located in a high desert area. STILL, behold the damage no gutters can cause!
Gutters: A Small Investment That Saves Big
The idea of skipping gutters often comes from builders who have dealt with poorly designed systems in the past. Cheap gutters rip off under snow loads, clog easily, and fail when they’re needed most. But avoiding gutters altogether is the most expensive mistake of all.
The solution isn’t to avoid gutters but to use durable, high-performance systems like our European Half Round Gutters that can handle your local climate. Well-built gutters won’t just protect your building—they’ll last for decades with minimal maintenance.
Planning for the Future
If you’re designing a new building or considering a renovation, don’t overlook the importance of gutters. A properly designed gutter system is a small investment compared to the cost of foundation repairs, mold remediation, or repainting.
At Spengler Industries, we’ve seen firsthand how proper water management makes the difference between a building that lasts a lifetime and one that needs costly repairs after just a few years. We work with architects, builders, and owners to ensure their projects are built to endure, offering custom solutions for even the most challenging environments.