5 Reasons Garage Gutters Are Important
Does your detached garage need gutters? The answer is yes! At Heartland Garage Builders, gutters are included with every detached garage we build. Learn more about why gutters are such an important feature.
1 – Gutters Keep Water Away From Garage Entrances
Water likes to take the path of least resistance. Without gutters to channel water away from your windows, overhead garage doors or walk-through doors, water may accumulate near your garage openings and then flow into your new detached garage.
Once water is inside your garage, it can damage your vehicles, your tools, and any other possessions you have stored.
However, properly installed gutters and downspouts can capture water as it runs off your garage roof and direct it away from the building.
2 – Gutters and Downspouts Protect Your Garage Siding
Illinois receives an average of 48 inches of precipitation every year. In snowfall alone, the Chicagoland area receives approximately 38 inches annually. That’s a lot of water aimed at your garage.
If a gutter and downspout system isn’t installed on your garage then water will exit the roof by any means possible. Often this means the water will run directly down the side of your structure.
All of that moisture can find its way behind and underneath your siding and could lead to rotting or damaged siding. If the exterior siding covering your garage sustains too much water damage, it could eventually affect the integrity of the garage itself.
3 – Gutters Direct Water Away From Your Foundation Slab
The soil around your garage is ever-changing. Certain Illinois soil types, like clay, are sensitive to the amount of moisture in the ground.
An excessive amount of moisture can make soil swell and expand. During dry periods, the soil shrinks and contracts.
Your garage is built on a concrete slab. All that soil movement beneath can cause the concrete to crack and buckle.
Once the concrete has cracked, water will find its way into the crevices. As the water freezes – as happens during Illinois’ cold winters – the ice expands, making even larger cracks. Once spring arrives, the ice melts, leaving behind even larger spaces for water to enter.
A constant freezing-thaw cycle can turn hairline cracks in your garage foundation into large fissures.
Gutters help direct water and snowmelt away from your foundation, preventing unnecessary cracking.
4 – Gutters Help Protect Your Landscaping
Many of our customers like to plant landscaping around their new detached garage. Without gutters, water drips directly off the roofline onto your landscaping. That constant dripping causes a “drip line” which looks like a water trench on the ground directly beneath your garage roof.
That drip line of water can damage the aesthetics of your landscaping. In heavy rainfalls, the water deluge off your roof can also damage the plants themselves.
5 – Gutters Prevent That Irritating “Drip”
You know the feeling … you’re dashing through the rain to get to shelter, go under the doorway and get an icy cold drop of water down the back of your neck. It’s irritating and uncomfortable.
With gutters, the water is directed away from directly above your doorway. No need to worry about surprise drops of water ambushing your neckline.
All Heartland Garages Include Gutters
At Heartland Garage Builders, we know gutters and downspouts are an integral part of the garage design and are essential to the lifespan of your new garage. All of our garages are built with gutters and downspouts at no extra cost. It’s all part of The Heartland Way.
For more information or to learn more about the one-, two-, or three-car detached garages built by HGB, contact us today.
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