Gutters in cold climates? (Jim Thorpe: mover, buying a home, crawl space)

[KatWag]

We are buying a home outside Jim Thorpe. Home inspection found moisture issues in the crawl space. No gutters. Inspector recommends installing immediately. Seller says builder recommended against it due to ice.

We priced the heated gutter product. Almost 5k total.

Wondering what most folks do? I saw that most of the homes have gutters. Is roof damage from ice dams a common problem? Are most folks just swallowing hard and paying the extra for heated gutters?

Thanks!

[ki0eh]

Gutters are very common and heated gutters uncommon in PA. Ice dams do occur but generally water damage from the precipitation that occurs most of the time is a greater concern. Either this home is of some unusual construction or something is fishy here with the seller and "builder".

[PAhippo]

never even heard of heated gutters. All being as it should, regular gutters are fine.

[weluvpa]

How old is the roof? How many roofs are on the house?

Water lying around the base of your home and against the foundation is not good in any aspect, if you choose to not use gutters then you better landscape and pitch the ground away from the foundation for better water management.

If the roof is old or there are multiple roofs on the home then if gutters are installed, ice dams will be a problem because there is most likely NO ice n water layered on the roof under the shingles for the first 3 ft of the roof.

When I do roofs I put one course of ice and water around the perimeter of the whole roof, across the eves and even up the rise.....Better to be safe then sorry.

You can really manage the water coming off the roof with landscaping and the right amount of pitch away from the home with the ground surrounding the base of the home, that might be difficult, so gutters might be the best bet.

[KatWag]

The house was built in 2000, Weluvpa. One roof. It is a cape cod style colonial.

Thanks,

K

[weluvpa]

Should have ice n water under the roof then. Check your landscaping around the house and see what the land from the foundation out about 6ft is like and what the pitch is like....

If its not pitched away from the foundation the it needs to be, vegetation will help to absorb water and control it, but the pitch is the most important.

[frank754]

As soon as it snows, sweep off the snow from the last 2-3' closest to the eaves. The ice dam problem comes from when the snow melts on the roof over where the heat escapes up from the house, but at the edge near the eaves the temps never get warm enough the melt the snow, and then it backs up under the shingles. I never heard of heated gutters either. Better yet just screw on a metal galvanized roof, it's not that hard, and seal the seams the last few feet. In the warmer weather, you do need gutters, or it can get under the house, that's a no-brainer. Find the downhill slope and angle them that way, plus put in several feet of surface drainpipes to get it away from the house. In the winter, keep the ground clear of snow near the house perimeter.

[KatWag]

Thanks everyone,

K

[fisheye]

KatWag,

Here is the link for a 17 foot Ames roof rake at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoors-garden-center-garden-tools-rakes/ames-17-ft-snow-roof-rake-146986.html

Whether or not you have gutters; roof rakes can help. Like frank754 said - remove the last two or three foot of snow from the edge of you roof. With the roof rake; you don’t have to climb on your roof. It is very easy to pull off the last few feet of snow. That way the sun heats up the roof over your unheated eaves and will eventually melt all the snow and ice off your roof. Pulling snow off your roof is a lot safer than shoveling it off - you don’t have to climb when it is slippery. The only problem with the roof rake is that you can take a good snow bath!

After you live here for a while you get the hang of it. You don’t have to remover every snow. Sometimes they predict warm ups immediately after the snow fall. However; if we have a heavy snowfall and we get rain and then freezing temperatures - many will have problems with ice dams and water damage. It pays to learn this cycle and how to prevent problems. I have the Weather Guard up six feet and I still have had some problems - if I don’t use my roof rake.

[KatWag]

Thanks, Fisheye. I will definitely order this.