No gutters . . . a defect?

Gutters are not a requirement.

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Thomas, you can recommend gutters if you believe it would help but they don’t have to install them…at least around here.

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If there is a benefit of having something, I recommend the upgrade. In this case, if it will help keep water out of the basement/crawlspace or away from the foundation, I recommend it.

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I just call it out as an improvement to consider.

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where are You located ? lots of areas don’t use gutters…In those pictures it looks like the house is surrounded by stone…If I see damaged siding from splashing water or water intrusion in a basement or crawl, I would recommend gutters. Otherwise it wouldn’t make it to my report.

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In some locations, gutters are a bigger problem than they are good.

If you do not see an adverse issue, I see no reason at all to make any kind of recommendation.

This is what you can expect when reporting what does not need reporting.

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James: North Florida, and I did not see evidence of moisture intrusion from splashing water near the foundation or on the masonry or siding areas.

Consensus seems to be in this case is at most a recommendation, not a defect.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the insight and advice very much.

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Did you bother to search the past MB posts?
There are a ton of discussions about gutter systems, such as this one…

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I cant imagine why You would bother with them in the Land of Sand…

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Nah, @jjonas. Past posts are usually filled with long threads of silly follow-up comments. The best thing to do is what @tnovak4 just did. It’s best to make a new post for a new question that’s important to you. That’s the great value of the forum. Good post. Good follow-up comments that address that post.

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Seems like kind of a regional thing more than a hard requirement. I’ve done most of my inspecting in Oregon where I definitely call out missing gutters as a problem/defect due to the impact on crawl space/basement water entry and foundation settlement. I’m now in Maui and most houses don’t have gutters or just partials at the front entry to keep water off people entering/exiting. After years in Oregon the lack of gutters here always catches my eye. I guess water runs through lava quicker than mucky clay soil.

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So Ben …are You saying the search forum is useless?..then why do we have it ??? just sayin…

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Glad you have such high regard for the “silly” member comments. I find a forum search very helpful before I start asking the same question for the hundredth time. Often the solution is right there and I do not have to wait for a collection of responses.

I agree with @jjonas . The search feature is helpful and fast.

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I believe Ben just told us the search feature is useless…note taken…

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Well, if you type in the @ symbol and a letter behind it, you could search through the thousands of members here in no specific order, except the 1st letter. Sounds like something for a rainy day, nothing else to do before you tap a nap, kinda thing to use.

And to try and keep it on topic, I only recommend gutters when needed.

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Nearly. I have found that there’s about a dozen folks who pound upon inspectors who ask questions, even if the question has been asked before. Which in my viewpoint is silly. The point of this forum is for anyone and everyone to ask question that need to be asked, and for providing thoughtful answers, advice, and guidance (even if the response has been repeated before). Just my humble opinion.

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You make my point, @bcawhern1. Sarcasm is a bit rampant on the forum, and it doesn’t convey very well through text. And I see a lot of humor and sarcastic remarks in response to valid good questions from members who are seeking insightful thoughtful help. I think the forum should work as “iron sharpens iron” where one member sharpens and influences another through discussion.

But, again, I think Thomas’s original post is a good one.

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well then why don’t we remove the search option as it is as you say a waste of time…

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@jjonas directly referenced your really good post about gutters and gave helpful information about the using the search feature.

And for some reason you contradicted him.
At that point this post became silly.

So Nah, I disagree with you. So be it.

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Every good inspector has to learn how to find useful answers and information, without just asking for the answer to be given.

Searching through a product manual or install guide or building codes require reading through a lot of unrelated data to find what you need. And along the way you learn a great deal more than originally planned, and you will retain it too.

So there’s a place for each method, but the 1st choice should be the manual research phase.

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