Hi Everyone
Just did an inspection on an attached townhome and for some reason the whole row of houses at the rear does not have any gutters installed. I am only inspecting the one house at the end (It’s a pre-listing inspection for the seller).
Do I write this up as missing gutters or since it was built this way and the whole row of houses is the same, do I leave it out.
Here are some photos.
Yes, right it up. And, what is that flashing below the window? Controlling water that sheets down the sides? I would dial in to what happens to water inside the window well. Also, those shingles used as cladding are going to blow off due to lack of adhesion. Shingles were likely not designed for this application.
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Thanks Brian,
Yea, I think I’ll write it up and let it be and yea, shingles are not meant for siding - thats why it looks the way it does and from what i’m told the building is less than 10 years old. Oh well.
Best Regards.
That roof is considered a “Mansard roof” in my neck of the woods. Gutters should be installed at the bottom of the mansard shingles.
Cheers
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Gutters are not required by code, so instead of writing it up as no gutters are installed, which would insinuate that it is a defect in the eyes of a layman, you should write-up the consequences of not having them instead.
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^^^^^^^ Exactly!
The only time they are required by code is when expansive soils are present. At that point roof runoff must be taken 5’ or more away from the structure.
Thanks Guys. That makes sense.
Appreciate it.
Could be! But I believe a mansard would have some slope. Looking at the window well, I did not think it was a mansard but I certainly could be wrong! The HI needs to make that determination. @mcyr is spot on with the narrative IMO.
What a horrible design. Looks ugly and there will be an excessive amount of water hitting the little deck/patio area they have. Why would a builder even do that!!! Make it right FFS.
Marcel: Gutters are required in my area.
Hope you are well.
Cheers
Hi Doug, I failed to see that the OP was from Canada, but there are other issues with the pictures that need to be addressed.
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I would say - recommend gutters
In my area they are optional (desert). However I have a canned statement for when they are not installed, explaining that “…in our area they may be considered an option”, Followed by a “however” if I need to modify it Or make special recommendations depending on what I see at the individual house as potential problems. It might be visual damage, or staining at the bottom of the stucco clad walls where water has splashed up, Or I may look at the home and see valleys that are going to be dumping much water all in one spot. Basically I tailor how I report on gutters and downspouts depending on the individual home. Some of the biggest problems we see around here are downspouts that don’t carry the water away from the foundation and therefore dumping Water all in one spot When the downspouts are not extended.
Although exterior features and structure are typically HOA responsibility, the individual owners of the townhomes make up that association. If, like in this case, the siding looks like it will have to be redone prematurely the HOA is likely to add an extra assessment to pay for it. So on top of whatever HOA fees they owners are paying they will have to pony up more for a period of time. For this reason, I include glaring issues in my reports solely as a “courtesy only and such items or issues should not be construed as having been fully inspected”.