Do most put gutters on their pole barns

[Radix2]

For me the main criteria is tree cover. If you have a lot of tree above your roof height - no gutters.

I have a lot of trees and no gutters - with proper landscaping there is no issue on the ground. Shrubs, ground covers, stones, etc. have no problem handling typical roof run off. A little care is needed if water is funneled by valleys, but even that is no problem.

And any building needs a proper grade away - gutters or no gutters.

 

[rburke65]

The gutters are hung below the plane of the roof, so when the snow does slide, it doesn't take the gutters with it.

 

[lakeroadster]

The gutters are hung below the plane of the roof, so when the snow does slide, it doesn't take the gutters with it.

Opinions vary. The snow melts, ice dams form and then the snow unloads.

Snow trim will prevent that.

 

[Buckgnarly]

The gutters are hung below the plane of the roof, so when the snow does slide, it doesn't take the gutters with it.

This is what we deal with up here...no gutters survive...

 

[stm317]

This is what we deal with up here...no gutters survive...

Wouldn't snow trim prevent most of that? The section of metal roof that is visible in your pic doesn't have any.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Wouldn't snow trim prevent most of that? The section of metal roof that is visible in your pic doesn't have any.

Snow trim would keep it up there, (I am guessing you mean stoppers that prevent sliding off) which could be worse than it shedding. We average about 120" of snow, don't want too much up there especially when it rains in the early and late season.

 

[stm317]

It just keeps the snow from coming off in big sheets like the one you posted. The situation in your picture would definitely damage gutters, and could be dangerous to people below too. And it leaves a mountain of snow along the foundation of your building which can cause issues.

The roof sheds the snow when it starts to melt, and snow trim allows the snowmelt to run off while keeping most of the snow from falling off. We only get a fraction of the amount of snow that you see, so this is a very un-expert opinion, but I would think that a properly designed building should have no issues with the snow load, and allowing it to melt off gradually (and control where the water and snow go) might be preferable to just letting it come off the roof whenever, wherever, and however gravity dictates.

 

[GMCGarage]

I could not get a build permit with out first getting a Down Spout Permit. Sanitation Dept. and/or Soil and Water Conservation Dept. want to know where the water coming off my roof was going to go. It either had to go to a stream, a pond, to the drainage ditch by the road.....it cannot go to the ground!???? Otherwise I was required to dig a dry well and catch all the rain water. I have 5.3 acres and I have to dig a dry well? Was told this was because of new business and housing developments just dumping water and causing potential flooding. So, as we were trenching the drain pipe, and before we dug the well, the inspector showed, said forget the well, gave me the "Approved" sticker. I still had to have the gutters and down spouts. And no, if properly installed, the snow won't rip off the gutters.

Im not the smartest person, but if the structure was not there, wouldnt the rain go into the ground? I understand if you paved over your whole lot, the run off would goto your neighbors property, but rain directed into the ground is a good thing, where it can slowly drain to the ditches, rivers, etc.
Not 100% sure they have their thoughts right.

 

[GMCGarage]

For me the main criteria is tree cover. If you have a lot of tree above your roof height - no gutters.

I have a lot of trees and no gutters - with proper landscaping there is no issue on the ground. Shrubs, ground covers, stones, etc. have no problem handling typical roof run off. A little care is needed if water is funneled by valleys, but even that is no problem.

And any building needs a proper grade away - gutters or no gutters.

Its best not to have trees over a structure.

The worst thing for a building is water in the wrong place. Worst thing.

 

[Radix2]

Its best not to have trees over a structure.

The worst thing for a building is water in the wrong place. Worst thing.

Yes, but the comment was not about trees over the structure- it is about trees higher than the roof. My lot is full of mature trees 60-80 feet tall, the roofs are 20-30 feet up. Even set back a way from the building, a lot of leaves are going to find the roofs. Gutters are totally impractical imo.

I have neighbors that fight the mess of full gutters with money or their personal safety every year - they just don't seem to understand that gutters are only one option to handle the run-off. It also applies to roof pitch - you need about 8/12 or higher to avoid all that **** getting stuck up there vs being self shedding.

 

[JM6]

Reviving an old thread. I have a 48-36' pole shed with no gutters currently. I want to put gutters on one side that has my overhead doors on it as i'm tired of the ice mounds forming which can then redirect the water back towards my doors and can freeze them shut. I put a snow stop going into last winter and that helped as I didn't get big piles of snow but I still get some snow coming down and all the snow melt that then turns to rock hard ice. I'm in central MN and once I get a hard mound of ice it is pretty much there until spring.

I talked to a seamless guy and I'm on his schedule for late october. I then talked to a friend who runs a local lumberyard and he said I shouldn't put gutters on as he thinks they'll get ripped off from the snow, even with the snow stop. Seamless guy says he's put gutters on over a hundred pole sheds and can think of only 3 times where they've been ripped off from snow.

I'm leaning towards putting them on and telling the seamless guy to put extra fasteners in to help add strength. Also thinking of telling him to go w/ narrower gutters as my primary concern is snow melt which I would think would be coming down much slower than a hard rain and therefore wouldn't need such wide gutters. I'm ok if some rain in the summer overshoots the gutter and goes to the ground as I have 2' eaves and cement on one side and landscape rock on the back, both sloped away from the building.

I guess my main question is, should I go with a narrower gutter to help prevent the snow from ripping them off.

Thanks,

 

[Farmall450]

I'd have some put up. Don't want all that water near the bottom of the place. Also I'd put long drain extensions on the downspouts. Gutters are a lot cheaper than messing up the building.

Should be about 1,000. I'd probably go with aluminum.

Yup, tiled ours out 100'. Might tie into the field tile someday

 

[jonesg]

This is what we deal with up here...no gutters survive...

same here near katahdin in maine, depends where you live.
we get snow in nov and seems not a single flake melts until april, there is rarely a mid winter thaw.
Door location is critical, people get killed every year , often because they replaced shingles with a steel roof with no thought to where it was going to dump. A portico or mudroom gives entrance protection, like you have.

when we moved up here from Boston my wife wondered why our house has no gutters, I drove around our small town and showed her no houses have them. its all part of the initial design, most houses are raised, they have 4-5 steps up to the door, basements are only half below ground level. proper landscaping drains water away.

in Boston all the houses had gutters but they're packed in like sardines, a typical house here is on 1 acre.
Runoff goes into the ground, we don't have spring, its call mud season.

 

[mikedodge]

This is what we deal with up here...no gutters survive...

This is what we deal with also. My pole barn used to have gutters but they've long since been removed. If the snow doesn't come down it can be 3-4 feet deep by the end of the winter and anything to prevent it from coming down ends up causing ice dams.
I would be interested in putting gutters back up if one of the gutter guard type products allowed snow to slide down over it without damage and didn't cause damming. That's the problem gutters caused on our house.

 

[dcg9381]

Yes, do the gutters. a 2400 sqft building, I'd need to do the math again, but can put off 1-2 thousand gallons of water with an 1" of rain. In many cases, you've got to decide where to put that water.

No real ice/snow here.

 

[sz0k30]

I have 1 ft overhangs an the land slopes away, should I consider gutters ?
Will snow slide rip them off ? What would be a good guess for cost to do the two 40 ft sides with down spouts, 16 ft high walks

Depends if the pole barn is on the open with no trees anywhere it, why not? If its surrounded by trees, absolutely not.

 

[u2slow]

Setting the gutter height right, and gutter guards, lets the snow slide off my roof just fine.

 

[ycgoat]

I am saving for 80' of gutter and plan to use wrap around hangers for more weight capability. I can't say if it will be enough for your area

 

[Sumboodie]

I was going to but between the cost and high chance of snow ripping them off I,m not.
It's gravel anyhow. Doesn't get on the building much. 18" overhang.

 

[Sumboodie]

I also have 1 foot eaves and had 5-in guttering. I incorporated the downspouts into the french drain that is buried around the perimeter of the shop. I though about having snow guards installed , but haven't yet. (It's been about 4 years now).
I've driven around and checked out a lot of buildings. No one uses them unless the building is commercial per code.
It ran about $600 for 96' and 4-12' downspouts. No regrets or wash outs.


Cheers

Wow that's cheap.

I was quoted over 2kfor 42ft of gutter and 2 down spouts.

 

[marak]

We had 51" of snowfall in 11 days last season, with a total 2022/2023 snowfall of over 100". My detached garage has a 12:12 pitch roof with 3-tab shingles and no snow bars. Gutters have no leaf guard and sit about 1 inch below the plane of the roof. Spring of 2023 was the first time in 8 years that snow dumped off the roof. Gutters function perfectly and I have no issues with ice damming. I recommend gutters. I will be building snow bars this winter for installation next spring.

 

[mikedodge]

We had 51" of snowfall in 11 days last season, with a total 2022/2023 snowfall of over 100". My detached garage has a 12:12 pitch roof with 3-tab shingles and no snow bars. Gutters have no leaf guard and sit about 1 inch below the plane of the roof. Spring of 2023 was the first time in 8 years that snow dumped off the roof. Gutters function perfectly and I have no issues with ice damming. I recommend gutters. I will be building snow bars this winter for installation next spring.

Gutters are safe on a shingle roof. It's a regular occurrence for large amounts of snow to slide off metal roofs.

 

[racecougar]

Wow that's cheap.

I was quoted over 2kfor 42ft of gutter and 2 down spouts.

Granted, I had to help install, but I was all-in at $300 for two 62' seamless gutters with four oversized downspouts in late-2018. IIRC, I spent another $150 for aluminum gutter guards (which I installed).

 

[bb29510]

i dont even have gutters on my house

 

[Davefr]

IMHO gutters are some sadistic attempt to thin the population by trying to kill off the homeowner that has to maintain them on a slippery steep roof perimeter. It's bad enough they're on my home but I would never put them on my barn. In 30+ years I have yet to see what problem they would solve.

 

[bb29510]

i poured two foot of concrete all the way around my house and shop. for the rain water to hit and the wheel of the riding mower to run, no weedeating

 

[dcg9381]

I was going to but between the cost and high chance of snow ripping them off I,m not.
It's gravel anyhow. Doesn't get on the building much. 18" overhang.

Do "gutter guards" solve this issue in snow states? Seems like they'd give the ice/snow something to slide over.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Do "gutter guards" solve this issue in snow states? Seems like they'd give the ice/snow something to slide over.

I put gutter guards on my garage build, and the only time I get water over the gutter is when the guards are blinded by snow/ice in the winter. (12/12 shingled roof)

But with the proximity of trees, I had no choice.

My future shop build will have gutters.

 

[u2slow]

Do "gutter guards" solve this issue in snow states? Seems like they'd give the ice/snow something to slide over.

They work for me. These are the aluminum covers with small holes on them (like a collander). 12/6 metal roof.

 

[Higgins]

I have 1 ft overhangs an the land slopes away, should I consider gutters ?
Will snow slide rip them off ? What would be a good guess for cost to do the two 40 ft sides with down spouts, 16 ft high walks

Yup!!!

 

[BombShelter]

You always have owners that never have issues but the reality is if you live in the Midwest and get extreme temperature conditions along with lots of rain, you will eventually have foundation or grade issues without a proper drainage plan.

231 cubic inches = 1 gallon of water, 12" x 12" x 1" = 144 cubic inches. 1 inch of rain spread over a roof can be hundreds, if not thousands of gallons.

In my experience, gutter guards are mostly useless and I'm looking at them all day long, they might help with light debris but they tend to clog up bigly. Personally I'd put gutters up but sliding roof snow could be an issue, and I'd go with the wide version, otherwise they won't keep up with the big rains. Also consider using heat tape, it runs in the gutter, one the roof and down the downspout.

I would hire a seamless guy, the "homeowner" special tends to sag at the joints and never seems to be attached to the home as nice as a professional job. Never use the cheap plastic click systems unless you don't have seems, they're worthless after a few years and tend to be undersized. Gutter installs tend to be priced nicely, it's one of the jobs that it much better and only slightly more in cost then DIY.

 

[bb29510]

my area get more rainfall than anywhere in united states, i have no gutters

 

[97tj-neil]

I have never seen a shed with gutters, ever.

He is talking about a 40' long pole barn - that is no shed. And further, I have seen plenty of sheds with gutters. I have no idea what you are on about.

 

[WisJim]

I had gutters installed on my shop/garage (36 by 42 or so roof area on a 24 by 40 building) and we had a lot of heavy snow last winter, but no problems with the gutters. And I'm glad I have gutters as I collect rainwater in some 265 gallon totes plus 55 gallon drums, and the rainwater got our gardens through the drought this summer. I had asked the installer about snow damaging the gutters and he said that he had learned long ago how to position and fasten them so there was no problem. He's been doing gutters all his life, took over from his dad decades ago.