# Do I need gutters? > Do you need gutters in Kent? What 40 inches of rain a year does at the drip line, where a roof can go without gutters, and what gutters can and cannot protect. URL: https://guttersofkent.com/guide/do-i-need-gutters/ Gutters are not required on every roof edge, but in Kent's long wet season most houses benefit from them. Here is how to tell which edges need one and which can do without. Short answer In Kent, most houses benefit from gutters on most roof edges. The Kent station averages 40.09 inches of rain a year, mostly October through January, and without gutters that water falls in a line beside the foundation, splashes the siding and erodes the soil. Some edges can skip them: wide overhangs over open ground that slopes away. Key takeaways - Without gutters, every roof edge drops its water in a line along the drip line, often right beside the foundation. - Kent averages 40.09 inches of rain a year, with November through January the wettest months (NOAA normals). - Edges with wide overhangs, ground sloping away and nothing below to splash or erode can sometimes go without. - Gutters reduce roof water at the foundation and on the siding; they do not by themselves keep a basement dry. ## The short answer for a Kent house Most Kent houses benefit from gutters on most roof edges, because the area’s rain arrives as a long, steady season and a roof without gutters hands every drop of it to the ground right beside the house. [Gutters of Kent](https://guttersofkent.com/) installs [seamless gutters](https://guttersofkent.com/seamless-gutters/) across Kent and South King County, on homes, garages and commercial buildings, with the work done by licensed and insured contractors. Whether a particular edge needs one depends on what lies below it, and this guide walks through how to tell. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Kent station show 40.09 inches of precipitation a year. October averages 4.07 inches, November 6.23, December 5.75 and January 5.77, against 0.67 inches in July and 0.92 in August. The station records 96.7 days a year with at least a tenth of an inch of rain. That is a lot of water, and most of it arrives in four months. ## What happens to roof water without gutters A roof collects rain over its whole surface and releases it along its lower edges. Without gutters, each eave drops its water in a continuous line called the drip line. On a house with a short overhang, that line falls within a foot or two of the wall, and in heavy rain it lands as a curtain. Three things follow: - **Erosion along the drip line.** Falling water digs a shallow trench in bare soil or bark and kicks the soil outward. Over a wet season the trench deepens, and plants under the eave get flattened or washed out. - **Splash-back onto the siding.** Drops hitting the ground throw mud and water back up the lowest course of siding, the trim boards and the bottom of door frames. Wood and fiber-cement near the ground stay wet for longer after each rain, and paint fails first along that strip. - **Water at the foundation.** Where the ground slopes toward the house, or the drip line falls on a walkway that drains back, the water collects against the foundation. A 1,000-square-foot roof plane drains roughly 620 gallons for every inch of rain that falls on it, and with no gutter, all of that arrives at the wall. Gutters change where that water goes. They gather it at the roof edge and move it to a few outlets, where [downspouts](https://guttersofkent.com/downspouts/) carry it down the wall and away from the foundation. What they do not do is fix the ground. A gutter system reduces the roof water reaching the foundation, but it cannot promise a dry basement, because groundwater, grading and the foundation itself all play a part. The [guide to gutters and basement water](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/do-gutters-prevent-basement-water/) covers that limit honestly. ## Where a roof can skip gutters Not every edge needs a gutter. An edge is a reasonable candidate to leave bare when most of these are true: - The overhang is wide, so the drip line falls well clear of the wall. - The ground below slopes away from the house and stays open, such as lawn or planting rather than a patio or path. - Nothing below needs protecting from splash: no door, window well, deck stairs or low siding. - The soil takes water readily rather than puddling. - The edge is short, such as a small porch roof or a bay window, and sheds little water. Kent’s geography pushes against some of those conditions. On the flat Green River valley floor, water that lands short of the house has little slope to carry it away, and the valley’s shallow groundwater, which the City of Kent’s critical areas information describes as an aquifer recharged by direct infiltration, can keep the ground near saturation through winter. On West Hill, where City of Kent mapping shows 13.8% of the area on landslide-hazard soils, the concern turns around: concentrating roof water in one place near a slope needs care, and the King County manual Kent adopts does not allow simple splash-block dispersion near steep slopes or landslide hazards without geotechnical approval. Neither fact describes a particular lot. They are reasons to look closely at what is below each edge. ## Garages, sheds and outbuildings A detached garage or shed raises the same question on a smaller scale. A short roof over open ground may do fine without gutters. A garage roof that drips onto the driveway apron, a walkway, the door you use in the rain, or a neighbor’s fence line is a better candidate. So is any outbuilding where water splashing onto wood siding or a sill plate near the ground would rot it. [Garage and shed gutters](https://guttersofkent.com/garage-and-shed-gutters/) covers the scope for outbuildings, including where a short run can discharge. ## When gutters are clearly the right call Gutters belong on an edge when the drip line falls over an entry, steps, a patio or a deck; when the ground slopes toward the house; when a basement or crawlspace wall sits right under the eave; when a valley sends concentrated water to one corner; and when the lowest siding or trim already shows splash staining or soft paint. On new homes, Kent’s residential site plan checklist asks the plans to show how roof downspout water will be handled. [New construction gutters](https://guttersofkent.com/new-construction-gutters/) covers that coordination. ## Where the collected water can go Putting gutters on a house moves the water problem to the downspout outlets, so the plan has to include where each one lets go. Kent City Code 7.04.180 bars roof runoff from the sanitary sewer. Under the King County manual Kent adopts, a splash block may disperse water from no more than 700 square feet of roof, with a vegetated flowpath of at least 50 feet. Building or changing a buried storm drainage connection needs a permit under KCC 7.05.070. The [guide to where downspouts should drain](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/where-should-downspouts-drain/) explains the choices, and [downspout extensions](https://guttersofkent.com/downspout-extensions/) covers carrying water clear of the house above ground. ## What it costs to add gutters For 5-inch seamless aluminum, installed, plan on a typical Seattle-area range of about $8 to $13 per linear foot. Standard aluminum downspouts carry a national budgeting range of about $30 to $75 per downspout; taller runs, copper and buried connections cost more. These are budgeting figures, not quotes, and the [Kent gutter installation cost guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/gutter-installation-cost-kent/) covers the other drivers. ## A sensible next step Walk the house in a steady rain and look at each edge: where the water lands, what it hits and where it goes next. Edges dropping water onto paths, siding or the foundation are the ones to start with. The [gutter size guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/what-size-gutters-do-i-need/) helps with the next decision, and you can [Get an Estimate](https://guttersofkent.com/contact/) when you want the house walked. Questions about your own house? Call [(253) 352-5321](tel:+12533525321) or get an estimate. ## More questions on this topic ### Is it a code requirement to have gutters on a house in Kent? The Kent rules that apply here address where collected roof water goes, not whether a house has gutters: Kent City Code keeps it out of the sanitary sewer, and building or changing a storm drainage connection needs a city permit. New homes are planned with a drainage approach for the roof, so check the approved site plan on new construction and confirm current requirements with the City of Kent Permit Center. ### Can I put gutters on only part of my house? Yes. Gutters are planned edge by edge, and it is common sense to put them where the roof drops water over an entry, a walkway, a patio, a deck or a foundation wall, and to leave them off a short edge over open, well-drained ground. The edges that get gutters still need outlets and downspouts that carry the water somewhere it is allowed to go. ### What happens if a house has no gutters for years? The damage builds slowly. A trench forms along the drip line, soil splashes onto the lowest siding and trim, and wood near the ground stays wet longer after every rain. Where the ground slopes toward the house, the water collects at the foundation. The longer it continues, the more the fix involves trim, grading or drainage as well as gutters. ## Keep reading [How gutters and downspouts work on a Kent house Read the guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/gutters-and-downspouts-guide/)[How much does gutter installation cost in Kent, WA? Read the guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/gutter-installation-cost-kent/)[What size gutters do I need? Read the guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/what-size-gutters-do-i-need/)[Seamless vs sectional gutters Read the guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/seamless-vs-sectional-gutters/)[What is the correct slope for gutters? Read the guide](https://guttersofkent.com/guide/gutter-slope/)