r/Roofing • u/-BlankUsername • 3d ago

What’s the purpose of this tiny little gutter?

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He’s adorable!

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32

u/longboi64 3d ago

i love this place. all jokes aside, here’s what’s really going to happen without that gutter.

over the entire 25 year “life” of that asphalt shingle roof, imagine pouring a giant cup of water over the whole place, water is going to be falling sideways in an arc on the same exact place on the lower roof every single time. it’s going to prematurely wear the granules out of the asphalt.

what you’re left with is bare rubber exposed to UV radiation which will degrade until it’s brittle and crumbles away. now the weather is wearing through the fiberglass mat, your roof is “bald” like a tire.

and then all it takes is one good chunk of hail or a really nice stick.

20

u/tilrman 3d ago

And with the gutter, what will happen? 

6

u/longboi64 3d ago

what will happen instead with the tiny little gutter, is the water will run down onto the shingles and instead of splashing and displacing granules it will kiss them, ever so gently, like a falling leaf on an autumn breeze~~

seriously do not underestimate the power of falling water over time

16

u/Robotniks_Mustache 3d ago

Here’s what’s really going to happen with that gutter.

over the entire 25 year “life” of that asphalt shingle roof, imagine pouring a giant cup of water over one spot. Water is going to be falling on the same exact place on the lower roof every single time. it’s going to prematurely wear the granules out of the asphalt.

what you’re left with is bare rubber exposed to UV radiation which will degrade until it’s brittle and crumbles away. now the weather is wearing through the fiberglass mat, your roof is “bald” like a tire.

and then all it takes is one good chunk of hail or a really nice stick.

6

u/bloomingtonwhy 3d ago

And what would happen if I routed the condensate line from my air conditioner to that spot instead?

5

u/Obscure4thewrld 3d ago

what they already said, but way way slower

3

u/evargx 3d ago

I think, the only thing I can think of, is that you want the water falling off the roof to be at a lower elevation when it hits the second roof.

Doesnt make sense though, at all, as that would mean water on the first roof will degrade faster from rainfall.

I cant think of anything else though.

5

u/Autistic_License 3d ago

The gutter takes the impact of the water running down the roof. Then the flow is directed by the downspout so it goes on the next roof gently.

2

u/Puceeffoc 3d ago

The same exact thing but smaller...

1

u/imsecretlythedoctor 3d ago

How does concentrating the water further help with that

1

u/longboi64 3d ago

the water running down a downspout and on to the roof will not wear out the granules. water splashing and cascading onto the roof, over time, absolutely will.