How to Decide If Gutters Are Right for Your Pole Barn
When planning your pole building, it can be difficult to envision which accessories will make the biggest practical difference in your overall experience.
Gutters are one addition that might be overlooked in the initial design period, but that can greatly improve your satisfaction with your pole barn when the time comes. When trying to decide whether or not gutters are for you, consider these pros and cons.
Cons of Adding Gutters
In all reality, there aren’t really downsides to adding gutters from a practical standpoint, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things that might make you think twice about including them on your building.
Gutters will increase the cost of your building.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest downside to gutters is simply their cost. Gutters will cost about $15.75 per linear foot, and if you opt to include gutters, you’ll also have to add snow rake (which prevents snow from sliding off of your roof)—otherwise, your gutters could simply be torn off. Snow rake costs about $63 per 10 foot piece.
It’s important to note that adding gutters is most cost effective while your building is being constructed rather than after the fact.
Pros of Adding Gutters
There are a couple of main reasons that adding gutters to your pole building can be a positive move:
They prevent splash back.
There’s no way to avoid it: at some point during your building’s lifespan, you’ll have to deal with inclement weather. Adding gutters prevents back splash on your building, which means less damage potential and less concern over the exterior looking dirty.
They route water to the right place.
Rather than simply allowing water to pool at the base of your building or an inconvenient place on your property (which can potentially lead to erosion), adding gutters ensures that the water ends up somewhere with proper drainage.
Tips for Deciding If You Should Include Gutters on Your Pole Barn
With these pros and cons in mind, here are a few simple tips for figuring out if gutters are the right move for you.
Think about the weather in your area.
Will your building experience a fair amount of precipitation, or do you live in an abnormally dry climate? If you get quite a bit of wet weather, then gutters may be worth the investment.
Go over your budget.
As we mentioned above, the only real downside to adding gutters to your pole building is the cost. If your budget for your building is extremely tight, you might not feel like you have the wiggle room to include gutters. Remember to take a look at our post about how much pole buildings cost to help you outline a rough initial budget.
Consider your long-term goals for your building.
Regardless of how you plan to use it, a pole barn is a big investment that you probably want to keep in great condition for as long as possible. If you intend to spend a decent amount of time in your building and you hope to enjoy it for many years to come, then adding gutters is a relatively inexpensive way to keep your building looking and performing its best.
Now that you have a better idea of why you might or might not want to include gutters in your pole building plans, contact us to discuss bringing your vision for your building to life!