Slab homes are a fairly common choice for homeowners, no matter their location and social standing. On top of being visually pleasing, slab homes give a sense of stability that’s very appealing in a living space. This has led many people to believe that a home with a slab foundation can stay upright without a rain guttering system in place, but do slab homes need gutters? If you’re thinking “I should check with a rain gutter installer near me, before ruling out the option”, you’re on the right track. The truth is that slab homes are in fact not immune to the gradual damage that is so common in a rainy environment, and this turns rain gutters into an important long-term investment.
Slab Homes and Rain Gutters
When we talk about slab homes, we refer to houses built on a slab foundation. A slab foundation is meant to sustain a home’s weight and improve a building’s drainage system, while also serving as a sort of cushion that leaves no space below the floor for pests to crawl through. To fulfill these purposes, slab foundations are generally 4″–6″ thick in the center and 24″ around the edges. They are generally made of concrete but can be built with other materials in areas prone to freezing temperatures.
Since slab foundations are placed directly on the ground and leave no crawlspace in between, these types of homes have no basement that could risk flooding during the rainy season.
So does your slab foundation home need gutters? The short answer is a resounding yes. Rain gutters have many other purposes, for one, and slabs homes are no less vulnerable to damage. A slab foundation on its own will do nothing to prevent flooding, corrosion, soil erosion, and other types of structural problems. A proper rain guttering system is the most effective way to protect slab foundations and save you money down the line. The rain gutters would catch the water rolling from the roofs before it reaches your foundations and redirect it away from your home’s premises. There’d be fewer chances for cracks to form because the water would get no way of pooling around your foundations and your soil.
Slab Foundation Issues
Most of the problems you will encounter usually become evident through cracks in your slab foundation. Without seamless rain gutters, there’s nothing to stop the rainwater from pooling around your house and wearing down its foundations, causing cracks and eventually rotting the concrete as it absorbs all the water. Summing things up, foundation damage can occur from any of the following reasons:
Water eating away the concrete: This is the most obvious cause of cracks in your foundations. The water accumulated during each rainstorm will cause moisture buildup around your foundations and gradually wear them down, prompting the appearance of cracks.
Soil erosion: One thing that both slab foundations and basements have in common is that they’re both build from the ground level, and the lack of gutters will affect the ground bellow and around them in equal measure. As more water seeps into the soil, the ground will grow softer and less stable. In turn, your foundations will become uneven, to the point of causing a potential collapse.
Expansion and contraction: These result from combining the moisture caused by rainwater with high temperatures that are bound to expand your foundations until they crack. The thermal expansion will affect the integrity of your foundations as a whole. While you can’t prevent the temperature variations in your soil, you can keep the dampness away from your foundations after redirecting the water to a safe area.
After the cracks begin to show, all the problems mentioned above will become all the more apparent because there’ll be fewer barriers preventing the water from seeping into your foundations. At this point, even after setting up a rain guttering system, you’ll need to perform repairs on the foundations themselves to avoid damage coming to other parts of your home.
Slab foundations provide various benefits in terms of functionality and affordability, but many of their signature features are also what makes them so prone to cracking when there’s no rain guttering system in place.
Rain gutters are the best way to protect your foundations and prevent major structural damage. A professional gutter installation service from Gutter Boyz of Kentucky will make your gutters fit your home’s layout and keep your foundations (as well as your sidings and soil) safe through all types of weather changes.
For more information or to request a FREE ESTIMATE, give Gutter Boyz of Kentucky a call at (270) 906-3055 or CLICK HERE to contact us today! Gutter Boyz of Kentucky is pleased to serve all of Paducah, KY and the surrounding counties in Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois.