Are Gutters Required By Code

Gutters are not required by the international residential code irc or the residential edition of the florida building code fbc with two exceptions.

Are gutters required by code.

Plumbing codes typically use the vertically projected roof. Downspouts and gutters are sized in relation to rainfall on this basis. They are generally not required by law on a sloping roof and many modern homes omit them even in instances where they are beneficial. On the other hand section r405 1 does require foundation drainage and provides fairly elaborate direction due to the importance of keeping basements dry.

Sunday august 23 2020. Chapter 8 code of miami dade county requires that roof slope drains gutters crickets and overflow scupper calculations appear on the framing plans. Drive around any neighborhood in san diego los angeles riverside or orange county and you are going to see some homes that have full gutter systems some that have partial gutters and some with no gutters at all. Gutters and downspouts are not required in dry b climates as shown in the iecc climate zone map 2009 iecc figure 301 1 and table 301 1.

2 if the home has a footing and foundation wall not a thickened edge concrete slab foundation like most newer homes and is in an area that has expansive clay or collapsible soils. From my cursory knowledge of building code gutters are never explicitly required although r 801 3 requires some controlled method of drainage 5 ft from the foundation walls or to an approved drainage system. Do southern california homes need rain gutters. Rain gutters are the most controversial type of gutter.

1 if the roof overhang eave is less than 6 inches. Section r903 4 prescribes drainage requirements only for those roofs that do not drain over roof edges traditional pitched roofs do not need gutters and downspouts to satisfy code. International energy conservation code iecc climate regions.