Grade Level Drainage on a Pompey Property
There is a published alternative to gutters in cold climates, and on a property with land around it, it is worth hearing before you buy metal.
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Deciding where a bed makes more sense than a channel
Pick the runs, do not pick the house. A long south-facing eave with good access and a downspout that works has no reason to change. The candidates are the short, shaded, awkward lengths that ice up every winter, the runs over an entrance where falling water and ice are a nuisance, and the stretches where a ladder is genuinely difficult. For each of those the question is whether there is somewhere for a bed and a lined trench to take the water, which on most properties in this town there is. The arrangement then needs no clearing, cannot sag and does not hang off a fascia board.
Choose it run by run
This is a per-eave decision, not a whole-house one. Runs that work stay, and the awkward ones become candidates.
Confirm the water has somewhere to go
A lined trench needs a fall to a discharge point, a dry well or approved location. Without that it is a soakaway against your foundation.
Protect the wall from splashback
The guidance calls for it specifically. A rock bed that throws water back at the siding has traded one problem for another.
What the guidance says about gutters in a cold climate
The Town of Pompey has 2,901 housing units of which 94.1 percent are single-family detached, the highest share of any town on this site, with 1.9 percent mobile homes, only 0.3 percent in two-unit buildings and owner occupancy of 97.1 percent, also the highest. 23.5 percent of the housing was built in 1939 or earlier and 49.8 percent in 1980 or later, with almost nothing in between.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 year structure built, B25035 median year structure built, B25024 units in structure and B25003 tenure, accessed 2026-09-14
The Department of Energy guide states that in cold climates gutters will freeze and should be avoided, and that grade-level drainage systems should be installed instead: a rock bed around the house over a lined trench with a drain pipe carrying water to a finished grade at least 5 feet from the foundation, a dry well or another approved location, with the house protected from splashback.
Source: US Department of Energy, Building America Solution Center, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, accessed 2026-09-14
In the Town of Pompey the median year of construction is 1980. Of 2,901 housing units, 23.5 percent were built in 1939 or earlier, 25.7 percent before 1950, 50.2 percent before 1980 and 49.8 percent in 1980 or later. 94.1 percent are single-family detached and 97.1 percent of occupied units are owner occupied.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 year structure built, B25035 median year structure built, B25024 units in structure and B25003 tenure, accessed 2026-09-14
What gutters and drainage involves
The option that needs space, and Pompey has it
Most houses cannot do this and many here can. Federal guidance states that in cold climates gutters will freeze and recommends grade-level drainage instead: a rock bed around the house over a lined trench with a drain pipe carrying water to finished grade at least 5 feet from the foundation, to a dry well or another approved location, with the building protected from splashback. The guidance is written for new construction and we treat it as a per-run retrofit option rather than a reason to strip working gutters off a house. Pompey is the place it actually comes up, since 94.1 percent of the town's 2,901 homes are single-family detached with land around them.
Tell us which runs give you trouble
And how much room there is around them. We arrange an insured contractor who considers both options honestly.
Drainage questions from Pompey homeowners
Is taking the gutters off really a serious suggestion?
On selected runs, on a property with the room to drain at grade, it is a documented alternative rather than a shortcut. On a house with working channels and good discharge it is not worth doing. We raise it because it is in the federal guidance and because on larger lots it is genuinely practical, not because it saves anybody effort.
What about the water coming off a roof with no gutter over a door?
That is exactly the place to keep one. An entrance, a walkway or anywhere people stand is where the channel is earning its keep, and taking water away from that point matters more than anywhere else on the building. The grade-level option suits the far corners of a house rather than the front step.
Choose the right answer for each eave
Send the Pompey address and where the water causes problems. No obligation, and it may not be a gutter you need.