No, not every side of a house needs gutters. Gutters belong on the eaves, the level edges where rain runs off the roof, and only where that water would land somewhere it can do damage. On most Sioux Falls houses that means the eaves above the basement walls, the doors and the walks. The sloped gable ends never need them, which is why so many houses have gutters on the front and back only.
What the code actually says
Less than people expect, with one local wrinkle. The residential code Sioux Falls enforces requires a controlled way of getting roof water at least 5 feet from the foundation only in areas where expansive or collapsible soils are known to exist. Everywhere else, gutters are not a code requirement, and a house without them has not failed an inspection.
The wrinkle is the soil. The federal soil survey for Minnehaha County rates the shrink-swell potential of the main upland soils around Sioux Falls, the Egan, Wentworth, Trent, Moody and Nora series, as moderate, meaning the soil changes volume by 3 to 6 percent between dry and wet. The survey says plainly that moderate to very high shrink-swell can damage buildings and that special design is often needed. The Chancellor soils in the low drainageways rate high. Whether the city treats that as expansive soil for the purpose of the roof drainage rule is not written down anywhere public, so on a lot-by-lot basis the honest answer is to ask Building Services. The physical reason behind the rule applies here either way: clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry is exactly the soil you do not want roof water soaking next to a basement wall.
What the code does require everywhere is grading. The soil has to fall at least 6 inches in the first 10 feet from the foundation. Gutters and grading do the same job from two directions: one keeps the water from landing next to the house, the other moves it away when it does.
Edge by edge
| Roof edge | Gutter? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An eave above a basement wall | Yes | Roof water landing a foot from the foundation is the most common cause of a wet basement corner |
| An eave over a door, walk, stoop or driveway | Yes | Drip becomes ice in winter, and nobody wants a curtain of water at the front door |
| An eave over a deck or patio | Usually | Splashback stains and wears the surface, and water pools against the house |
| An eave over a window well | Yes | The well fills from above and empties into the basement |
| A short eave over lawn that slopes away, no basement below | Optional | The ground can take it, as long as nothing sits under the drip line |
| A gable end (the sloped side of the roof) | No | Rain runs along a rake edge, not off it |
Why front and back only is often fine
On a simple gable roof, two sides slope down to level eaves and two sides are the triangular gable ends. Rain runs down the slopes and off the eaves. On the gable ends it runs along the edge rather than off it, so there is nothing to catch. A house with gutters on the two eaves is complete.
Hip roofs are different. A hip roof slopes down on all four sides, so every side has an eave and every side sheds water. Partial gutters on a hip roof usually mean somebody left a side off, not that it was never needed.
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What happens on the sides without them
Go look at the ground under an eave with no gutter after a few rains. The signs are easy to read: a shallow trench worn in the soil or mulch along the drip line, dirt splashed up the siding or the foundation, and, inside, a damp stripe on the basement wall under that eave.
A 600 square foot roof plane sheds about 375 gallons in a one-inch rain. Without a gutter, all of it falls in a line about a foot from the wall. On a side with a good slope, a wide overhang and no basement wall below, the ground can handle that. On a side over a basement it is the usual reason the basement gets wet.
New houses without gutters
Some houses are finished and sold without gutters, and unless the city applies the soil exception to that lot, the inspection passes. That is not a defect, but it is a job waiting to be done, and it is worth budgeting for in the first year.
New construction has one extra reason to act sooner: backfill against a new foundation settles for years. Soil that sloped away at the final walkthrough can end up sloping back toward the house, and the gutters and downspouts are what stop the roof water from following it.
Doing it in stages
If the whole house is not in the budget, start with the eaves that matter most: above the basement walls, over the entrances and walks, and over any deck or window well. The rest can follow. Doing it in one visit usually costs less per foot, because the crew only sets up once, but staging is a perfectly sound plan. New seamless aluminum runs about $12 to $18 a foot installed here, and what a whole house comes to depends mostly on the length of the eaves.
Wherever gutters go, the downspouts decide whether they work. A gutter that catches everything and drops it beside the foundation has only moved the problem to the corner.
What to ask someone to check
- Which eaves shed water toward the basement walls, doors, walks and window wells
- Which way the ground slopes along each side, and whether it has settled
- Signs of splash and erosion under the eaves without gutters
- Any damp patches on the basement walls, and which eave they sit under
- Where each new downspout would discharge
Questions about which edges need gutters
Does every side of a house need gutters?
No. Gutters belong on the eaves, the edges where roof water runs off, and only where that water would land somewhere it can do damage. The sloped gable ends of a roof never need them.
Are gutters required by code in Sioux Falls?
Not as a general rule. The code only requires controlled roof drainage where expansive or collapsible soils are known to exist. The county soil survey rates most upland soils around Sioux Falls as moderate shrink-swell, so ask Building Services whether the rule applies to your lot. The grading rule, 6 inches of fall in the first 10 feet, applies everywhere.
Why does my house only have gutters on the front and back?
Because on a simple gable roof those are the only two edges that shed water. The other two sides are sloped rakes, and rain runs along them rather than off them.
Is a new house without gutters a red flag?
Not by itself. Some houses are sold without gutters and a code inspection will not require them. It is worth a proper look before closing at how the yard slopes and whether the basement shows any water, and it is a reasonable thing to budget for.
Can I add gutters in stages?
Yes. Start with the eaves over the basement walls, the entrances and any deck, then do the rest. It usually costs less per foot in one visit, but staging is fine if the budget needs it.
Do I need gutters if my yard already slopes away?
Maybe not on that side, if the overhang is wide, there is no basement wall beneath it, and nothing you walk on sits under the eave. A good slope helps, but it does not stop roof water splashing the foundation or wearing a trench in the soil.
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Tell us about the job, with a note of which sides of the house have gutters now, and a local gutter contractor will call, text or email to set up a visit. The quote is free.
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