Afterthoughts

For a variety of reasons, gutters are often an afterthought. Sometimes a house is designed without gutters and they are added later (usually after a flooded basement). Often the designer just leaves it to the builder to choose the gutter and related details like downspout locations and end conditions. This is surprising as the gutters and downspouts are one of the most visible exterior trim elements. I have seen many beautifully detailed houses and buildings ruined with cheap and/or poorly conceived gutter details.

This is a carefully detailed house

The downspouts and elbows were clearly an afterthough

Let's stop ruining nice buildings with details like this!