The charm of this photo is in what you don’t see. Instead of metal gutters that run around the house, the beauty of the roofline and natural cedar trim are showcased. When we design a new home, we often eliminate gutters by using below grade perforated pipe around the perimeter of the house. This system collects the rainwater that comes off the roof and carries it to a discharge on the site or to a storage tank for irrigation. To make this work, the roof should be designed with generous overhangs and the grade above the drains should be covered with pervious decorative stone.

Rain from the shed roof is moved away from the house by underground piping laid beneath the decorative stone

The benefits of this approach are twofold. Aesthetically, using below grade drains instead of gutters is far more attractive and it also eliminates the cost of installing and maintaining gutters.