Roof overhang or no?

[eggman]

I do not run gutters, so let's get that out of way.. I'm building a new house and I'm debating on having overhangs on the roof. Reason being, I have problems with splashback on the sides of my existing buildings where I do have 1ft ovehangs..

Thoughts?

[MountainDon]

I vote for eve overhang. 25+ years back we had a home with an overhang free roof.

If there is no overhang the water will still overshoot the roof/wall break when it rains hard enough, so the bottom splash back problem is still there. In a light rain all the water runs down the wall and I simply don't like that.  YMMV   Better make certain the windows are flashed properly.


Eves can also be used for shading windows in hot weather. Sized appropriately they can let sun in during the winter months and block it in the summer.


http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=14037

[Redoverfarm]

Personally I would never build w/o at least 1' overhang.  More is better.  Without it there is a chance that water will work it's way down the wall and rot the siding or even worse the sill plates.

[LeoinSA]

We've got 3' eaves on the house here in SA.  When I get around to building my retirement home it too will have wide eaves on all sides.  But we'll call it a wrap-around porch and that's how much eave I'm gonna have.  

Why the porch?  Just cause we lived in a house with a wide porch as a kid and I loved sitting there with the parents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the late summer evenings.  I could keep the tadpoles I caught in the gallon jar out there too.

Beyond that I want to savor the literal rocking chair in the morning with coffee and the rocking chair on the other side of the house with my evening drink as the sun goes down.  And it gives a place to hang the bamboo blinds too boot.

But then I'm planning on harvesting rain water off the metal roofs so I'll have some gutters.  So for me it's a definite yes on the overhang.  

[poppy]

I would think that the only question is how much overhang.  No overhang is just a cheap way to build, IMO.

I believe that large overhangs are under-rated.  Part of the reason for both a back porch and front porch on my cabin is to provide roof overhang to protect not only siding but also open doors and windows.  Otherwise, I would just build decks.

Proper size of overhangs are also important for solar considerations.  Shade windows for summer, let winter sun in.

So yea, no gutters means a generous overhang to me, but how much?  I don't know.  

Are we talking 1 story, 2 story, 1.5 story?  (now enough background info. as usual  )

Foundation type?  French drains might be a good idea, depending.....

Climate?

Regardless, you have already stated a valid reason for using overhangs.

[rwanders]

My eaves are 4' (5' on the run) on a 12/12 pitch metal roof. I am in an area with a lot of snow and built that much overhang so I have no snow dumping up against the cabin---works great and leaves a 4' wide clear space along the sides. Also would never build an uncovered deck----I like to be able to sit or grill on the decks even when it is raining or snowing

[Don_P]

I'm for overhangs to the property lines. I like 2' as a balance of cost/function for most applications but design factors in as well. Decks are siding splashers, porches protect a building.

No overhang evolved as a method to prevent ice dams before we insulated. The hot air roaring through the roof covering melted a river of water and if it hit a cold overhang it froze until there was a lake dammed up on the upslope side.

[RainDog]

I've seen many photos of modern dwellings in northern Europe that have no overhangs. I have yet to understand why that is.

[eggman]

I would think that the only question is how much overhang.  No overhang is just a cheap way to build, IMO.

I believe that large overhangs are under-rated.  Part of the reason for both a back porch and front porch on my cabin is to provide roof overhang to protect not only siding but also open doors and windows.  Otherwise, I would just build decks.

Proper size of overhangs are also important for solar considerations.  Shade windows for summer, let winter sun in.

So yea, no gutters means a generous overhang to me, but how much?  I don't know.  

Are we talking 1 story, 2 story, 1.5 story?  (now enough background info. as usual  )

Foundation type?  French drains might be a good idea, depending.....

Climate?

Regardless, you have already stated a valid reason for using overhangs.

I post a new topic just before I leave work and I get home to lots of replies. You guys are good! 

It's a 1.5 story on top of a walk out stepped foundation. Heavy snow in the white mtns of NH.

I either like no overhangs or huge looks-like-a-firetower overhangs.

Everything has to be flashed and there needs to be a drainage layer behind the siding. True.

[eggman]

I'm for overhangs to the property lines.

[John Raabe]

eggman,

You haven't mentioned where you will be building. In most climates an overhang (and gutters) help keep the walls dryer and reduce splashing. If you are in heavy snow country then ice and snow will rip off gutters and you may still have problems with icicles tearing off roofing and fascias (with or without overhangs). In dry climates you don't really need the overhangs for water control but may want them for shading. 

I guess I have pretty much made the case for doing overhangs just about everywhere.  (All my plans typically have a 16" eave.)

[eggman]

This guy in Maine hated backsplash so much he threw his house on piers and chopped his eves off!

[Redoverfarm]

I wish I would have taken a picture today at "Dogtrot" for those in a snow region trying to decide about overhangs.  With the recent snow and the previous in the last couole of weeks the snow slide and drop off the roof was 4 & 1/2 feet deep.  That was directly below the overhang edge on both the porch roof and the addition roof.  There was a noticable 1' foot area that was virtually untouched by the snow build-up and that was directly under the overhang. If you did a post pier foundation even with that you would have to elivate the structure so much in a heavy snow region to escape the build-up.  So to me this is a no brainer.  

I do plan on gutters at some point and I am weighing my options to control the snow slides.  But this will have to wait until spring.

[davidj]

I've seen many photos of modern dwellings in northern Europe that have no overhangs. I have yet to understand why that is.

Probably because framing lumber  is comparatively more expensive over there, and the typical siding (brick) is pretty weather proff.  And the small lots combined with wet weather mean gutters (and a good drainage system) are pretty much mandatory.  Finally, for much of Europe snow isn't a big deal (and where it is, e.g. around Switzerland, the overhang comes back).

I'm gonna be heading back to Europe later this week and have a to explain to folks that my cabin is a real house despite being made of wood (using wood for build houses went out of fashion a few hundred years ago in the UK - when they ran out of trees - and now it pretty much implies garden sheds!).

[Redoverfarm]

Here is a couple pictures that I had made reference to yesterday.  The first two are of the back of the cabin with a 1' overhang.  The floor is about 28-30" above grade.  Notice how the snow tapers off to the grade under the overhang.  





Here is a picture of the porch with the same overhang ( no actually it is about 6" wider) and about the same elevation from the porch floor to grade.  Imagine no overhang.  I would have to be shoveling snow from under a covered porch.



You can't really tell from the pictures but "it's snowing again".  How much this time and how long? Who Knows.

[eggman]

Thanks for the pics. Based on everyones input I've decided on a 2ft overhang all the way around. The snow up here is unrelenting.

[Erin]

One negative to keep in mind wrt overhangs is the wind catch.

Those of us in tornado areas (or hurricane) can attest to the fact that sometimes the only thing that saves a house is it's lack of overhangs and/or porch roofs!

That said, we're planning an 18" overhang on the north side and a wide porch with roof that runs the full length of the house, on the south.  

PS:  Speaking of solar gain/shading, no matter how often it shows up, this site can always use another mention:
Sustainable by Design:http://susdesign.com/tools.php
More than just calculators, the window tools let you actually change the size of your overhangs, windows, etc. within the program to be able to see what is going on. 

[MountainDon]

That's a great tool. I've added it to the Referral Links board.


As for overhangs and big winds... that can be a concern. However, hurricane rafter ties were invented to help with that. Plus nailing down the sheathing according to the schedule in the code books will also help. Hard to do much if a tornado is a direct strike though.

[OlJarhead]

This is one reason why I want the 1' overhang on the cabin with 4' foot side and rear porches and 8' front porch.

I've even considered having the porch 6" below the floor level of the cabin (maybe a little more) to give a better pitch to the roof of the porch but I don't think it's needed and I like the idea of a raised porch to sit on

And YES!  Coffee in the AM on the front porch and Jack Daniels on the rear porch in the evening (summers mostly)....and of course BBQ on the front porch year round.

Also gives a place to store wood and a place to build an insulated battery box and propane tank 'closet' me thinks.

[Erin]

That's a great tool. I've added it to the Referral Links board.


As for overhangs and big winds... that can be a concern. However, hurricane rafter ties were invented to help with that. Plus nailing down the sheathing according to the schedule in the code books will also help. Hard to do much if a tornado is a direct strike though.

That's true.  But most tornado damage each year isn't from a direct strike.  It's from the wind (hail, etc) that surrounds the storm.  And hurricane ties were invented to keep your roof from flying off in a wind.  But that's part of the problem. lol 
It just means if you have that severe of wind, it'll take that much more of your house before it cuts loose. (Not that ties are bad, of course.  Most of the time they're perfect for wind loads.)

Just that if you have a large projection from your house, you've basically created a scoop to catch wind.
Just something to keep in mind.

[MountainDon]

It makes one wonder if things like porch roofs should be made to detach without taking other parts of the building with it. 

[JRR]

It makes one wonder if things like porch roofs should be made to detach without taking other parts of the building with it. 

If you are in the wide-open, a detaching roof might be OK.  But my porch roof is heavy enough, and close enough, to do my neighbor some serious damage ... so I hope to keep it tied down.

[Erin]

It makes one wonder if things like porch roofs should be made to detach without taking other parts of the building with it. 

Something I read after Katrina was that the porches that were integral parts of the house did far more serious damage than those that were added later. 
Of course, the "damage" was to their own house...