Winter rain can dramatically change the condition of the soil beneath your home expanding it in some places and making it mushy in others.

Imagine dry soil as a stack of clean dishes, and wet soil as that same stack of dishes after dinner. Not as clean and dirty, but rather in relative height to each other. The stack of dirty dishes is much higher. When the earth gets wet, water fills voids between "plates" in the earth and the ground level rises. The reverse occurs when the ground dries out. You aren't strong enough to lift your foundation, but wet earth is.

The process causes doors to bind from time to time and wall and ceiling surfaces to crack.

If you can prevent water from getting under your house, there's a good chance that the dirt will remain stable and house movement will be minimal.

Geotechnical Engineers (soils engineers) say that roof and ground water should be diverted to at least three feet away from the perimeter of your home. We think twenty feet is better.

Surface water the water that hits the ground is controlled by shaping and grading the earth, concrete, brick and other surfaces around your house so that they will shed water away from your foundation.

Roof water, the water that hits the roof, is controlled by the use of rain gutters, downspouts and sub-surface drainage pipes.

Roof gutters have been made from stone, copper, wood, sheetmetal and plastic to name a few. The architecture of your home determines their value relative to cost. For example: a turn-of-the-century Victorian would not have as much value with plastic gutters as it would if it were retrofitted with the wood type that were originally installed on the eaves.

Unless you have a European castle, stone gutters are out. But the rest are all viable alternatives.

Copper and wood are among the most expensive types, but copper is the longest lasting of all. All metals oxidize, but copper does so more slowly than most. However, copper does have it's shortcomings. As it oxidizes, it produces a derivative that is poisonous to insects, fungi, plants and, yes, people.

Although wood can last several decades it is extremely expensive to replace.

The most common gutters are galvanized sheetmetal. The sheetmetal is made from a heavy-gauge tin that is galvanized on both sides to retard rusting.

Aluminum is less prone to rust than galvanized sheetmetal, but is not as strong as its tin alternative, and therefore is more easily damaged. Aluminum gutters are most commonly referred to as seamless gutters. This is because the metal is so soft it can be formed on the job site in lengths that traverse from roof corner to roof corner without joints (seams) in between.

Plastic gutters and downspouts are the least expensive to buy and the easiest to install, but unfortunately have the shortest life expectancy. The material is fragile, can't be painted, and as with all polyvinyl chlorides, plastic begins to oxidize from day one. Should you use plastic? If that's all that you can afford, yes.

It is our opinion that you'll get the best bang for your buck by installing galvanized sheetmetal gutters and downspouts. They should be painted to ensure lasting quality. From time to time rust will have to be controlled. Galvanized gutters can be a do-it-yourself project if you're real handy with tools. But for many, this is a project best left to a sheetmetal person. We have fabricated and installed gutters and found the process to be time consuming but far from difficult.

Installation requires specialized tools that could cost almost $100. A pop-rivet gun, a scribe, end cap crimping pliers, circle cutting snips and regular tin snips, to name a few.

You may not realize it, because it isn't as widely advertised, but just like plastic gutter kits, galvanized sheetmetal gutter parts are available that make installation easier for the do-it-yourselfer (inside and outside corners, downspout angles, etc.).

How tough is it? Cut the gutter to length, crimp the end caps in place and use liquid aluminum to seal the seams. If more than one length of gutter is needed, overlap the joint an inch or so, install two or three pop-rivets and seal the seam and the rivet holes with liquid aluminum. Soldering is not required. The same holds true for installing downspout outlets (they also come ready made). Place the outlet upside-down inside the gutter, scribe a line in the gutter along the inside of the outlet, cut out the hole, turn the outlet right-side-up and push it down into the hole you made. That's all there is to it. Finally, wash the gutter with vinegar or a mild acid cleaner, use a metal primer and paint on the final coat.

We don't have the space to publish a two-page letter from one of our readers who was incensed because he thought we suggested that lights and plugs should be installed on the same circuit.

We didn't suggest that. We said that lights and plugs should be checked to determine if they are on the same circuit, and that knowing this could help to determine the total electrical load on a given circuit.

We agree with the reader to some extent. We think it is best not to put lights on the same circuit as plugs. The reason: Lights will frequently dim as motors start on the same circuit the refrigerator motor for example. According the Uniform Electric Code, wiring lights and plugs on the same circuit in a home is all right and not illegal. However, the building department in your area may have an ordinance to the contrary.