How much does gutter replacement cost?

Repair first, if the run is sound

Not every overflowing gutter needs replacing. If the trough is sound and the problem is pitch, a loose hanger or a leaking corner, that is a repair, and it costs a fraction of a new run. Read why gutters overflow for how to tell.

Replacement is the honest answer when the gutter is corroded along its length, when it has pulled off in more than one place, or when it was never big enough for the roof above it. You will hear which one it is before you hear a price.

What the foot count covers

Seamless aluminum gutter is formed on site to the length of each run, so the base price is the gutter footage plus the downspout footage. A simple rectangular ranch has four runs and four downspouts. A house with gables, bump-outs and a porch roof has more runs, more corners and more outlets for the same footprint.

Gutter size matters too. A five-inch gutter is standard on most houses. A six-inch gutter carries more water from a large or steep roof plane, costs more per foot, and is the right call where a five-inch run has overflowed in every hard rain.

What moves the price

• Corners and outlets. Every inside or outside corner is a mitred joint, and every outlet is a cut, a drop and a downspout. A cut-up roofline has many more of both than a plain one.
• Height. Two and three storey runs need taller ladders or staging, and everything slows down.
• The fascia. Old gutters that overflowed for years rot the board they hang on. Soft fascia has to be replaced before new gutter can be hung on it, and that is carpentry priced on top.
• Downspout routing. Extensions, elbows around a porch or into a drain line add material and time.
• Removal and disposal of the old gutter, which is already in our price.
• Guards. Adding them at install is cheaper than a second visit, but they are a separate line, and we tell you plainly whether your trees justify them.

What a fair gutter quote lists

• Gutter footage and downspout footage, measured, not guessed
• Gutter size and material, named
• The number of downspouts and where each one discharges
• Whether the fascia was checked, and the price per foot if any has to be replaced
• Guards, if any, as their own line
• Removal and disposal of the old run
• The warranty on the work. Ours is 60 to 90 days

If a quote is a single number with no footage on it, ask how it was measured. A gutter quoted from the street is a gutter that gets re-priced on the day.

Why the fascia is the hidden item

The gutter hangs on the fascia board. Water that ran behind an old gutter for a few seasons soaks that board, and the hangers for the new run will not hold in soft wood. We check the fascia on the estimate visit, and if a section is bad it goes in the written price at a stated rate. Finding it on the morning of the install is how a cheap quote becomes an expensive one.

The estimate is free and the price is in writing before anything comes down. If the roof above the gutter has its own problems, those are priced on the same visit rather than turning up as a second job. See gutter and roof drainage.