There was a windstorm last week and it flat out ripped the end of one of our gutters free from the, uh, whatever it is gutters are attached to. At least 15 feet is completely loose, and to my eye the gutter looks like it has a definite twist in it, so I’m guessing it’ll be a replacement and not just nailing/screwing it back in place. And since the gutter is one long seamless stretch, that likely means the whole 37 feet. On a two story house in a Boston suburb.
I’m sure they’ll push to upgrade us to add covers or screens or whatever, but we only plan to be in this house a couple more years so we want fast and cheap, just your basic aluminum open gutters.
Any guesses as to what it’ll cost?
(Yeah, I’ll call some companies for estimates soon, but I’d like to have a rough idea in case I need to arrange to move money or get a loan or something.)
No help here: while we got new gutters 5 years ago, we intend to stay in our house until they haul us off to the nursing home, so we invested in a good replacement set with covers.
Just for the benefit of anyone who IS planning to stay in their house awhile, my gutter replacement cost in the low $2000s for 80 feet of gutter and four downspouts. And worth every penny - I used to have to clean my gutters a few times a year, but now I haven’t had to clean the new ones at all.
I’m guessing 550$. They will likely check out your other gutters and tell you you need to replace them, too then try and offer you a good deal to do it.
Haven’t for a while myself but the $550 estimate above sounds about right based on the location, although an independent operator might get you a better price. Problem is the fascia or whatever the old ones were nailed into may be damaged also. Definitely get seamless, they should have a warranty you can pass on to the new homeowner if you sell.
$550 is in the ballpark. May be a bit high for one gutter and (probably) patching or replacing the fascia board. I recommend Alo Gutters (alogutters.com) if you’re in their service area.
When you see how easy gutter work is you’ll understand why it’s cheap. They have long rolls of flat aluminum stock which they run through a machine called a brake to form the gutter. They can make any length in minutes. Aluminum doesn’t cost very much and installation is quick with a few specialized brackets. They did my whole house (4 35-foot runs and a couple of shorter ones, plus downspouts) in two hours for under $1,800.
Yeah, they’re cheap and easy to install. If you really, want to go cheap and don’t plan to stick around long, price out the pieces at Home Depot and find a couple of friends with extension ladders and have them do it. It’s not hard and they can do it pretty quickly. I’ve done it by myself on one story buildings, but you’ll need two people for something that tall.
If what you have matches what you can find (and/or it’s close or not on the front) at Home Depot/Menards/Lowes, you could think about just hacksawing off the one section and repairing it.
Fast and cheapest: get out the ladder and do it yourself. Start at one end and secure a bit at a time, gradually forcing bent parts back into shape.
I did it this way on a house I was renting. The landlord was taking forever to get it done. He stopped by for another reason and was pleased with the (horrible looking, but serviceable) repair.
I learned the hard way that it’s worth the extra money to get the higher cost gutters with covers.
I endured 12 years of cleaning out pine straw three times a year. Dragging out the ladder. Getting on the roof. A nuisance and I knew it would only get harder as I aged.
I decided the expense to update was worth it. I did some research. The DIY screen covers were useless. Pine straw still gets in the screen.
Several manufacturers do make good quality covered gutters. You also need the deeper 6" gutter that allows more water flow. The cheap ones at Home Depot are shallow and overflow in hard rain.
I choose this brand. I haven’t cleaned out my gutters in 9 years. They still flow just like new.
Watch your downspouts three hours after a rain. They shouldn’t be dripping. A clean gutter empties out pretty fast and should be bone dry after a few hours.
If the downspouts are dripping the next day, then you absolutely have clogged gutters.
Gutters holding water are heavy and can easily tear away from the house. Also water in a filled gutter can back up under the shingles and rot your rafter ends and soffit.
Gutters are great. A steady drip off the roof is aggravating and can soak you clothes. But gutters have to be maintained.
An entire section (13’) ripped off my roof with the wind last week. As my roofer is no more* I asked around & got a name. Called him on Fri afternoon, said he’d be out to look at it over the weekend & call me, then do it Monday. When I got home Monday, it was done; haven’t seen the final bill yet, but over the phone he said $75-100 visit/work + cost of materials; it wasn’t twisted & looked reusable to my untrained eyes. I did ask him to get gutter guards before replacing but it’s a third story roof so it’s hard to tell whether it’s new &/or if the gutter guards are up there. I’ll look again when there’s more light out.
***** I called the cell # I had for the roofer & the guy who answerd said I had a wrong #; looked him up & called the business # listed on google. When the phone ‘answered’, is was a recorded message something like, “That business is no longer in business; please wait while we find another on for you to contact.” Has anyone ever heard of this before? I didn’t know the phone company did search/referral. I hung up before it connected me to anything because I wasn’t interested in someone just because they paid a referral fee.
Just in case anyone was waiting with bated breath: The gutter people showed up today, and about 90 minutes later we had our new gutter and downspouts. Plus they put back on a big aluminum sheathe-thingy (a fascia? fascia cover? not sure the lingo) that had ripped totally free in the snowstorm since the estimate, and added some screws and a new bracket to another downspout that was starting to shake in bad windstorms.
No efforts to talk us into replacing the other gutters or upgrading to covers or screens or anything, and not an added penny over the estimate for doing those two extra things for us.
I guess the real proof doesn’t come until it rains next, but the job looks very nice, and the workers were pleasant and professional and neat. Overall I’m very pleased. So consider this a recommendation for Gutter Kings out of Lowell, MA.
Total cost: $538. Channing Idaho Banks clearly is either a gutter worker himself or has a working crystal ball.
Which kind did you get? I have lots of trees and I’m tired of cleaning gutters. The house I’m in came with screens over the gutters, which I guess keeps debris from filling them up, but the screens get caked with leaves and debris so the water doesn’t go into the gutters at all, it’s like not having gutters.
We had ~120 feet of Leaf Relief™ installed on our existing cheapass aluminum gutters a couple of years ago. From what I can see, we have zero crud buildup despite the giant horse chestnut in our front yard, the giant oak in the neighbor’s yard, and the silver maple in the back.
The previous owners had screens installed and I ripped them out. I guess they prevented buildup for awhile, but the gutters eventually clogged up anyway and the screens just made them harder to clean.
I have seen trailers in which a roll of sheet metal is drawn through a series of dies and comes out the other end as a gutter.
This is a very handy tool for a budding businessman. A truck and a few rolls of metal (and copper makes you rich, and quickly!).
It also means that there is only one shape any gutter can be.
Bet you never thought of a rain gutter not fitting another rain gutter, did you?
Check the cross-sectional shape of whatever you look at.
