Gutter replacement cost

Replacing gutters costs $5 to $14 per linear foot installed, so a typical house with 150 to 200 feet of gutter runs $1,000 to $2,800. Seamless aluminium at the national average is about $9 a foot.

Gutters are the cheapest part of the roof and the one most responsible for expensive damage elsewhere. A downspout discharging at the wall puts thousands of gallons a year against the foundation, and foundation repair starts where gutter repair stops.

Cost by material

Seamless aluminium is what most houses get and what most houses should get. It is rolled on site from a coil, so the only joints are at corners and outlets, and joints are where gutters leak.

Sectional gutter sold in ten foot lengths at a home centre is cheaper and has a joint every ten feet. On a 40 foot run that is three more places to fail.

Size and shape matter more than people expect

K-style is the profile that looks like crown moulding from the ground. It holds more water than a half-round of the same nominal width and is the default.

Half-round is a semicircle, traditional, and correct on older and higher-end houses. It costs 25% to 50% more and clogs less because there are no inside corners for debris to catch.

Five inch against six inch. Five is standard. Six carries roughly 40% more water and is worth it on a steep roof, a large roof area draining to one gutter, or anywhere with intense downpours. The upgrade is about $1 to $2 a foot and it is the cheapest way to stop a gutter overflowing in a summer storm.

Downspouts follow: 2x3 inch is standard, 3x4 inch moves nearly twice the water and clogs far less.

What lands on the bill

• Removing and disposing of the old gutters: $1 to $2 per linear foot
• Downspouts: $8 to $20 each, more for longer or offset runs
• Fascia repair where the old gutter has rotted the board behind it: $5 to $12 per linear foot
• Gutter guards: $4 to $12 per linear foot
• Extensions or underground drainage to carry water away: $5 to $15 per foot
• Splash blocks: $10 to $30 each

That fascia line is the common surprise. Gutters hang on the fascia board, and a gutter that has been overflowing for years has usually rotted the board it hangs from. It cannot be seen until the old gutter comes off.

Gutter guards, honestly

They range from $4 a foot for foam inserts to $12 a foot for micro-mesh, so $600 to $2,400 on a typical house.

Micro-mesh works and is the only category worth buying. Foam inserts and brush inserts fill with fine debris and become the clog. Reverse-curve systems shed leaves and let pine needles and shingle grit through.

None of them makes a gutter maintenance-free. A good micro-mesh guard turns "clean twice a year" into "check every couple of years", which is worth real money on a two-storey house and very little on a single-storey with no trees.

Where the water has to go

This is the part that actually protects the house, and it costs almost nothing.

Discharge at least six feet from the foundation, and ten is better. An extension is $10. A downspout that ends at the wall is the single most common cause of a wet basement, and every waterproofing article on this site starts by telling you to fix it before spending thousands on anything else.

Where the ground slopes toward the house, or the discharge point is a walkway, a buried line to daylight or a dry well costs $5 to $15 a foot and solves it permanently.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the work take?

A day for a typical house, including tear-off. Seamless gutter is rolled on site, so the truck arrives with a coil and a machine rather than with lengths.

Can I replace gutters myself?

On a single-storey house, yes, with sectional gutter and patience about the slope — roughly a quarter inch of fall every ten feet toward the outlet. On a two-storey house it is ladder work at height for a saving of a few hundred dollars.

Should gutters be replaced with the roof?

If they are near the end, yes: the crew is already there, the drip edge is being replaced anyway, and doing it together saves a separate mobilisation. Bundling typically saves 10% to 15%.

Why does my gutter overflow even when it is clean?

Usually undersized for the roof area draining into it, or too few downspouts. A 40 foot run with one downspout at the end will overflow in heavy rain no matter how clean it is.

Do I need gutters at all?

On a house with wide eaves, well-drained soil sloping away, and no basement, some regions genuinely go without. Everywhere else they are the cheapest foundation protection available.