Seamless gutters
Four materials, and where each one fits
A roof edge in Wisconsin carries snow, ice and a lot of leaves. The material matters less than the size, the slope and what it's hung on.
Vinyl
The lowest price. Sectional, so it has seams, and it can crack in a hard cold snap.
Fits a small shed or porch
- Most common
Seamless aluminum
The usual choice. Painted, light and cut to length at the house.
Fits most houses and barns
Seamless steel
A heavier gauge that stands up better to ladders, leaves and snow slide.
Fits yards with big trees
Copper
Seamless and left to weather to a dull brown and then green.
Fits a porch or a dormer you want to show off
Size and slope
Sized to the roof above it
Five-inch gutters carry most roofs. A large roof, a long valley or a lot of trees can call for six-inch, and that's written on your estimate.
Gutters are hung with a slight fall toward the downspout, and a long run gets a downspout at each end or in the middle. Where a roof slope is long, the water arrives faster than a short gutter can move it.
Hidden hangers screwed into the rafter tails or fascia
A downspout for every run that needs one
Elbows and extensions that point away from the wall
With every install
What goes on your estimate
Every foot, measured
Run by run, with the material, size and number of downspouts spelled out.
The board behind
Fascia and soffit are looked at before anything is hung on them.
Old gutters gone
Taken down and hauled away, and the yard raked.
See the prices by material
Per-foot figures and a sample estimate, written the way yours will be.