Gutter installation cost calculator

These are the installed prices the calculator uses, combined from Today's Homeowner, Fixr, Modernize and Bob Vila. Low is the average of the guides' lows, high the average of their highs, typical sits in the middle.

Add-ons:

• 6 inch instead of 5 inch: about $1 to $2 more a foot. Today's Homeowner, the one guide that prices it, puts the step up at $200 to $400 per 200 ft.
• Gutter guards: about $7 to $16 a foot installed (Bob Vila and Modernize).
• Taking down the old gutters: about $0.65 to $0.75 a foot. Fixr gives an average of $0.65 and Bob Vila $0.65 to $0.85.
• Height: each story above the first adds about $1 to $3 a foot (Bob Vila, the one guide that prices it).

No guide we checked prices a steel downspout, so steel uses Today's Homeowner's $4 to $15 a foot for any material. The ranges are for seamless work on aluminum and steel, and sectional work on vinyl, which is how each is usually sold. Sectional aluminum from a store costs less per foot but has a seam every 10 ft, and each seam is a place to leak.

Measure along every eave that sheds water: the edges of the roof where the rafters end, not the sloped rakes on the gable ends. Add the lengths. This Old House and Bob Vila put a 2,000 sq ft house at about 200 ft; Modernize says most homes need 150 to 250 ft.

Then plan the downspouts. Gutter Helmet recommends one for every 40 ft of gutter. The calculator uses that and never fewer than two. Downspout length is the height from the eave to the ground, about 10 ft for each story.

Note the corners and the ends as you go. Each inside or outside corner is a mitre, and each run ends in a cap or an outlet. Seamless crews build these into the per-foot price on most jobs, but a house with many short runs and corners takes longer than one long straight eave, and the price should reflect it.

Look at where each downspout will land. It should drop onto a splash block or into an extension that carries water several feet from the foundation, not onto a walkway or a neighbour's yard. Plan that before the crew arrives, so the outlets are cut in the right place.

• Vinyl. The cheapest. Easy to put up in sections. Can crack in hard cold and fade in strong sun.
• Seamless aluminum. The most common choice. Formed on site to the length of the run, so the only seams are at the corners. Does not rust; dents from ladders and hail.
• Galvanized steel. Stronger than aluminum and holds up to snow and ice, but heavier and can rust where the coating wears.
• Copper. Lasts the longest and weathers to a green patina. Three times the price of aluminum and needs a crew that solders.

5 inch K-style is standard on most houses. 6 inch carries more water and is worth it on large or steep roofs, on long runs into one downspout, and where storms drop a lot of rain fast.

Colour matters to most owners as much as material. Seamless aluminum comes in many factory colours to match trim or fascia. Copper is left bare. Vinyl comes in fewer colours and can fade. Ask about colour at the first visit so the coil is ordered right.

Guards are worth raising on houses under big trees. They cut down on cleaning visits but do not end them, and some guards change how water enters the gutter in a heavy downpour. Price them as an option, not a default.

One story, 5 inch, old gutters taken down, national prices:

1. Gutter: 200 ft × $8.23 to $13.80 = $1,646 to $2,760.
2. Downspouts: 200 ÷ 40 = 5, each 10 ft, so 50 ft × $6.50 to $13.50 = $325 to $675.
3. Removal: 200 ft × $0.65 to $0.75 = $130 to $150.
4. Total: about $2,100 to $3,575, typical $2,850.

Today's Homeowner puts most whole-house gutter jobs at $1,300 to $6,500, so this lands in the middle. Add guards and the same house comes in about $1,400 to $3,200 higher.

From the calculator at national prices: one story, 5 inch, a downspout every 40 ft, no tear-off and no guards.

As a check, This Old House's own 200 ft example comes to $3,352 for aluminum, $2,388 for vinyl and $7,566 for copper, all inside or near these ranges.

Loose hangers, a leaking corner or one sagging run can be fixed. These usually mean it is time for new gutters:

• Seams leaking along the run on sectional gutters, not just at one joint.
• Rust through on steel, or splits and cracks on vinyl.
• Water over the front edge in normal rain, even when clean. The gutter is too small or pitched wrong.
• Rotten fascia behind the gutter. The board has to be replaced before new gutters can hang from it.
• Peeling paint, wet basements or washed-out beds under the eaves, all signs water is going where it should not.

Price fascia repair as its own line. It is often found only when the old gutter comes down, and agreeing a per-foot price up front saves an awkward call mid-job.

Gutter crews price by the foot of gutter and by the foot of downspout, then add elbows, end caps, outlets and hangers, which are usually built into the per-foot price. Guards, tear-off and height charges go on as their own lines.

Keep a minimum charge for short runs; the truck, the machine and the setup cost the same for 40 ft as for 200. Check that the job covers its share of overhead with the profit margin calculator. If you also do roofs, the roof replacement cost calculator prices the roof on the same house.

"Save as an estimate in Koira" carries the gutter, downspout, guard, removal and height lines to an estimate you can send from your phone.

Most gutter jobs come in as part of something else: a new roof, new siding, or a wet basement. Ask what brought the customer to you. A homeowner fighting water in the basement cares about downspout extensions and where the water ends up as much as the gutter itself. Extensions, splash blocks and underground drains can be added as lines.

After the install, show the owner the downspout locations and how to clean the outlets. A short note on the invoice about checking gutters after leaves fall is often what brings a cleaning job back next year.