How Much Do Gutters Cost To Install Or Replace?

How Much Do Gutters Cost?

The average cost to install new aluminum gutters is around $4 to $8 per linear foot. On the cheaper end, you could go with vinyl gutters at an average cost of $3 to $6 per linear foot. For a typical home with 150 to 200 feet of gutters, you can expect to pay around $600 to $1,600 for installation.

A rain gutter system is a series of half pipes acting as channels for rainwater that falls off your roof. These channels direct the flow of water down the corners of the home in pipes to spots about two feet away from the foundation. When gutters fail, it affects the quality of your home’s foundation and can result in wood rot of the siding and soffits, and wood rot in your attic. Here is what you need to know when installing or replacing your gutter system.

Table Of Contents

1. Gutter Installation Cost
• Gutter Cost Per Linear Foot
• Cost of Gutters By Type
2. Types of Gutters
3. Cost Of Gutter Materials
4. Gutter Replacement Cost
5. Gutter Cost Calculator
6. Additional Cost Factors
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Hiring Your Gutter Installer
9. Gutter Installation Near Me

Gutter Installation Cost Per Linear Foot

Aluminum gutters are the most popular and cost between $4 to $8 per linear foot. Vinyl gutters are the cheapest and easiest to install at $3 to $6 per linear foot. Steel ranges from $6 to $9, while copper gutters are the most expensive at $15 to $28 per foot.

Gutter Prices & Materials

Here are the average gutter prices per linear foot:

Labor Costs

Depending on the quality of the contractor you hire to install your gutters, the average labor costs are around $10 per linear foot which also includes materials. That number will go up if there is a more irregular roof design and if it is a two- or three-story home. For the single-story rectangular home with just four corners and 160 feet of gutters, professional installation is likely to take about two days.

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Average Cost of Gutters By Type

For a homeowner of a 1,500 square foot home, the average cost to purchase and install new gutters is $957 to $4,473 for 160 feet of gutters, or $6–$14 per linear foot, depending on the type of gutter installed. Don’t forget to ask for a gutter color match to the existing trim on your home.

Vinyl Gutters

Chosen by many homeowners because of the price, vinyl gutters are light and easy to install, but they can crack in cold weather. Made of vinyl resin and sealed with urethane, they won’t leak or dent.

Aluminum Gutters

A popular choice, aluminum gutters are durable and won’t rust, but they can crack in freeze-thaw climates. They have a life expectancy of 30 years and come in many color choices.

Steel Gutters

Steel gutters are durable and don’t crack but can rust. They are also strong, making them a good choice in wooded settings or areas with high winds and frequent rain. The steel is flexible and easy to install.

Copper Gutters

Possibly the best material for gutters, copper gutters are durable, don’t crack, and can last for decades. But copper is expensive and easily stolen. It’s more often used on high-end homes.

It can be risky having copper gutters on your home due to their resale value. Many homes have been robbed for their copper pipes, gutters, and wire.

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Types of Gutters

Gutters are sold and installed as either seamless gutters or sectional gutters. For a homeowner of a 1,500 square foot home, the average cost for sectional gutters ranges from $1,065 to $2,256 for 160 feet of gutters, or $7–$12 per linear foot, depending on the material of gutter installed.

Seamless Gutters Cost

The average cost of seamless gutters is $14 per linear foot with most homeowners spending about $2,250, which is about 112% more than sectional gutters. Typically made of aluminum, but also available in steel and copper, seamless gutters are created onsite using an extruder—a machine mounted on the installer’s truck.

The machine has a long continuous roll of metal mounted to it, and as the strip of metal is fed through the extruder, it comes out the other end in a pre-defined shape in one long seamless section. The rolls can be anywhere from 150 feet to 750 feet long and of varying thicknesses, allowing for custom lengths to be created at the install site.

Since seamless gutters have no joins, it won’t develop leaks the same way a sectional gutter can. However, one significant disadvantage of the seamless gutter system is that should a portion of the gutter become damaged, you need to replace that entire strip of gutter versus one 10-foot section of a sectional gutter.

Sectional Gutters

The most popular type of gutters sold and installed are sectional gutters. The sections used to build a residential sectional gutter system usually are 8 to 10 feet long and are either welded together or snap together using silicone gaskets to create the lengths needed for the install. Easier to put together and faster than making the gutter onsite, they also don’t require the use of an extruder to create them.

However, sectional gutters are prone to leaking. Since most sectional gutters are built from 10-foot-long pieces, that would mean our 160 feet of gutter would have 16 joins, in addition to any corners or downspouts. All the joins should regularly be monitored for leaks so that if any develop, they can be addressed before they become something worse.

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Cost Of Gutter Downspouts & Materials

Gutter Downspouts

The downspout is the pipe that takes the water from the gutter down to ground level, where it is directed away from the property. The standard rule of thumb is to install downspouts every 35 feet. Downspouts cost between $3 and $5 per linear foot on average.

Gutter Elbows

Gutter elbows cost about $5 to $7 each. Unless it is a straight shot from the gutter to the ground, it is normal to use at least one elbow to bring the downpipe flush with the wall to the ground. Depending on the design of the house and the extent to which the roof extends out from the wall, in some applications, it may be necessary to use a second elbow to allow the downpipe to get close to the wall.

Gutter Hangers or Brackets

To suspend the gutter just below the outside edge of the roof, hangers or brackets are used roughly every two feet to provide stability, allowing the gutter to stay in place with the additional weight of water. Hangers or brackets will cost around $3 to $5 each.

Gutter Flashing

Flashing typically comes in 2” x 3” x 10’ long pieces, and it is installed with the 3-inch side extending up under the roof tiles to prevent water splashing up underneath and causing damage to the roof and attic space. Expect to pay about $4 per piece.

Gutter Splash Guards

To make sure the water coming down the downpipe gets directed away from the foundation, splash blocks should be put at the bottom—allowing the water to begin soaking the earth at least 2 feet away. These are typically made of plastic and cost an average of $8 each, and you need one for each downspout

Total Gutter Length

For a 1,500 square foot house, you will need an average of roughly 160 feet of gutters or about 10 to 11 feet of gutter per square foot of your home. Some homes, depending on their roof design, will only need gutters along the front and back roofline. Other homes that are not a rectangular shape will need gutters along the entire edge, as well as additional mitered corners and outlets.

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Gutter Replacement Cost

It will cost slightly more than the $10 per linear foot to replace gutters, as you also have to pay for the removal and disposal, plus clean up, of the old gutters. Factor in one hour of two workers plus disposal fees. If the exact same type of gutter is being installed, and most of the gutter brackets or hangers are in good enough condition to be used for the new gutter, that will cut down on the time and expense of your project. However, it is likely that a few hangers will need to be replaced.

Gutter Installation Cost Calculator

In looking at three of the most common gutter material solutions, and the one at the highest end of the spectrum—copper, you will have some idea of the costs for your gutter installation project. In the following example, we use a simple, single-story, 1,500 square foot, rectangular house with four corners and 160 linear feet of gutters.

Individual Gutter Parts Cost

While many suppliers and manufacturers list a price per foot, in many cases, it is sold in 10 foot and 18-foot lengths. Different manufacturers also create gutters in different shapes ranging from an angular trough to a rounded trough, and these extra design features also affect the price. While we looked at three of the most common materials and a fourth being the most expensive, here is a longer list of examples of different gutter materials costs.

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Additional Cost Factors

Gutter Guards Cost

Installing gutter guards costs $4 to $12 per foot or between $570 and $1,529 installed, depending on the brand and type of guard you select. If your gutters get blocked and the water cannot leave in the way it should, over time you could end up with problems like water damage to the foundation or other parts of the home.

If you decide not to screen off the entire gutter installation, you can put guards over each of the downspouts for between $9 and $50. This will lift the leaves out of the water as they float toward the downspout, and the wind will/should remove them from the guard. Alternatively, you can purchase an attachment for your garden hose to manually clean the debris from your gutters for around $30.

Wire Mesh Screens

Wire mesh screens are the cheapest type of gutter guard at around $1 per square foot. This mesh material keeps pest, sticks, and leaves out of your gutters which drastically limits the gutter cleaning you need to do.

Gutter Cleaning Cost

If you don’t want to clean gutters yourself, you could hire someone. The average cost of gutter cleaning is $150 with most homeowners spending between $110 and $185 or from $0.50 to $1.50 per linear foot.

For contractors to install gutters on a two- or three-story house, it is going to take longer for the installation than it would for a one-story home. For a two-story home, there will be additional costs—from longer downpipes to the time to erect scaffolding, if that is needed. This could result in an additional $1 per foot more than the sample prices given in this cost guide.

Heat Tape

Heat tape costs an average of $55 per 100 feet. With each box covering 40 feet, a 1,500 square foot house will need four packs of cable for a total cost of $220. If you live in colder regions, taking extra steps to ensure snow and ice don’t block your gutters is an issue you will face every winter. To plan for this, you can install what is called heat tape or heat cable. It will typically be installed in a pattern similar to a wave, with the troughs about one foot apart and the peaks reaching about 2.5 feet up the roof surface.

Taking Care of Your Gutters

Depending on where you live, the vast majority of gutter maintenance will be seasonal in nature. For homeowners who have trees around their property, the higher risk to their gutters comes during the autumn months when most trees lose their leaves. In addition, there is an increased risk when storms roll through, and high winds cause branches to fall in the gutter. Check on your gutters every few months or right after a storm to make sure debris isn’t blocking the gutters or the downspouts.

Also, if the house is close enough to have falling branches cause physical damage to the structure of the gutter system, the gutter, and its hangers will need to be inspected to make sure they are stable for the following season. If maintenance isn’t something you can or want to do yourself, put a reminder in your calendar to schedule a professional cleaning.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to install gutters?

For a homeowner of a 1,500 square foot home, the average cost to install gutters will be approx. $1,065 for 160 feet of gutters, or $3.60–$28+/linear foot, depending on the type of gutter installed.

How much is gutter repair and installation?

 It will cost about $150+ for the contractor to find and replace all the parts of your gutters that need repair. See the pricing tables above to calculate the expected replacement costs of each new part.

What are the best gutters to install?

Steel is the best overall gutter material to install. Vinyl, at $3.57/LF, is light but can crack in cold weather. Aluminum, at $11.13/LF, is durable but can also crack. Steel, at $11.80/LF, is durable and doesn’t crack but can rust. Copper (20oz), at $27.95/LF, is durable and doesn’t crack but is expensive and easily stolen.

What are common gutter sizes?

Gutters come in widths from 4” to 6”, and some are even adjustable. They can be made in any length if installing seamless gutters, and are generally available in 3’–16’ long pieces if installing sectional gutters.

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Hiring Your Gutter Systems Installer

Here on HomeGuide, we have gutter installation professionals with experience in installing seamless and sectional gutters in all material types. To find the right installer for your gutter system, use the list below to help find the right gutter company for your project.

• Are A/A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau
• Been in business for at least five years
• Have great reviews on HomeGuide and Google
• Are insured and bonded and have good reviews
• Offer warranties on your gutter installation for labor and parts
• Can show examples of similar work they have done in the area
• Include full cleanup in the price

Getting house gutters installed can save your home from a lot of future repairs, and prevention is always cheaper than a cure. While it’s possible to install gutters as a DIY job, hiring a professional can ensure the job is done right.

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