Seamless Gutters

[kbarrett]

My new house is in dire need of some gutters! Any suggestions as to what to look for as I get quotes from area contractors?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Start with a list of jobs they did 3 or 4 years ago, and go look at them.
If they won't give you a list, look to the next contractor.
The joy if a lo price will be forgotten long before the quality of the job you got for the lo price.

 

[kbarrett]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We can have them done for $3 a foot as we just sub contract the gutters to a friend who does it. Normal price is anywhere from $4-$6 per foot around here. Ask how they are going to hang the gutter as if you have a flat facia they should anchor to the facia instead of stapping it to the roof. The biggest thing with gutters is material thickness and price to have installed. It is almost impossible to screw up gutters as long as they slope them the right way which isn't hard to do. Anyone in the phone book that advertises seamless gutters should know what they are doing so just call them up and get some qoutes per foot. If you want you can measure your facia to see how much gutter you will need and know roughly how much it will cost without having them come to your place if you are only looking for prices now. Take care.

 

[PBMAX]

Quick tip, After the install if you don't decide to use some form of gutter guard.At my last house the roof had a low enough angle on it. i just climbed up and used a gas pwrd leafblower to clean my 80' of gutter.Then i climbed down blew the mess in to a pile and picked it up with my ridding mower...

My new house what few leaves do make in. The wind on the mtn takes care of....

 

[MikePA]

I checked with co-workers on who they used. I also recommend gutter guards to keep junk out of the gutters, I wish I had them /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif. Since you have a new house this might not apply...the guy that put one of our gutters up assumed the soffit was level and measured off of it to determine the slope of the gutter. Problem was the soffit wasn't level (we have an old, very old, house) so the gutters did not slope right. He got to come back and do it over again. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[kbarrett]

Pburns,

Gutter guards are probably mandatory with my house being located in the woods. I'm learning that everything costs a bit more for being off the road and in the woods. I think it will be worth it in the long run???

 

[kbarrett]

Robert,

Over the phone I swear they said $3.50 per foot with $45 for a second story downspout. I didn't hear the price on the gutter guard per foot though. It will be interesting to see the written quote. Thank you all for your insight!

 

[Inspector507]

Kevin,
YES get the gutter guards. You'll not be sorry

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Gutter gards will be extra, I do not know how much as I have never put any on before but the price will depend on which type your installer can get for you. $3.50 isn't bad, I know for a fact that our friend makes money off of $3 a foot installed. I would think anything over $4.50 is too high but it depends on how many people you have in your area doing seamless gutters. We have a couple here and the one guy wanted $5 per foot to install so we have never given him any work. Take care

 

[DVerbarg]

Be careful with gutter guards. The concept of keeping the gutters clean is great but the way in which some work or are installed leaves much to de desired. Some cost too much and others end up being more work then they are worth.

One design that looks very good both in theory and in actual use is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.leafguard.com>leaf-guard</A>. The only problem with these is the price, about double normal gutters. If I had large trees surrounding the house I probably would have gotten these.

 

[kbarrett]

Pulled the trigger on the job today. Seamless gutters (.032) thickness with gutter guards. I have a two story (2632sq ft living area) and the total came to a little over $1300 for the job.

It was difficult getting quotes because everyone seems to be booked solid. We've had a pretty rainy spring here in west Michigan and I couldn't stand seeing my backfill wash away any longer.

I'll post the results when the job is complete. Thanks to everyone for the great advice!