A Per-Foot Gutter Price Hides the Corners and the Downspouts

A gutter quote often starts with one number: a price for each foot of trough. That number is real, but it only covers the part of the job you can measure with a tape along the eave. The parts that set the total sit at the corners, at the downspouts, at the ends of each run, and in the fascia the trough hangs from. Two quotes with the same per-foot price can cover very different work, so the useful comparison starts with the count, not the rate.

Start with the linear feet, then count the turns

Linear feet is the length a crew cuts, forms, and hangs. On a seamless job the machine forms the trough on site from coil, so the length follows the eave measurements. The complication is everything that length does not include.

Every place the gutter changes direction needs a part. A corner at the front of a garage, a bay that steps back, or a porch roof that meets the main eave at a right angle each needs either a mitered joint or a fitted corner piece. A simple gable has two ends and few turns. A hip roof has four places where the water turns, and a house with a sunroom or a dormer can have six or eight turns before the run finishes its trip around the building. Two houses with the same eave length can need very different numbers of corners.

Ask each bidder to list corners by type, inside and outside, and to say whether the price includes them. A quote that shows only gutter at a per-foot rate, with no corner line, has left the fittings for later. The later price will be set on the day the crew finds them.

Downspouts are priced by the outlet

Each downspout is more than a pipe. It needs an outlet at the trough, an elbow to turn the water into the pipe, the pipe itself, and straps or brackets at the wall. Those parts come in sets, and the count follows the number of places the water leaves the gutter.

The downspout count is also a design choice, because it changes how the trough carries water. A long run with one outlet pushes more water through each joint and dumps it all at one spot at the bottom. Two outlets on the same run spread the load. Two bids can show the same linear feet and different downspout counts, and the difference will show up at the ground on the first heavy rain in April.

Ask where each downspout will discharge, and whether that spot has a splash block, an extension, or a buried line. An outlet placed beside a bedroom window or a basement window is a placement question before it is a price question. For this comparison, the point is the count: a quote should list downspouts by number and by location.

Removal, disposal, and the fascia under the old run

A replacement quote needs a line for taking off the old gutters, hangers, and downspouts, and for hauling them away. Old aluminum has value, and some crews keep it, so ask who keeps the scrap and whether the price assumes it leaves the site.

Old gutters also cover the fascia board, which is where the hangers screw in. Once the old trough comes down, the crew can see the wood. If the fascia is soft from years of overflow, the fix needs its own line. Do not let the gutter price absorb fascia repair that nobody has measured yet. A quote can say the fascia will be checked when the old run comes off, and that any repair is priced at a stated rate. That keeps the decision in the homeowner's hands and off the gutter line.

Hanger spacing is a line item too. Closer hangers cost more in parts and labor. In St. Louis, freeze and thaw cycles and the weight of snow and ice are a good reason to ask for the spacing in writing before you sign.

Access on a second story or a steep pitch

A second-story run, a steep roof, or a gutter over a deck or patio changes the crew's time more than the material does. Ladders, staging, and extra hands are costs that a per-foot rate does not show. If the house has a two-story wall over the garage, ask whether the bid assumes that section is done from a ladder or from scaffolding, and whether the rate changes for it.

Guards are a separate line

If guards are part of the conversation, they should appear as their own line with their own length. Guards and gutters have different parts, different fasteners, and different labor, so a bid that folds them into one total cannot be compared with a bid that leaves them out. Put the guard line on its own row so you can see what the trough costs with and without it.

What to ask each bidder

1. How many linear feet does the price include, and how was the length measured?
2. List every outside and inside corner by type.
3. How many downspouts are there, and where does each one discharge?
4. Are outlets, elbows, straps, and end caps priced separately or inside the per-foot rate?
5. Who removes the old gutters, and who keeps the scrap?
6. Is fascia repair included, and if it is not, what is the rate for it?
7. What hanger spacing does the quote use?
8. Does the price change for a second-story run or a steep section?
9. Are guards inside the total or on a separate line?

If two bids answer those questions with different counts, the per-foot number is not the thing to compare yet. Put the counts side by side first, then the rates. To ask for the count on your own house, call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333.