Gutters: 5 Inch vs 6 Inch, Aluminum vs Copper vs Steel
Most gutter problems in this market are sizing and slope problems, not material problems. Here is how to tell which one you have.
Why gutters belong in a roofing conversation
Gutters are usually treated as an afterthought bolted onto the end of a roofing quote, and that is how they end up undersized. The gutter system is what moves water away from the fascia, the soffit and the foundation, and when it cannot keep up you get rotted fascia, ice dams that are worse than they need to be, and water in the basement. We quote gutters separately from the roof so the scope is visible rather than buried, and we would rather have this conversation before the roof goes on.
Five inch against six inch, and how to actually size it
Five inch K style is the residential default and it is adequate on a lot of houses. Six inch carries roughly forty percent more water and pairs with a larger downspout, and the deciding factors are roof area draining to each run, roof pitch, and how much of that run is fed by a valley. A steep roof delivers water to the gutter faster than a shallow one, and a valley concentrates a large area into a narrow point. If you have a long run collecting two valleys, five inch will overshoot in a heavy storm no matter how clean it is, and no guard will fix that.
The overflow test
If your gutters spill over the front edge during heavy rain but are not blocked, they are undersized or under drained, and the usual fix is not a bigger gutter alone but more downspouts. Downspout count and placement matter as much as gutter size, and it is the cheaper half of the fix. If they spill at one particular spot every time, that is usually slope or a sag rather than capacity. Watching your own gutters during a real downpour tells you more than any inspection on a dry day.
Aluminum: the sensible default
Seamless aluminium, formed on site in a continuous run, is what goes on most houses in this market and for good reason. It does not rust, it comes in a wide colour range with a baked finish, it is light enough to hang without heavy bracket work, and it is economical. The trade off is softness: a ladder set against it dents it, and heavy ice loading can deform a run that was hung with too few hangers. Thickness matters here, and the difference between a thin and a heavier gauge aluminium is worth asking about.
Steel: when you need the toughness
Galvanised or galvalume steel is meaningfully stronger than aluminium and resists the denting and ice deformation that aluminium suffers, which makes it worth considering on north facing runs that carry ice all winter and on houses where ladders go up regularly. The trade off is corrosion: the coating is what protects it, and once that is compromised at a cut edge or a scratch, steel rusts in a way aluminium does not. It is also heavier to hang properly.
Copper: an architectural decision
Copper is in a different category and it is chosen for how it looks and how long it lasts, on houses where that is the point. It will outlive the roof it is hung on, it needs no paint, and it weathers from bright to brown to the green patina over a long period. It is soldered rather than sealed at the joints, which is a genuine trade skill, and the material cost is not comparable to aluminium. On an estate home with copper valleys and copper flashing, aluminium gutters are the detail that gives the whole roof away. We do not publish a job total for copper work, because the number depends almost entirely on the run, the detailing and the house.
Guards, and the honest version
Gutter guards reduce cleaning frequency. They do not eliminate it, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling. Fine debris, maple seeds and shingle granules get through or accumulate on top of most systems, and a guard on an undersized gutter can make overflow worse by slowing water entry during the heaviest rain. They earn their keep under mature trees and on houses where getting on a ladder is not realistic. They are not a substitute for correct sizing.
Ice, and the part people get wrong
Gutters do not cause ice dams. Heat escaping through the ceiling causes ice dams, and the gutter is just where the ice becomes visible. Removing gutters does not fix the problem and creates new ones. What helps is getting the insulation and air sealing right, keeping the eave cold, and making sure the gutter is hung so that meltwater can actually leave. Heat cable is a management tool for a specific problem area, not a fix, and it costs money to run every winter.
What gutter work costs
Gutter work sits in the repair range for most houses, $300 to $10,000 depending on linear feet, material, the number of downspouts, fascia repair uncovered once the old run comes off, and whether the work needs staging. When gutters go on as part of a full roof replacement the incremental cost is lower than doing it as a separate visit, which is the main argument for handling both at once. Copper is quoted on its own terms.
We quote roof, gutters and chimney separately
You get a line for each so you can see what you are paying for and decline any part of it. If you have overflow in heavy rain, rotted fascia, or you are planning a roof replacement and have not thought about the gutters yet, we will look at the whole exterior and tell you what actually needs doing. Cook, DuPage and Lake counties, residential and commercial.