Talking to Gutter Folk

My gutters are damaged; they were installed when the roof was sagging less at the corners, and therefore they don't slope to drain as they should. Water leaks have rotted out the fascia at every corner--there are 10 corners and 4 dead ends. Right up front (over the gas meter), the seamless gutter has a dent. There is no starter flashing at the roof which allows overflows to wick into the sheathing, and the old gutter has been painted dark blue.

Around the last week of September, I saw a truck for Brothers Gutters at the 11803 8th Ave house where Luke is remodeling everything. The driver was across the street (11804 8th) talking to Chad. I got his card--Tyler Peterson, owner.

He came back to give me an estimate on 6 October. I told him that I would do the demo and repair the fascia, ready for his gutters, and he gave me a bid of ~$4700 for new seamless gutters with downspouts.

I worried that I would be installing gutters before replacing the roof (and replacing the roof before any additions or reconfiguration), so I asked for a roof appraisal from Polar Bear Exterior Solutions. Project Consultant Tucker White came out at dusk, walked around on the roof and said the roof was good for a few more years. He liked that I was installing new gutters, but he said if it were him, he'd call the gutter guy and get a bid for new 5/4" pre-primed fascia all around. What's he gonna charge, another $5k? It's worth it--you don't want to be patching the fascia only at the rotten bits.

So I called Tyler Peterson and asked for a revised bid. (The full name of the company is The Brothers That Only Do Gutters, by the way.) Got it 3 November. Sure enough, new fascia would be ~$4700.

The RayTec products that Gu-Wi proposed. I think this is better than mesh for my heavy sap/needles

Meanwhile, I asked Gu-Wi Gutters for a bid on the same work. Received 8 November. (Gu-Wi = Gutters and Windows). Their bid was about 20% less. They spec'd a perforated aluminum gutter guard instead of the surgical stainless steel mesh that Brothers spec'd (at twice the price).

So, do I want white gutters or a custom color? Well, that depends on the colors I want for the house and trim and whether I want to paint the fascia the same as the trim. See a different post on house colors.

I'd better get going destroying my perfectly good gutters and pulling off the fascia, right? Read all about it here.