Sanity check on cost of copper gutter replacement and installation.

September 14, 2023 1:31 PM

I have copper gutters on my 1912 colonial home in Northeastern MA and through years of either neglect or bad/no maintenance by prior owners they cannot be repaired and need to be replaced. I finally managed to get a quote from a reputable contractor so I'm looking for a sanity check to make sure the estimate I have is reasonable.

I've got about 225 linear feet of ogee copper gutters that are in need of replacement. There are leaks at most of the seams and holes throughout from bad patching and little or no maintenance over the years. This is the condition they were in when we purchased the house about 18 months ago and it is what it is. Supposedly what I have now is the "Cadillac of gutters" and usually only installed on municipal buildings to handle large volumes of rainwater runoff. I can confirm the latter because I saw the same profile copper gutters installed on the library building which was built about 10 years before my house (1902 vs 1912).

I also have about 120 linear feet of wood gutters on the lower level with a copper liner that is also in need of attention.

The estimate for the upper level is about $34k for 5-inch copper gutters including the custom fabrication to match the existing profile, installation, cleanup, insurance etc.. All seams, endcaps, miters and outlets to be soldered. A 1x1/8 inch bar will be run through the entire face of the gutter to give additional strength.

Doing the same with a half-round profile would cost about $5000 less. We'd like to stay with the original profile.

The replacement of the liners on the first level would cost about $17k.

All existing downspouts would remain.

The only estimate I have is from this company, they've supposedly been doing this for 4 generations since 1919 yada yada yada, and were recommended to me by the director of the library actually. They were the only one that got back to me and showed up when they said they would. And they were patient with my questions and concerns.

My online searches for data on this is all over the place from $8/lf to $35/lf and $1400 for labor which I don't think is realistic in my area, in this economy, for this type of specialized work.

So I guess my main question is where does this estimate/cost land in terms of copper replacements? I am getting hosed? Or is the pricing high but reasonable? It's basically $150 per linear foot. I'm waiting for another quote from a different company but I'm not holding my breath as I've been at this since last December (almost a year ago).

Thanks in advance.

posted by eatcake to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

That would be really high for plastic or seamless gutters, but you are asking about a very specialized, customized product, and to make it look historical. So yeah, the number of contractors able to do that job, and willing to do it will be far smaller, and your price less negotiable.


For what it's worth, this site has 400 linear feet of 20oz 8" copper gutter, in 20ft sections for $503. So another $33k in installation costs seems high, but I'm not there. And you may be getting a higher quality product than this random site I googled.

Are they also replacing your fascia (what the gutters are mounted to) or something?
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:46 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Copper is really high right now. I'm in MA too, and I priced some copper pipes last year. Between availability and cost, it was staggering. In fact I was told that municipalities have been buying it in bulk to get volume discounts for city piping needs, which has also driven the cost higher for us little guys.

My surest way to save thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, is to get at least three quotes from companies who are recommended. I believe you when you say you've had trouble getting anyone to even show up. But unless the situation is really dire, can you hang in there until you do get a couple more that come recommended? Have you searched Next Door posts? Are you a member of any other groups like school parents, churchgoers, local Facebook groups or neighborhood mailing lists? Or could you join? Is Angie's List active enough for your area to make it worth joining? Last but not least, have you looked into companies in NH that might routinely do work in MA but not pop up on your local searches?
posted by cocoagirl at 2:18 PM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

My parents live in a historic district in the Midwest, and I believe that they got a quote over $60k to do cooper gutters, a couple of years ago.

So, appalling, yes, but likely not out of line for the market.

(Copper gutters require a different skill set than contemporary aluminum ones: don't they have to be soldered together? What a pain in the ass!)
posted by wenestvedt at 2:22 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

For what it's worth, this site has 400 linear feet of 20oz 8" copper gutter, in 20ft sections for $503

You misread: it's $500 for every 20' (with a minimum purchase of 400'.). So that's at least $2300 wholesale cost. And it's not the matching profile.

The overall price does not surprise me.
posted by flimflam at 2:30 PM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I had this done on a house in Maine a few years ago. Your price actually sounds like a good value.
posted by yellowcandy at 3:15 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

It's specialized work, with a diminishing number of people who can and will do it.

Your quote doesn't sound unreasonable, especially for matching your existing profile.

I appreciate that you're looking to do a historically appropriate restoration instead of just tossing up aluminum or vinyl. I wish more people were able to and did consider that option.
posted by jellywerker at 3:28 PM on September 14, 2023 [6 favorites]

If I'm understanding correctly, the original copper has lasted over a hundred years, with not much maintenance?

If so, I don't see why you'd blink an eye at that price. Depreciated over 100 years, it's basically profit!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:08 PM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I was going to say what SaltySalticid said. If I have the money, and spending it won't seriously affect my lifestyle going forward, I amortize and bite the bullet. Your new gutters will last 100 years. that works out to $43 per month. What are you spending on Hulu? Plus, when you or your heirs sell the place they'll get a proportionally larger return on that investment going forward. If you have the means go for it!
posted by Floydd at 6:24 PM on September 14, 2023

I’m kind of surprised someone out there doesn’t make aluminum guttering designed to look like lightly-weathered copper guttering.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:28 PM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I’m kind of surprised someone out there doesn’t make aluminum guttering designed to look like lightly-weathered copper guttering.

They do; look for Kynar-coated steel or aluminum. It's available in a variety of copper-adjacent colors depending on the weathering look you're going for (example).

...do keep in mind, however, that Kynar has a circa 30yr warranty (IME, these warranties are basically worthless because there's always a reason your specific installation doesn't meet their requirements) so it won't last as long as true copper. HOWEVER, it is a hell of a lot cheaper and Kynar is a reasonably well-known coating. Also, Kynar can't be soldered, it has to be sealed (eg: silicone).
posted by aramaic at 6:41 PM on September 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

When they do take out the old copper, hopefully you can get something back on the recycle value of the materials too.
posted by many-things at 7:09 PM on September 14, 2023 [7 favorites]

It is pretty hard to do this right, the company might be factoring in some aftercare visits or you could make sure that if you see leaks or the angles shift after one winter that they will fix.

FWIW, we did copper on our 1800s CT home. 20 years later we put the max solar panels on the roof and now the water overshoots the gutters! So… if we did it over now I would be looking at faux copper.
posted by drowsy at 9:53 PM on September 14, 2023

Copper is so expensive now that people are trying to steal live electrical wires to get it. I suggest you go for fake copper, not because it will be cheaper but it reduces the chances of someone taking a ladder to your house and trying to steal it.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:06 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Is Angie's List active enough for your area to make it worth joining?

You can now join Angi and get quotes for work without paying a membership fee. We, too, still had trouble getting folks to respond, but it was much easier than calling individual companies.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:35 PM on September 15, 2023

Sanity check: not a totally unreasonable estimate, but the site linked above says it would be $6k in copper gutters. Did they give you a labor and parts breakdown? I would expect to pay $75-100/hour for this work in my HCOL areas, probably a team of 4 guys working for 1-2 weeks…call that $28,000 in labor and $6k in parts.

Sanity check: should YOU do this instead a cheaper and less historically accurate replacement? How much is your house worth if you were to sell it today? How much do you have in savings? Are you fully funding your retirement, prepared to pay for your kids’ college costs, etc.?
posted by amaire at 11:14 AM on September 16, 2023

I work for a contractor on Martha's Vineyard, and he just quoted a client $120 per foot installed for copper gutters (before overhead & profit, +10 or 12%). I'm sure they aren't the municipal, high-volume type you're looking at (which is probably a bespoke, historical reproduction), but prices are *always* higher here, so at least this is a benchmark price to consider.
posted by feistycakes at 12:35 PM on September 20, 2023