Repair or replace your gutters: how to decide
The signs that separate a simple repair from a gutter at the end of its life.
Most gutter problems can be repaired. The trick is knowing when a repair is good value and when it is money spent on a gutter that will fail again somewhere else next winter.
Repair when the problem is isolated
- One joint, corner or stop end is dripping.
- A bracket has come loose or one section is sagging.
- A single length is dented, split or has one rust hole.
- The gutter overflows because a downpipe is blocked.
In each case the rest of the gutter still has life in it. A proper repair, with the joint re-made rather than smeared with sealant, should last for years.
Replace the run when the metal is finished
- Rust shows in several places along the same run, especially along the base.
- The gutter has been patched two or three times already.
- It holds water along its length because the fall has gone.
- The back edge has rusted away where it meets the fascia.
Coated steel fails in a pattern: once the coating is exhausted in one spot, the rest of that run is close behind. Replacing just that side of the house is a sensible middle path.
Replace everything when the system is wrong
Sometimes the gutters are not worn out, they are simply inadequate. Gutters that overflow in ordinary rain when clean are usually undersized or short of downpipes. The building code allows no more than 12 metres of gutter per downpipe and requires overflow to spill away from the building. If yours does not meet that, repair will not help.
A quick cost comparison
A small repair visit is typically $150 to $350. Replacing a full single-storey house in Colorbond is commonly $2,000 to $4,000. If repair quotes for one run are climbing past a third of the cost of replacing it, replacement is usually the better spend. See the cost guide.
Questions to ask before you accept a quote
- Can you show me photos of the damage?
- What caused it, and does the quote fix the cause?
- If I repair now, how long should it last?
- Has the fascia been checked?
Related: leaking gutter repair, rusted gutter repair, gutter replacement.
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