How Much Does It Cost To Replace Guttering?

Installing Gutters is relatively low cost. Amazingly, on average Gutter installations only cost £56.00 - £83.00 per meter including installation. This is based on an average installation length of 8 metres and includes the downpipe and all fittings. 

However, it is important to consider a few factors that can make this figure higher or lower. For example, what type of gutter are you installing? And what height is the gutter being installed at?

So, to provide a more accurate estimate we have set out the three key factors you should check in the following article below, which will determine your cost for new or replacement Guttering installation.

Gutter Installation Costs:

Here are the three key factors that will determine your gutter installation cost:

1. Cost of Gutters & Downpipes
2. Access Equipment Hire Cost (Ladders/ Scaffolding etc.)
3. Labour Costs

Let’s go into a bit more detail now about why and how these factors affect the overall cost of your installation or guttering and what options you should consider:

Cost of Gutters & Downpipes

If you are replacing or installing new gutters and downpipes the following explanation is probably the most important information you will ever read.

Firstly, it’s important to understand that typically, only 40% of the cost of installing gutters will be the actual cost of the guttering materials themselves.

However, the choices you make when deciding what type of guttering to install will affect the rest of the costs over time.

If you are only needing the guttering to last a few years then you could consider a plastic guttering system, as plastic gutters and downpipes are generally the cheapest to buy.

However, remember that the installation costs will make up around 60% of the costs of your installation. That’s why so many professional installers and DIYers alike are increasingly choosing to install aluminium gutters and downpipes.

The great news is that nowadays, with clever patented designs and modern manufacturing, aluminium gutters and downpipes are available at incredibly low prices which are very close to the costs of plastic gutters. That’s why it simply doesn’t make sense any more to install plastic gutters.

A fast way to get a price for materials is to use an instant online Gutter Calculator which will give you the correct current buying prices for all your gutters for almost any building shape.

Access Equipment Hire Cost:

The next thing you should consider is how you or your installation company will safely access the eaves area where the gutters will be installed. This will depend on whether your eaves are at ground-floor level or first-floor level for example. The higher they are, the higher the access equipment such as ladders or scaffold towers you will need.

It might seem like a good idea to save money and just use ladders to access the gutter area, however, you need two hands to install most gutter and downpipe systems which means it could be unsafe.

It is much wiser and safer to hire a scaffold tower, which costs a little bit more but allows you to stand on a flat surface so you can use both hands without so much risk of falling.

In most areas, Scaffolding towers are readily available for hire and also have the added safety advantage of having a safety around the platform to stop you from falling.

Most Hire Companies will not only deliver the scaffold tower to your site but also offer training and set up of the tower, to provide you with further safety precautions and tips.

Scaffold Tower: cost around £50-£150 per day, depending on the size of the tower required to reach the height you are accessing.

Safety should always be your highest priority and it’s worth making a relatively small extra investment in a quality Scaffold Tower Hire, rather than risking having a fall from a ladder.

Labour Costs:

Finally, now we have decided on the type of gutters we are going to use, and our safe access system is sorted, let’s have a look at the last important factor which is the cost of labour to install the gutters and downpipes.

You may be installing the gutters and downpipes as a DIY project in which case you can remove these costs from your calculations.

If you are a professional installer or a private property owner getting a tradesperson to install your gutters and downpipes, then you will want to calculate the costs of the installation as part of the overall project cost.

On average a tradesperson in the UK costs £112.00 – £360.00 per day. However, installing gutters and downpipes is not a very complex task, so it shouldn’t be at the high end of the range.

As an approximate guide, an installer should be able to install 50m – 100m of Gutters a day. However, this does not allow for the removal of old systems and also possible other surrounding works such as removal and replacement of the fascias and soffits which may be done at the same time.

For these reasons, we have only used an average of just 8m per day installed along with 1 downpipe per day. This may seem a very conservative estimate, but it’s always best to allow for a slower speed and then it hopefully works out much less.

Choosing Aluminium Guttering is Common Sense...

You can see from the explanations above that around 60% of the costs of installing gutters is the labour and access equipment costs.

So, when you look at the 40% of the total cost which relates to the gutter, then you definitely should choose a high-quality aluminium gutter that will last many times longer than plastic gutters.

The last thing you want is to install a lower-cost plastic gutter and then have to replace or repair it in a year or two with 60% of the whole project costs having to be spent again.

Installing strong aluminium rainwater system that will last for probably 60 years will mean that all the good installation investment will only need to be done once in a lifetime, and will work out very-cost effective overall. - It's just common sense. 

Need Help with your Gutter Repair Project?

If you have any further questions regarding replacing gutters and downpipes and what options are best for you then why not live chat with our super-friendly Teams – they are always happy to discuss any questions with you.

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