How do I know if I need gutter repair?

Watch for water spilling over the front edge in a rainstorm, runs that sag or pull away from the fascia, drips at the seams, and staining on the siding or down the foundation wall. Any one of those means water is escaping the system instead of leaving the house. We'll tell you whether it's a seam, a pitch, or the fascia behind it.

What causes gutters to clog in Boston?

Leaves in the fall, pine needles year-round, and ice once the cold sets in. Tree-lined streets in places like Newton and Cambridge fill up fastest. The needles are the quiet problem — they slip past most guards and pack down into a mat that water can't move through.

How often should I schedule gutter cleaning in Boston?

Twice a year — once in the fall after the leaves are down, once in the spring after the thaw. Two cleanings keep the runs flowing through the seasons that matter most, and the fall pass is the one that clears the gutters before winter so ice dams have less to feed on.

What are the risks of ignoring gutter issues?

Water that can't drain finds somewhere else to go. Left long enough, clogged or failing gutters lead to foundation problems, basement flooding, soaked siding, and rot in the roof deck and fascia. The repair is almost always smaller and cheaper than the damage it prevents.

Gutters that vanish into the architecture.

Half-round copper is the standard. Everything else is a compromise

Half-round copper gutters with hidden hangers are the standard for older Boston homes. They drain better than K-style, they age into a verdigris that improves the look of the house, and properly soldered seams last fifty years without maintenance. We also repair what’s there — re-pitching sagging runs, replacing failed seam joints, fitting new hidden hangers, and replacing the rotted fascia behind the gutter where water has been hiding for a decade.

Copper gutter detail next to slate roof tiles

What we install

Half-round copper

Hidden-hanger copper that drains better than K-style and ages into verdigris. Soldered seams last fifty years.

K-style aluminum

The practical choice where copper isn’t in the budget — properly pitched, hidden-hanger fastened, cleanly run.

Box gutters

Built into the cornice on older homes, lined and detailed to move water the way the architecture intended.

We don’t install gutter guards as a default — they’re a solution to a problem that proper installation often prevents. We’ll quote them if you want them; we’ll usually recommend cleaning twice a year instead.

How the work gets done

Drainage assessment

We check the existing pitch, the downspout placement, and the underlying fascia condition. The gutter is usually the easy part; the fascia behind it is where the surprise lives.