Gutters aren't a roof accessory. They're what keeps your basement dry.

Seamless 5" K-style aluminum runs about $9 to $13 per linear foot installed, and 6" runs about $12 to $17. A typical Long Island cape or ranch with 150 to 200 feet of gutter and five or six downspouts usually lands between $1,800 and $3,400 for a full replacement. Half-round copper is a different tier entirely — $28 to $45 per foot. Fascia repair, underground drainage and leaf guards are quoted as separate line items so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

Five-inch handles most modest Long Island roofs fine. We recommend 6" when the roof is large, the pitch is steep enough to accelerate runoff, when several roof planes dump into one valley, or when you are under heavy oak and pine cover. A 6" K-style gutter carries roughly 40 percent more water and takes a 3x4 downspout instead of a 2x3, which clogs far less often. On a hard nor'easter downpour, that difference is the whole ball game.

For a two-story house under mature oaks or pines, yes — a good micro-mesh guard takes you from cleaning three or four times a year to brushing the top of the mesh once. On a single-story ranch with no trees, guards are often money you do not need to spend. What we will not tell you is that any guard is maintenance free. Long Island pine needles and oak tassels sit on top of every guard made, and shingle grit still gets through.

Twice a year is the baseline: late spring after the oak tassels and maple seeds drop, and late fall once the leaves are down. If you are under pines, plan on three or four times a year — pine needles never stop falling and they mat into a felt that water simply runs over. Clean before winter above all, because a gutter packed with wet leaves is how ice dams get started.

Yes, and it is the reason we take the old gutters off before we quote the final number. Overflowing gutters rot the fascia board behind them, and once the fascia is soft there is nothing solid for a hanger to bite into. We replace rotted fascia and soffit, prime and wrap it in aluminum, and only then hang the new gutter. Hanging new gutters on rotted wood is the single most common shortcut we get called out to fix.

If the gutters are over 15 years old, sagging, or already leaking at the seams — yes, do it with the roof. The drip edge, ice-and-water shield and first shingle course all tie into the gutter line, so doing both at once means one crew, one set of staging, and a properly integrated edge detail. It also costs less than bringing us back later. If your gutters are newer and correctly pitched, we will say so and leave them alone.