Gutter Talk

Between the gray skies and the recent rain, it’s hard to ignore the onset of fall and the approach of winter.

This means different things to different people. Children think of Halloween, falling leaves and puddle-jumping. Adults think of saving up money for the holidays, buying trick-or-treat costumes for their kids and finding out whether their rain gutters are ready for the storm season.

Over the next few months we will help with the holiday preparation and the gift buying. This week, though, we will keep our focus on the gutters.

We contacted some local do-it-yourself experts to find out whether rain gutters can be cleaned and installed by oneself--even if that self is only moderately handy. We also tried to pin down a general cost of installing a gutter, although house size, geographic location and personal preferences are important factors.

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Ken Lorenzo, sales manager at the California Do-It Center in Simi Valley, said this is the time of year that homeowners start coming into the store for rain gutters and gutter components. In many cases, a gutter just needs to be cleaned.

In some cases, new gutters need to be installed.

Cleaning a rain gutter will cost virtually nothing--just the price, if you don’t already have them, of a ladder and a trowel to scoop out the leaves, sticks and other debris. To keep further debris from collecting, Lorenzo suggested purchasing a gutter guard, a screen that is placed over the gutter to catch leaves and other gunk.

Guards come in small lengths at about $3 or $4 per segment. Cost will vary, of course, depending on how many segments are needed.

It’s probably a wise investment, especially for people with a lot of trees around their homes.

While up there cleaning the gutter, you may as well take the time to see how the gutter is functioning. Lorenzo said running water from a garden hose through the gutter should indicate any leaks.

If there is, a tube of sealant--which costs about $4--should correct the problem. Lorenzo said metal gutters should be checked for corrosion and plastic gutters should be checked for cracking.

Replacing or installing new gutters will cost about $200 and up, Lorenzo said. At the Do-It Center, 10-foot pieces of metal or plastic gutter run about $5 a piece.

Plastic is simpler to install--Lorenzo compared it to piecing together Lego blocks.

Along with the gutter, there is the additional cost of downspouts (generally, one per wall), brackets, screws and other essential pieces.

How much gutter you put up ultimately will determine the expense.

“You need to do it around the front entryway, so you’re not dribbling on your head,” Lorenzo said. “If you don’t want water splashing off the roof onto the ground in places it will get muddy, you would want gutter there, too.”

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Mike Shane, an assistant manager at Orchard Supply Hardware in Thousand Oaks, said location also could affect the cost of the project. People in a high-precipitation zone, for example, will want bigger gutters.

“Some gutter pieces are [wider] and have more water capacity than the others,” Shane said. Wider gutters, he said, sell for $6.49 per 10-foot segment at Orchard Supply Hardware while the narrower pieces go for $3.49.

Shane also said plastic gutters are easier to install and keep in good condition, but both plastic and metal gutters serve their purpose equally well.

“It’s really a preference,” he said. “Plastic is easier to maintain because you don’t have to worry about priming or painting.”