Gutter repair in Horsham and Montgomery County

What to check during the next rain

The easiest way to find a gutter problem is to watch your gutters work. Next time it rains steadily, put on a jacket and walk around the house. You do not need a ladder for any of this.

• Water pouring over the front edge. Either a clog, a gutter that is too small for that part of the roof, or a run that has lost its slope.
• Drips from a corner or joint. A failed seam. Look for a matching stain or a worn spot in the mulch below.
• A low spot where water sits. The gutter has sagged between hangers. Water collects there and spills over.
• Little or no water coming out of a downspout. It is clogged, usually at the top elbow or the bottom bend.
• Water running down behind the gutter. It is getting between the gutter and the fascia board, often because the drip edge is missing or short. That is how fascia rots.
• Water pooling at the foundation. The downspout is emptying too close to the house or the ground slopes the wrong way.

Take a phone video: Ten seconds of video showing where the water is going tells us more than a description. Send it when you call and we can often tell you on the phone whether it is a small fix.

Repair the gutters, or replace them?

Most gutter problems are local. One leaking corner, one sagging run, one crushed downspout. Those are repairs, and they usually cost a few hundred dollars. The rest of the system can have plenty of life left.

Replacement starts to make sense when the problems are everywhere at once:

• Leaks at several joints on old sectional gutters, and new ones every year
• Rust holes through steel gutters, not just surface rust
• Gutters that are too small for the roof and overflow even when clean
• Long stretches of rotted fascia, so most of the gutters have to come down anyway

In those cases, patching one spot just moves the leak along the run. New seamless gutters remove most of the joints that fail. We will tell you which side of the line your house is on after looking at the whole system.

The repairs we do most

Leaking seams and corners

We take out the old sealant, clean the joint down to bare metal and reseal it. Smearing new caulk over old caulk does not hold, so we do not do it.

Sagging gutters

Usually failed hangers, or hangers screwed into soft wood. We replace the hangers, reset the slope toward the outlet, and replace rotted fascia first if the wood will not hold a screw.

Downspouts

Crushed, disconnected or clogged downspouts get cleared or replaced, and we add extensions so the water lands away from the foundation.

Water behind the gutter

If water is running behind the gutter, the fix is often at the roof edge: adding or extending the drip edge, the metal strip that directs water off the shingles into the gutter. Because we are roofers, we fix that too, and check the first row of shingles for damage while we are there. If the roof edge needs more than that, see roof repair.

Gutters, ice and winter damage

Gutters full of leaves in December hold water, and that water freezes. The weight of ice pulls hangers out and bends runs. Ice at the roof edge can also back water up under the shingles. Most of this is prevented by cleaning the gutters after the leaves are down and before the first hard freeze.

If ice is causing an active leak inside, that is a roof problem first. Call us any time and see emergency roof repair.

What it usually costs

Resealing a corner or rehanging one run sits at the low end. Replacing whole sections, rotted fascia or a full set of downspouts pushes it up.

• Gutter Repair: $350 – $1,500
• Downspout Installation or Replacement: $350 – $1,250
• Gutter Cleaning: $350 – $550
• Gutter Installation: $1,200 – $7,500

Questions we get asked

How much does gutter repair cost in Horsham?

Most gutter repairs we do fall in a typical range of $350 to $1,500. Resealing a joint or rehanging a sagging run is at the low end; replacing sections, downspouts or rotted fascia costs more. You get a free written estimate before any work starts.

Should I repair or replace my gutters?

Repair them if the problem is in one or two spots and the rest of the system is sound. Replace them if old sectional gutters leak at many joints, steel gutters are rusted through, or they overflow even when clean. We look at the whole system before recommending either.

Why is my gutter overflowing if it is not clogged?

Usually the gutter has lost its slope and water sits in a low spot, or the gutter and downspouts are too small for the amount of roof draining into them. A valley that empties into a short run is a common cause. Watching it in a steady rain shows which one it is.

Why is water running behind my gutter?

Water is getting between the gutter and the fascia board, often because the drip edge at the roof edge is missing or too short. Left alone, it rots the fascia and the hangers pull loose. The fix is usually at the roof edge, which is work we do as roofers.

Can you match my existing gutters?

Usually, for standard aluminum gutters in common colors. Older or unusual profiles can be hard to match exactly. If a repair would look patched on the front of the house, we will tell you before we start.

Are you licensed and insured for gutter work?

Yes. Armstrong Roofing holds PA license #PA164826 and carries general liability and workers' compensation insurance. We will show you proof of insurance before any work starts.

Related pages

• Gutter Installation: Seamless gutters and downspouts sized to move water away from your foundation.
• Gutter Cleaning: Clogged gutters cleared and downspouts flushed, with a quick look at the roof while we are up there.
• Roof Repair: Leaks, missing shingles, flashing and vents. We fix the problem and tell you honestly how much life the roof has left.
• Emergency Roof Repair: Active leak or storm damage? Call any time, day or night. We tarp it to stop the water, then make the permanent fix.
• Roof Inspection: A free, top-to-bottom look at your roof with photos, so you know what you actually need before you spend anything.
• Horsham: Home base. Our shop is here.
• Blue Bell: Larger homes with complex rooflines and lots of valleys.
• Abington: Stone and brick older homes where details matter.
• Willow Grove: Post-war Capes, ranchers and splits on their second or third roof.
• Hatboro: Borough homes and older twins right next door to Horsham.
• Montgomery County: Where we do most of our work, from Horsham out across the county.
• Bucks County: Warminster, Doylestown, Newtown, Yardley, Chalfont and everywhere in between.