Gutters in Portland, Oregon: rain, moss and fir needles

Why gutters in Portland fail differently

Portland gets about 43 inches of rain a year, and almost none of it arrives in a hurry. It comes as drizzle from October to May, day after day, which means a gutter here is wet for eight months straight. That does two things a Texas or Florida gutter never deals with. It grows moss — thick, sponge-like mats along the back edge and around outlets — and it turns every fir needle that lands in the trough into a slow-draining felt that holds water against the fascia. The rain gutters Portland homes carry have to drain while partly full of needles, which is a different job from handling a summer cloudburst.

The second Portland problem is the housing stock. Laurelhurst, Irvington, Sellwood, Alberta and the streets around Mt. Tabor are full of 1920s–40s craftsman bungalows and Tudors, many still carrying their original half-round gutters or a K-style that was hung in the 1970s. The fascia behind those gutters is old-growth fir, and it is often the last solid wood on the house — until a moss-choked gutter soaks it for a few winters. Up in the West Hills the roofs are steeper and more cut up, and gutter repair West Hills homes need usually means cedar shake, tall firs and long ladder setups.

Any sound estimate on Portland gutters comes down to three questions. Is the trough draining or holding water. Is the fascia behind it still sound. And where does each downspout put the water, because a downspout that dumps beside a 1925 basement wall is a wet basement waiting for November.

The main gutter jobs in Portland, OR

Repairs — resealing corners and end caps, re-hanging sagging runs on hidden hangers, replacing crushed downspouts, fixing outlets that were cut too small, and replacing fascia that rotted behind an overflowing gutter. Most repairs typically land between $150 and $600. The guide to gutter repair in Portland covers each one.

Seamless installation and replacement — .032 aluminum in 5-inch or 6-inch, formed in the driveway to the length of each wall, screwed into the rafter tails, with 3x4 downspouts wherever a long run or a steep roof needs them. A typical Portland bungalow with 140–170 feet of gutter usually runs $1,700–$2,900. See installation and replacement and the pricing page.

Half-round and copper gutters — for the craftsman and colonial homes where a K-style profile looks wrong, and for owners who want a gutter that will outlive the roof. See half-round and copper.

Gutter guards — worth it under fir and bigleaf maple, and often not worth it where they would just become a moss shelf. Compared on the gutter guards page.

Gutter cleaning and moss removal — twice a year is the Portland standard, and a good cleaning includes a look at hangers and fascia so a soft board is found before it becomes a repair. See gutter cleaning.

How this site works

This is a free local guide, not a gutter company. Calls and estimate requests go to an independent local contractor partner who looks at the gutters, writes the quote and performs the work. You're never obligated to hire, and the prices on this site are typical ranges for gutters in Portland, not quotes. Oregon generally requires contractors to be licensed with the Construction Contractors Board, so look up any contractor's license on the CCB website before hiring — including whoever comes out from a call placed through this site.

Areas this guide covers

Portland proper from St. Johns to Sellwood and the West Hills to the east side, with estimate requests passed to a local contractor partner. Nearby cities get the same guidance: Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Milwaukie, Oregon City and Gresham, where questions about gutter installation Gresham homeowners ask follow the same sizing rules as the east side of Portland. Beaverton and Lake Oswego have their own pages because their houses have their own patterns: Beaverton and Lake Oswego.