Installation

Seamless Gutters in Portland: What the Price Per Foot Buys

By Portland Gutter Works · September 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Two quotes for the same 160 feet of gutter on the same house in Woodstock. One is $1,750. The other is $2,650. Both say "seamless aluminum, installed." The homeowner assumes the second company is greedy. Usually the second company read the roof, and the first one is going to install the same gutter you are tearing off.

Here is what the money buys, line by line.

The metal

Seamless aluminum comes off the truck in .027 or .032 gauge. The number is thickness in inches, and the difference sounds trivial until a ladder leans on it or an ice slide off a cedar shake roof hits it. The .027 dents, oil-cans between hangers, and sags under a winter of wet needles. The .032 does not. Most low quotes are .027. The upgrade is about $1 a foot. Ask which gauge you are getting. A vague answer means .027.

The hangers

This is where cheap installs go wrong in Portland. Spike-and-ferrule hangers — the big nails through a sleeve — are fast to install and back out of damp fascia within ten years. Hidden screw hangers clip inside the gutter and drive a screw into the rafter tail. They cost more per piece and take longer, and they are why a gutter is still tight to the fascia in 2046. Spacing matters too: 24 inches is standard, 18 inches under a heavy needle load or on a long run. A quote that does not say "hidden hangers" and give a spacing is telling you the answer by omission.

The outlets and downspouts

A 2-inch punched outlet feeding a 2x3 downspout is the standard on a cheap install because it is fast. On a Portland roof under Douglas fir it is the first thing that clogs. A cut outlet sized for a 3x4 downspout roughly doubles the flow through the pinch point and makes a clog clearable from the ground. The difference is about $30–$50 per downspout. The number of downspouts matters more than the size: one per 35 feet of run, no exceptions.

The corners

Every inside corner is a mitre — either a pre-formed box mitre with two sealed joints, or a strip mitre cut and sealed on site. Mitres are where seamless gutters leak, so the sealant and the prep matter. On a cut-up hip roof in the West Hills with eight corners, the mitre work is a real share of the labor, and it is why per-foot pricing goes up on complicated roofs.

The fascia

A good quote includes a line for fascia repair, priced per foot, even if it says "none expected." A bad quote ignores fascia and either hangs the new gutter on rot or hits you with a change order on install day. On a 1930s Sellwood bungalow, expect 8 to 20 feet of fascia to need replacing.

The roof edge

Cedar shake and many older composition roofs have no drip edge. Water runs behind the gutter no matter how well it is hung. A drip edge flashing tucked under the first course is $6–$12 a foot on the affected eave and belongs on the quote for any shake roof.

What the ranges look like

Gutter contractors Portland-wide tend to price seamless above national averages — labor costs more, and a lot of Portland roofs are steep and cut up. If a per-foot number lands well under $11, something on the left column is on the quote whether it is written down or not.

How to compare two quotes

1. Ask both for gauge, hanger type and spacing, outlet size and downspout count.
2. Ask both whether fascia, drip edge and haul-away are in.
3. Ask both for a CCB number and check it.
4. Divide each total by the footage and find it on the table above.

Then decide whether $900 is worth .032 metal, screw hangers and outlets that drain. Over 20 years in the house, that is $45 a year.

The installation page describes what a full installation should include; the cost page has whole-house totals; and if the house is a craftsman, read the half-round page before you settle on K-style.

Why the per-foot number climbs on some houses

Price per foot is an average across the whole job, so houses that need more work per foot cost more per foot.

• Short runs and many corners. A cut-up roof with eight mitres and lots of 12-foot runs takes far more labor than one long, straight eave.
• Height. Second-story and third-story runs need taller ladders, standoffs and sometimes roof anchors.
• Steep pitch. A steep roof slows every step, from tear-off to hanging.
• Access. Decks, steep side yards, dense plantings and no place to park the forming machine add time.
• Size. Six-inch gutter costs more than five-inch, and 3x4 downspouts cost more than 2x3.

That is why a simple ranch can come in at the low end of the range and a West Hills house at the top, with the same metal on both.

Extras that are priced on their own

Some items should never be buried inside the per-foot price. Ask to see them as separate lines:

• Fascia replacement, per foot
• Drip edge, per foot
• Gutter guards, per foot
• Extra downspouts beyond the standard count
• Downspout extensions, splash blocks or drain reconnection
• Tear-off and haul-away, if not included

Seeing them separately lets you drop or add items, and lets you compare bids fairly.

Red flags on a quote

• No gauge listed. It is probably the thinner one.
• No hanger type. It is probably spikes.
• One lump sum with no footage and no downspout count.
• A big discount if you sign today. The coil costs the same next week.
• No mention of fascia on a house more than 40 years old.
• No CCB number anywhere on the paper.

None of these proves a bad job. Each one is a question to ask before you sign.

Questions to ask on the estimate visit

1. How many linear feet did you measure, and how many downspouts?
2. What gauge and size will you use, and why that size for my roof?
3. What hangers, at what spacing?
4. Will outlets be cut to fit the downspouts?
5. How do you handle fascia you find once the old gutters are off?
6. Where will each downspout drain?
7. How long does this price hold, and what deposit do you need?

When to book

Seamless gutters can go up most of the year. Booking in late summer or early fall gives the best chance of dry days for sealing corners, and gets the work done before the heavy rain. If you are re-roofing, schedule the gutters right after the roof so the new drip edge and the new gutter fit together.

An illustrative comparison

Here is how two bids on the same 160-foot house might break down. This is an example built from the ranges above, not a real quote.

Once you add the missing items to Bid A, the gap shrinks. The rest of the difference buys thicker metal, screw hangers and an extra, larger downspout. On a house under fir, those are the parts that keep the gutter working.

Before you sign either bid, look up both contractors' CCB numbers on the CCB website, and ask each one to put the full spec in writing. A clear written scope is the best protection against a change order on install day, whichever price you choose.