Gutter replacement
New gutters fail the same way old ones did unless three things change
Replacing a gutter is straightforward. Replacing it so it stops doing what the old one did means fixing the wood it hangs on, sizing it for the water it actually receives, and getting the outlets in the right places — including where they discharge.
What gets decided before anything is ordered
Establish what is behind the gutter
Fascia condition, whether there is a drip edge or gutter apron above the trough, and whether the soffit is dry. Hanging new aluminum on wet, soft wood is the single most common way a gutter replacement fails within a few seasons, and in this humidity soft wood does not recover.
Size it to the roof and the rain, not to the old gutter
Roof area draining into each run, plus the pitch of that roof, against the rainfall rates this coast produces. A steep plane delivers water faster, so the same area needs more trough or more outlets.
Place the outlets where the water is
Downspouts belong at the low end of each run and at the point where a valley dumps into the gutter. An outlet in the convenient corner is the reason a run backs up along its whole length.
Decide where the water ends up
Extensions, splash blocks or a buried line carrying discharge clear of the slab. On expansive clay this is not landscaping detail, it is the reason the gutters are there.
Set the pitch deliberately
A slight, continuous fall to each outlet, roughly a sixteenth of an inch per foot of run. Enough to drain, not so much that the gutter visibly droops against the fascia line.
Hang it close enough to matter
Hidden hangers screwed into solid wood, spaced tighter than the minimum. This market gets a great deal of damaging wind and the occasional tropical system, and hanger spacing is the difference between a run that stays up and one that peels.
K-style, half-round and what the house asks for
| Profile | Where it belongs | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 5-inch K-style | Modest post-war and modern suburban houses with simple roof planes | Adequate for small areas; the outlets usually decide whether it copes, not the trough |
| 6-inch K-style | Large or steep planes, valleys discharging into one run, roofs with a lot of area per foot of eave | More capacity and a larger outlet. On this coast the extra capacity earns its place more often than it does elsewhere |
| Half-round | Architecturally sensitive houses, often with a round downspout | The correct profile on a period elevation; hung on brackets and less forgiving of debris |
| Oversized outlets and extra downspouts | Any run that has overflowed at the same place for years | Usually the cheapest effective change on the whole system, and the one most often left out of a quote |
The fascia question, answered honestly
A gutter crew that never mentions the fascia is quoting a gutter, not a repair. Fascia rot is common here precisely because so many roofs were installed without a drip edge or a gutter apron at the eave, so wind-driven rain has been curling back behind the trough for years — and warm, wet wood on the Gulf Coast attracts insects that finish what the water started.
- Soft spots at the ends of runs and under valleys, where the most water has been going.
- Fastener holes that have wallowed out, which is what makes a gutter sag between hangers.
- A fascia board that has been face-nailed and caulked repeatedly, which is a sign somebody has already tried to hold a gutter on with sealant.
- Mud tubes, frass or hollow-sounding wood at the fascia or the rafter tails, which is a pest question as well as a carpentry one and is worth identifying before anything is covered up.
- Rot that carries on into the rafter tail behind the board, which is carpentry rather than trim work.
If the fascia is going to be replaced, that is also the moment to get a gutter apron in. It costs almost nothing while the trough is down, and it is the detail that keeps the new board dry.
What you should get
- A written scope naming the profile and the outlet count, not "replace gutters".
- Hanger spacing stated, because that is the wind detail and it is invisible once the gutter is up.
- What happens to the existing downspout runs, including any that go underground and where they are supposed to discharge.
- Whether a gutter apron or drip edge is being added, and if not, why not.
Want the fascia and the sizing looked at before anything gets ordered?
Request a free inspectionCan new gutters go up without replacing the fascia?
Often, yes — rot is usually local rather than continuous, and hidden hangers can be placed in sound wood. What does not work is hanging a run across a section of fascia that is soft the whole way and hoping the fasteners find something.
How many downspouts does a run need?
It depends on the roof area feeding that run and where the water concentrates. What matters more than a rule of thumb is where they go: an outlet at the low end and one near any valley discharge solves most of the problems a longer run has.
Will bigger gutters stop the overflow?
Sometimes, and often the outlets are the real constraint. A 6-inch trough with the same two undersized downspouts fills at nearly the same point in a downpour. Size the outlets and the trough together, or you have paid for capacity you cannot drain.
What about the color?
Aluminum coil comes in a range of factory finishes, and they weather better than painted gutter. Matching trim exactly is worth checking against a physical sample rather than a chart, because a finish that reads as white in a brochure can be noticeably warmer on the house.
All work is performed by insured local roofing professionals. Texas does not license roofing contractors at state level, so insurance, references and a written scope are what there is to check.