Gutters and downspouts.

The problem gutters actually solve

A one-inch rain on a 1,500-square-foot roof is about 900 gallons of water. Without gutters it falls in a line along the foundation, saturates the clay soil River Forest sits on, and finds its way through the basement wall. Gutters collect it and downspouts move it. Where they move it to is the entire point of the system, and it is the row on the estimate most homeowners never read.

The trough itself matters less than people think. A 1960s steel gutter with three rust holes and a downspout that discharges ten feet from the house is doing more good than new seamless aluminum dumping at the corner of the foundation.

Where the water goes

Three answers, from cheapest to most reliable. A splash block at the bottom of the downspout moves water two feet from the wall; on clay soil that is barely enough. An extension, above ground or buried, carries it six to ten feet out, ideally to a spot that drains away from the house. A buried extension to daylight or to a dry well gets it entirely away from the foundation and is what the basement waterproofing guide calls the tenth-of-the-price fix.

Buried extensions need to be pitched, need a cleanout, and need to end somewhere the water can actually go. A pipe buried to nowhere fills, backs up and freezes. Ask where each downspout ends, one by one.

Downspouts and the sewer

Many River Forest houses were built with downspouts piped directly into the sanitary sewer. That was normal in 1925. In a heavy rain today it sends roof water into a combined system that is already full, and the surcharge comes back up the floor drain in your basement and your neighbor's.

The Village Protect Your Basement program makes disconnecting every downspout, sump and yard drain from the sewer a condition of reimbursement, and Village staff verify it. Even without the program it is the single most effective thing a gutter contractor can do for your basement. If your downspouts vanish into a cast-iron hub at grade, they are probably tied in. Ask the estimate to include capping the hub and redirecting the discharge.

Reading the estimate, row by row

Line these rows up across every estimate you collect. Where two of them differ, that is where the price difference usually lives.

Material and size. Gauge and profile named. .032 aluminum is standard; .027 is thinner and dents.

Linear feet and downspouts. Count and size. Three-by-four downspouts carry roughly twice what two-by-three do and clog less under oaks.

Fascia repair. The board the gutter hangs from. If it is rotted, the new gutter will sag in a year.

Extensions and discharge. Downspout by downspout. This is the row.

Five inch, six inch, and the oaks

Five-inch K-style gutters handle most roofs. Six-inch gutters hold about 40 percent more water and, more usefully here, are much harder to overflow when they are half full of oak leaves and tassels in October. On a steep Tudor roof feeding a long run, or anywhere under the big Keystone and Lathrop oaks, six-inch is worth the few hundred dollars.

Downspout count matters as much. One downspout per 30 to 40 feet of gutter is the rule; long runs with one outlet overflow at the far end in every heavy rain.

Materials

Seamless aluminum, formed on site from a coil, is the standard here: no joints to leak except at corners and outlets, a factory finish in dozens of colors, twenty to thirty years of life. Copper costs four to six times more, needs no paint, patinates to brown and then green, and lasts a century. On the historic district houses it is the right answer and sometimes the expected one. Galvanized steel is what most of the old gutters are; it is rarely installed new. Vinyl is for sheds.

Half-round profile was original to many houses here and is available in aluminum and copper. On a house that still has it, replacing K-style for half-round is a small historic-preservation kindness.

Fascia, hangers and pitch

The gutter hangs from the fascia board. On a ninety-year-old house the fascia has been wet for ninety years wherever the old gutter leaked, and sections are often soft. Good estimates include inspecting it, replacing rotted lengths, and wrapping it in aluminum so it stays dry.

Hidden hangers screwed into the fascia every 24 inches, closer under heavy snow loads, are standard. Spikes and ferrules are the old way and work loose. Gutters should pitch about a quarter inch per ten feet toward the outlet; a level gutter holds water and a gutter that pitches wrong holds it at the far end.

Guards

Guards keep leaves out of the trough and reduce cleaning. They do not eliminate it: oak tassels, maple seeds and pine needles lie on top of mesh and shed water past the gutter in heavy rain if not cleared. Micro-mesh guards perform best; foam inserts and plastic screens are worse than nothing after a year. Under the oaks, expect to still get on a ladder, or pay someone to, every fall.

A guard that costs more than the gutter it covers is common and worth thinking about. Ask what the guard warranty actually promises and whether it includes cleaning.

What drives the price

Linear footage and height set the base. Six-inch over five-inch adds a little; copper multiplies everything. Fascia repair and buried extensions are the swing items, and they are also the two that protect the house. Guards can double a job and protect nothing but your Saturday.

Red flags

• No discharge row, or "splash blocks" on a house with a wet basement.
• Fascia "as needed."
• Downspouts left tied into the sewer.
• Guards sold as the fix for basement water.
• Spikes instead of hidden hangers.
• No permit line. Gutters are on the Village list.

Questions to ask

• Where does each downspout end?
• Are any of my downspouts tied into the sewer, and will you disconnect and cap them?
• Five or six inch, and why for my roof?
• What is the gauge, and how are the gutters hung?
• What happens if the fascia is rotted?
• If I take the guards, who cleans them, and what does the warranty cover?

The short list

Discharge downspout by downspout. Sewer connections capped. Six-inch under the oaks. Fascia inspected and priced. Hidden hangers. Permit included. Six lines, and your gutter estimate is about your basement instead of your trough.

Permits, programs and the Village