Seamless gutters in Detroit
Seamless means the run is rolled from one coil on the truck, so the only joints are at the corners and the outlets. Here is what the sizes and the metals cost, and what the state's own standard says the work has to include.
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Typical cost: $6 – $12 per foot installed for seamless aluminum, from three Metro Detroit contractors in 2026 (one of them); $900 – $2,400 for a complete replacement on a typical house
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Five-inch or six
Five-inch K-style is the standard on most Metro Detroit houses (a Metro Detroit contractor, July 2026). Six-inch moves more water off a large or steep roof and needs bigger outlets. It costs $3 to $5 more per foot (a national customer survey of 30,000 respondents).
Which one a house needs depends on the roof area, so it belongs to whoever gets on the ladder. Ask for the size to be named in the written quote — it is the difference between two prices that otherwise look identical.
What the metal costs
The national rows and the Metro Detroit rows do not measure the same thing and are not averaged. The wide national band is the country; the narrow Metro Detroit band is three companies that post their own prices here. Copper is the outlier: up to $50 per foot, against $6 – $20 for aluminum or steel.
What the state's own standard asks for
Michigan publishes a written specification for gutter work in houses it pays to rehabilitate. It is the closest thing to a published Michigan gutter spec.
- On a replacement: K-style aluminum gutters and downspouts, collecting storm water from all lower roof edges and upper roof areas where needed.
- No partial replacements — the standard scopes roof, soffit, fascia and gutters together.
- On a repair: gutters and downspouts in good repair, leak free, collecting water from all lower and upper roof edges where needed.
- Concrete or plastic splash blocks to move water away from the foundation, and downspout outlets a minimum of three feet from it.
- Ground next to the building sloping away from it for at least ten feet, at a pitch of at least one inch per foot.
Every line above is from the state's residential rehabilitation standard (PDF). It governs publicly funded rehab work, not private jobs, but it is a published standard you can hold a written quote against.
Hangers, and the wood behind them
A gutter is only as good as what it is screwed to. The city's own maintenance guide tells homeowners to look for low spots or sagging along the gutter line and to repair with spikes or place new hangers as needed, and to make sure the run is pitched so water reaches the downspouts (the city's drainage guide (PDF)).
On a Detroit house that matters more than usual. The city says more than 95% of its single family homes were built before 1980 (the city's housing strategy (PDF)), and on a house of that age the fascia, soffit and rafter tails behind the gutter are wood. Water that has been running behind a gutter for a few winters has been running into that wood, which is why a gutter quote turns into a fascia quote often enough that it is worth asking about before the ladder goes up.
Ask which hanger the quote includes and how far apart they go, and ask what happens if rotted fascia turns up — in writing, before the work starts.
Twice a year, more if there are trees.
That is the city's own maintenance interval for gutters, along with checking the pitch, caulking leaks and clearing every downspout elbow. the city's drainage guide
A new gutter still has to be cleaned. Anyone selling you out of that is selling a guard — read what those actually do.
Questions
Checked October 10, 2026
Is seamless really better than sectional?
- Seamless has no joints along the run, and a leaking joint is a repair line of its own: resealing one runs $75 to $150 a section in Metro Detroit (a contractor's own list, July 2026). Fewer joints means fewer places to reseal.
Do I need six-inch gutters?
- It depends on the roof area feeding each run, which is a measurement, not an opinion. The cost difference is published: six-inch adds $3 to $5 per foot (national customer survey).
Can the old gutters just be re-hung?
- Sometimes — re-hanging a sagging run is priced at $100 to $200 by a Metro Detroit contractor (its price list, July 2026). The state's rehabilitation standard takes the other view for funded work, allowing no partial replacements and scoping roof, soffit, fascia and gutters together (the standard (PDF)).
What about copper?
- A national guide puts copper at up to $50 per foot against $6 to $20 for aluminum or steel (HomeGuide). Across a whole house that gap adds up, so get copper priced as its own line.