**I was not compensated for this post nor did I receive free installation/products. I just wanted to share my experience and opinion.**
We all know that good gutters is your home’s best defense against harsh elements. Unfortunately, gutters warp and bend as they age. Along with it, so do the hangers and other hardware that was used to install them. This can cause the gutters to pull away from you home and lets water fall uncontrolled. This was the situation with my gutters. Every time it rained, there was a downpour of water right above my patio door. Before my home suffered any water damage, I needed to take care of this issue. Prior to contacting gutter companies, I did a lot of research on gutter materials, sizes, installation, cost, etc. For a minute I even looked into DIY gutter installation. I figured I’d need more than two hands to do this. Once I was a little better informed, I contacted the first company: Lowe’s.
After filling out an online form, a Lowe’s employee called to set up a free home consultation. Three days later, one of their project specialists came to my home to take measurements and inspect the current gutter situation. He was friendly and knowledgeable. He informed me that I have 97 linear feet of gutters and that 24 linear feet of fascia wood would need to be replaced due to wood rot. That was the area above the patio door that was pulling away. The gutters above my garage were also bend and started to pull away.
Lowe’s offers 5″ and 6″ gutters. My old gutters were 5″ so I stuck with the same size. This also allowed me to keep my four existing downspouts which were in great shape. Keeping the downspouts saved me over $200. The total cost for 97 linear feet 5″ seamless gutter installation came to $1,078 after tax. This included all materials, labor, and hauling away of job related debris. He left me with the written quote and encouraged me to call him with any further questions. I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t pushy – which wasn’t the case with Home Depot.
While I have nothing against Home Depot ( I shop there all the time), their guy was very pushy. In addition to quoting nearly $400 more for the same job, materials, etc., the guy tried to talk me into getting a Home Depot credit card, which I politely declined.
The third company was a local roofing company. Their quote was around $100 less than Home Depot’s. The problem with them was that they couldn’t commit to starting the work for at least another month or two. The concern I have with local companies (some at least) is that today “they’re in business”, next week they can be “gone”. I don’t mean to insult anyone but I had seen it happen before. Six months after a local company did work on my AC unit, their phone number was disconnected. At least with big box stores labor is guaranteed for a year and the store “isn’t going anywhere”.
After doing my research and meeting with three companies, I decided to go with Lowe’s. Two weeks after meeting with the Lowe’s guy, two independent contractors (hired by Lowe’s) came out to do the work. The installation was smooth (about 4 hours) and I’m happy with the results. Since then we have had major rain storms, ice and snow. Every so often, I walk around the property to inspect the gutters. Everything looks fine – no sagging, no pulling, no leaks or holes.
Have you ever hired a big-box store to do installation at your home? If so, what was your experience?
