Last Updated: October 23, 2026
Short answer
A typical gutter replacement runs in four stages: a first call about the house and the problem, a walk-around that measures each roof edge and checks the fascia and downspouts, an install day when the old system comes down and new runs are formed and hung, and a water test through the corners and outlets.
What this walkthrough is
This is an illustrative walkthrough of what happens during gutter replacement on a typical house, not an account of a specific house or customer. Gutters of Kent replaces gutters across Kent and South King County, with the work done by licensed and insured contractors, and the steps below follow the process the site describes everywhere: first call, walk-around, install day and water test. Details change with every house; the order of decisions does not.
Picture an example house: two stories, with sectional gutters that leak at several joints, sag along one side and overflow at an inside corner every November. King County Assessor records show Kent houses split about 51.4% one-story and 45.0% two-story, so either height is ordinary here.
The first call
The first call is for the basics: the address, what the water is doing and where, and a few photos if you have them. Overflow at one corner, drips behind the gutter and a run pulling away from the fascia each point to different causes, so specific notes save time. This is also when to mention an HOA, a planned roof replacement or a buried downspout line, because each one changes the plan. The guide to replacing gutters with a new roof explains why timing with roof work matters.
The walk-around
The walk-around measures each roof edge, checks the fascia and drip edge, and traces where every downspout lets go. In the example house, that means:
- Measuring each run and noting corners, end caps and outlet positions, since these set the linear feet and the number of joints.
- Looking at the roof that drains to each run, including the valley above the overflowing corner. The gutter size guide explains why a valley can justify a larger gutter or an added outlet.
- Checking the fascia behind the sagging side. Soft wood there would let new hangers pull out.
- Following each downspout to where it discharges: above ground, into an extension, or into a pipe that disappears into the lawn.
The estimate that follows should list linear feet and gutter size, downspout count and size, hanger type, removal of the old system, any fascia repair and where each downspout will discharge. For budgeting, 5-inch seamless aluminum, installed, runs a typical Seattle-area range of about $8 to $13 per linear foot, and removal and haul-away typically adds about $150 to $325 to a Seattle-area job. The gutter installation cost guide for Kent covers what moves a house within that range.
Install day
Taking the old system down
The old gutters come off first, carefully, so the roof edge and drip edge are not bent in the process. With the gutters down, the fascia is fully visible for the first time. In the example, the board behind the sagging side has soft spots. The approach is to repair damaged fascia before anything is hung, because a new gutter on rotted wood repeats the old failure. Gutter and fascia repair explains that work.
Forming and hanging the new runs
Seamless gutters are formed on site to the length of each roof edge, so the long runs have no section joints. They still have joints at corners, end caps and outlets, which are fastened and sealed. Runs are hung on hidden hangers screwed into sound wood and pitched toward the outlets, with the drip edge lapped into the trough so water does not run down the back. The guide to gutter hangers and the gutter slope guide explain both.
Downspouts and discharge
New downspouts go in at the planned outlets, with elbows and straps back to the siding. Where water was landing at the foundation, the discharge changes too. Kent City Code 7.04.180 bars roof runoff from the sanitary sewer unless the director authorizes it, and KCC 7.05.070 requires a permit to build or modify a storm drainage facility, so a changed buried tie-in is planned separately. Above ground, the King County manual Kent adopts limits basic splash-block dispersion to 700 square feet of roof per splash block with a vegetated flowpath of at least 50 feet. The guide to where downspouts should drain covers the choices.
The water test
The last step runs water through the critical corners and outlets and confirms each downspout carries it away. In the example house, that means the inside corner under the valley, every joint on the long runs and each downspout to its discharge point. A slow drain at an outlet or a drip at a corner is easier to correct with the ladder still in place than after the first storm.
What changes from house to house
Every replacement follows that sequence, but the scope moves with the house: how much fascia needs work, whether the roof edge needs a new drip edge (roof repair itself is not offered and is coordinated with a roofer), how many stories, how many corners and whether guards are added. The repair vs replacement guide helps decide whether a full replacement is the right call, and the guide to how long gutter installation takes covers timing. When you are ready to have your own house walked, Get an Estimate or read more on gutter replacement.
Questions about your own house? Call (253) 352-5321 or get an estimate.