Gutter guards in Middletown, CT

Matching a guard to a Middletown house

Two questions settle most Middletown quotes. Are the gutters on the house worth keeping? And what comes off the trees: broad leaves, needles, or the fine grit that washes down from the shingles?

If the gutters are sound, Gutter Clean Pro fits over them. It is a two-layer aluminum cover, so it keeps out finer material than a single screen, and it costs $18 a foot on 5-inch gutters or $20 on 6-inch. Sound means straight, tight to the fascia, draining to the outlet and dry at the seams. The manufacturer's lifetime limited performance coverage for Gutter Clean Pro includes coniferous areas.

If the gutters are failing, the guard goes in with the new run. T-Rex swaps the usual hangers for one continuous perforated hanger that supports the gutter end to end and covers it. It is $25 a foot for 5-inch and $29 for 6-inch, with 25-year prorated limited performance coverage. It suits a roof that mostly sees leaves.

DoublePro builds a second, finer layer under that perforated top for needles, seed pods and grit, at $30 a foot for 5-inch and $34 for 6-inch. DoublePro carries a lifetime clog-free warranty, pine needles included.

Capacity matters as much as the guard. A guard can pass no more water than the gutter and downspout below it can carry. Where a big roof section drains to one corner, the right answer may be a 6-inch gutter or an extra downspout rather than a different guard, and we will tell you that on the call. The 5-inch vs 6-inch page explains the trade-off.

The quote lists each of these as its own line:

• Gutter Clean Pro over existing gutters: $18 a foot (5-inch), $20 (6-inch)
• New gutters with T-Rex: $25 a foot (5-inch), $29 (6-inch)
• New gutters with DoublePro: $30 a foot (5-inch), $34 (6-inch)
• Downspouts, elbows included: $14 to $16 a foot
• Taking down and hauling away old gutters: $1 a foot

Middletown's river, historic streets and older housing

Middletown covers 42.51 square miles, and the Connecticut River forms its eastern boundary. The city's Plan of Development calls it the largest community in Middlesex County, with 30% of the county's population, and says Middletown and its region stand out for state parks and reserves, Wadsworth Falls State Park and Cockaponsett State Forest among them. Across that much ground, what hangs over one roof can differ a lot from the next street over, so we ask every caller what grows near the eaves before we name a system.

The city has eight historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places: Beman, Broad Street, Highland, Main Street, Metro South, South Green, Wadsworth Estate and Washington Street, within 36 listings in all. The Broad Street district holds the city's largest concentration of Greek Revival houses, and its housing stock tripled between 1830 and 1850. Houses that old tend to have trim worth protecting, so we agree the gutter size, profile and color with you in the written plan before any material is ordered.

Older housing is common well beyond those districts. The census puts the median Middletown home at 1972, and about 5,011 of the city's 21,644 housing units, or 23%, date from 1939 or earlier. On a house that age the fascia board behind the gutter can matter as much as the gutter, and we ask about it.

Then there is the river. Flood stage for the Connecticut River at Middletown is 8 feet. With the rain from Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, the National Weather Service expected a crest of 15 feet there, the highest in twenty-four years. In July 2023 the river flooded the Harbor Park boardwalk. Gutters cannot hold back a river. They decide where the water from your own roof lands, and a clogged run in a storm like Irene spills it along the foundation. Most guards cope fine with a drizzle. Trouble starts in a downpour, when the water arrives faster than a matted screen can pass it.

Permits here go through the City of Middletown Building Division, which publishes a handout listing work exempt from permits. We have not confirmed whether gutter or guard work needs one in Middletown. Ask the division before your date is set, and we will plan around its answer.

How much to put gutter guards on existing gutters in Middletown?

For Gutter Clean Pro over sound gutters, the installed rate is $18 a foot for 5-inch and $20 for 6-inch. Your total is that rate times the length of gutter on the house, plus any downspout we replace at $14 to $16 a foot.

To get the length, we measure the roofline remotely while you are on the phone and ask how many stories the house has and where the downspouts drop. That gives you a number on the first call rather than after a sales visit. If what you describe sounds like gutters on their way out, such as sagging sections, dripping seams or spikes backing out, we will say so and price new gutters with the guard built in instead. A cover on a failing gutter just means paying for the job twice. The guide to whether you need new gutters lists what to look for before you call.

Are there gutter guards Middletown homeowners should avoid?

We will not quote a ranking we cannot show you, from Consumer Reports or anyone else. What we can tell you is how guards fail, which tells you more than a ranking would. Foam and brush inserts sit inside the gutter and can hold the debris they were meant to stop. A coarse single screen keeps out leaves and lets needles through, so the gutter fills underneath. And a cover that is just clipped to the lip can lift in wind and let leaves slide in behind it.

So judge a guard by three things: how fine the openings are, how many layers it has, and how it is fastened. The systems we install are Alu-Rex aluminum, and T-Rex and DoublePro carry the gutter on a continuous hanger instead of hanging it from the guard. The page on how long guards last and the warranty page cover the rest.

Call to install: every step

Three ways to start

• Call (617) 401-9301. It is answered any hour, and a missed call gets called back.
• Send the short form on the home page with your street address, and your number lands in your inbox.
• Text or chat through the chat window on this site.

1. 01

   Understand what you actually need

   About fifteen minutes on the phone: the length of the roofline, the number of stories and the trees around the house. The roofline is measured remotely, so nobody comes to the house to sell. You get your price the same day, from the published per-foot rates.

   • Gutters still in good shape: Gutter Clean Pro goes over the gutters you already have, from $18/ft.
   • Gutters that need replacing: new gutters with the guard built in. T-Rex (continuous hanger) from $25/ft, or DoublePro (two filtration layers) from $30/ft.
   • Fascia that cannot be drilled: Hover Pro, quoted for your house.
   • Complex rooflines, third stories and copper are quoted separately, and we say so on the call, never after arrival.
2. 02

   Your plan, in writing

   You get a written quote and your StormRail plan: photos of your house, the system, the gutter size and your color choices. The certified installer works from that same plan, so you and the installer are never on different pages.

3. 03

   A deposit capped at one third

   Massachusetts law caps a home-improvement deposit at one third of the contract. We hold to that in every state we work in. Your quote names the exact figure before you pay anything.

4. 04

   Material ordered and confirmed

   Your Alu-Rex system is ordered through the Alu-Rex distributor and confirmed before an install date is set, so the date you get is one the material can meet.

5. 05

   Scheduled with a certified installer in your county

   A certified Alu-Rex installer working in your area takes the job, and you get the date without chasing anyone. In season we're typically booking four to six weeks out. We'd rather tell you that now than promise you Tuesday and send whoever happened to be free. Emergency work — a collapsed run, active water in the basement — gets triaged ahead of the queue.

6. 06

   Installed

   The installer fits the system on the plan you already approved. Any balance is due as your quote states.

7. 07

   After the install

   We check in after the job is done. Each system carries its own written Alu-Rex warranty:

   • Gutter Clean Pro: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance lifetime limited, including coniferous areas
   • T-Rex: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance 25-year prorated limited
   • DoublePro: manufacturing lifetime limited, clog performance lifetime limited, including coniferous areas

Questions homeowners ask

Around Middletown

• Every town we cover in Middlesex County: Gutter guards in Middlesex County, CT
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