Gutter guards in Middlesex County, MA

Towns we cover in Middlesex County

• Gutter guards in Newton

A county of old houses

At the 2020 census, 1,632,002 people lived in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, more than in any other county in the state or in New England. The county has had no executive government since Massachusetts abolished it in 1997, so on the ground the questions about a house go to its city or town. But the county is still how most people describe where they live, west and north of Boston.

Newton shows how old the housing stock can run. Census estimates put the city's median home at 1942, and almost half of its 33,959 housing units date from 1939 or earlier. Close to 7,000 more units are in buildings of two to four units. On a house that old, the gutters hanging on it today may not be the first set.

So the first thing we ask on the call is about the gutters you have, before any guard. If they run straight, drain to the outlets and stay dry at the seams, Gutter Clean Pro goes on top for $18 a foot on 5-inch and $20 on 6-inch. If they sag or leak, the guard should go in with a new seamless gutter instead, and the old one comes down for $1 a foot.

Street trees the towns protect

Some places here protect their trees by rule. Newton has designated several roads as scenic, and on those the rules aim to curb tree removal and trimming. That keeps the streets shaded, and it keeps the leaves coming down onto the roofs every autumn.

Under broad leaves, T-Rex on a new gutter is the usual choice, from $25 a foot in 5-inch and $29 in 6-inch. The T-Rex rail holds the gutter along its whole length and is the guard at the same time, so there is no spike every two feet for a falling limb to tear out. Where seed pods, needles or grit come down, DoublePro adds a finer second layer, from $30 a foot. DoublePro carries a lifetime clog-free warranty, pine needles included.

Historic districts and the winter

Local historic districts have their own commissions. Newton has four, in Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Upper Falls and Newtonville, and the city says any exterior change to a building inside one needs an application. Exact in-kind work may get staff approval instead of a full hearing. If your house is in a district anywhere in the county, ask the town or city before work starts, and the plan will be built around its answer.

For a normal year's weather, the long-record NOAA station closest to the inner suburbs is Boston Logan. Its 1991-2020 normals show 43.59 inches of precipitation a year, 49.2 inches of snow, most of it from December to February, about 10 days with an inch or more of rain and about 92 nights at or below freezing. Those are Logan's harbor figures, not a reading from your street.

Snow and cold matter for a gutter in two ways. Meltwater needs an open gutter to drain into, and a gutter packed with wet leaves can freeze solid. A guard keeps the leaves out, but it does not stop ice dams, which form on the roof above the gutter. The ice dam question page explains the difference, and the pricing page lists every rate.

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

Compare the systems before you call: all gutter guards, Gutter Clean Pro, T-Rex, DoublePro, and the full price list.