Laguna Beach, CA
Where the water goes after it leaves the roof
A roof that drains badly rots at the edges first — fascia, soffit, then the ends of the rafters. All of it cheaper to prevent than to replace.
Describe the gutters job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Laguna Beach contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Laguna Beach is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a gutters job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Gutter size against the roof area draining into it
- Seamless or sectional, and what gauge of aluminium
- Number and position of downspouts
- Where the water is discharged, and how far from the foundation
- Condition of the fascia behind the old gutter
Downspouts are where most systems actually fail — too few of them, or discharging straight against the foundation.
Slope should be about a quarter inch per ten feet toward the outlet. Too little and it stands, too much and it looks wrong from the street.
Seamless aluminium formed on site is the default. Sectional gutter from a box store is cheaper and leaks at every joint within a few years.
Locally
The failure that leads here is old houses carrying more layers, and more surprises, than the estimate assumed. Cottages from the 1920s to the 1950s have usually been re-roofed over rather than stripped. What is under the top layer decides the real price, and nobody knows what that is until the tear-off starts.
About gutters here
Why three quotes and not one?
Because one price tells you nothing. Three tells you where the middle is, and the outliers are informative in both directions — the very cheapest is usually leaving something out, and the most expensive should be able to say what you are getting for it.
How long does a re-roof take?
A straightforward asphalt roof on an average house is one to three days. Tile, slate and complex rooflines take longer, and weather stops work more often than anything else.
What is different about re-roofing an older house?
The unknowns are underneath. Old skip sheathing, previous layers, undersized framing and long-standing small leaks all turn up on day one. The quote that says what happens then is the honest one.
What wind rating do I need?
Ratings assume correct nailing, correct starter course and correct edge metal. Most wind failures are installation failures. Ask how the perimeter is detailed.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.