Gutters in St. Augustine: installation, repair and cleaning

Gutters in St. Augustine

St. Augustine splits into three very different gutter markets. The historic core, Lincolnville, Davis Shores and the older streets around Flagler College, has 1900s–1950s frame and coquina-block homes with box gutters, exposed rafter tails and, on the island, salt air. Anastasia Island, St. Augustine Beach and Crescent Beach are mostly 1970s–2000s homes that need stainless hardware and 6-inch runs for the wind-driven rain. And the enormous west-side growth along CR 210, SR 16 and I-95, meaning World Golf Village, Silverleaf, Shearwater, Murabella and St. Augustine Shores, is 2000s–2020s construction under pine, with builder-grade gutters or none at all.

Gutter installation: St. Augustine's new subdivisions

The biggest job here is straightforward: a two-story home built in the last 15 years with 5-inch gutters and 2x3 downspouts on a roof that needs 6-inch and 3x4, or a single-story with gutters over the front entry only. The back wall overflows every afternoon in July and the mulch bed under it has a gully. In World Golf Village and Shearwater, the usual job is a full seamless loop, 180–240 feet, with enough downspouts and extensions onto turf that slopes away, for about $1,700–$3,600.

Pine straw is the maintenance issue in every one of these neighborhoods. The preserves and buffers the developers left are slash pine, and the needles fall on the roofs for most of the year. Ask for stainless micro-mesh on the install quote when the lot backs onto pine, because it is cheapest then and it is the type that best keeps needles out.

Older homes downtown and on the island

Lincolnville and Davis Shores have homes where a gutter was never in the plan. Exposed rafter tails mean roof-strap hangers or a new fascia board; box gutters on the 1920s houses need a metal liner or a modern half-round hung in front of them. Salt air on Davis Shores and Anastasia Island means stainless screws and straps on every job, or the run will be hanging after the next nor'easter while the aluminum is still perfect.

What to check on a newer west-side home

Builder gutters in the CR 210 and SR 16 neighborhoods tend to fail in the same few ways. A short walk around after a storm tells you which ones you have.

• The back wall. If water spills over the far end, the run needs a second downspout or a larger outlet.
• The front entry. A single short run over the door often drains straight onto the walk. An extension or a turn in the downspout fixes it.
• The side yards. Lots here are close together. Make sure no downspout points at the house next door.
• The mulch beds. A gully under the eave on a wall with no gutter is the sign a run is missing.
• The preserve side. Needles in the outlet after the fall drop are the most common clog.

Caring for gutters on an older home

On the historic streets, care is mostly gentle and regular. Clear box gutters and liners by hand twice a year. Check soldered or sealed joints in the spring. Look at the wood behind any gutter that has been overflowing, because old fascia and rafter tails are hard to replace in kind. Small leaks in a box gutter are cheaper to fix early than the rot they cause.

Questions to ask before work starts

• Does the job need a permit or historic review, and who handles it?
• Will the hardware be stainless if the house is on the island?
• How many downspouts, and where will each one drain?
• Is the fascia sound, and what is the price per foot if not?
• Is a certificate of insurance available before the crew arrives?

Gutter services in St. Augustine

• Gutter repair: corners, re-hangs, downspouts, storm-peeled sections, fascia
• Seamless installation and replacement: 5-inch and 6-inch aluminum, sized from the roof
• First-time gutters on homes that never had them
• Gutter guards: micro-mesh under pine, screen under the oaks
• Gutter cleaning: late May and December

Gutter cleaning in St. Augustine follows the same calendar as the rest of the area: late May before hurricane season, and December after the pines drop, with a third visit on lots that back onto a preserve.

Permits and the historic district

Ask whether your job needs a permit, which is more likely when it is tied to fascia, soffit or roofing on a larger project, and who pulls it. Check with Florida DBPR and the City of Jacksonville's building inspection division, or for a St. Augustine address the city's or St. Johns County's building department, on what the job requires, and ask for a certificate of insurance. Inside St. Augustine's historic district, exterior changes visible from the street may need review; check with the City of St. Augustine's Historic Architectural Review Board before changing gutter profile or material.

An illustrative west-side job

Illustrative numbers, not a quote. A two-story home in Shearwater with 200 feet of builder 5-inch gutter and four 2x3 downspouts overflows on the back wall in every summer storm. The usual fix is a full seamless loop: 6-inch on the back wall, 5-inch elsewhere, six 3x4 downspouts, and extensions onto turf. At $9–$15 a foot that is about $1,800–$3,000, inside the range above. Add micro-mesh on the preserve side if pine overhangs it.

Island homes: salt, wind and sand

On Anastasia Island and at St. Augustine Beach, three things work on a gutter at once. Salt eats plain hardware. Wind off the ocean drives rain sideways, so the outlets need to keep up. And blowing sand settles in the trough with the leaves. A rinse every month or two, stainless fasteners, and a cleaning in late May keep most island systems in good shape.

Pricing in St. Augustine

Repairs typically $150–$600. Seamless installation $9–$15 per foot west of the river, $10–$17 on the island with stainless hardware. Cleaning $120–$300 by house size. Full tables on the cost page.

Nearby areas this guide covers

St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Anastasia Island, Vilano Beach, Davis Shores, St. Augustine Shores, World Golf Village, Silverleaf, Shearwater, Murabella and Nocatee.