How much does gutter cleaning and repair cost in 2026?

Gutter cleaning is one of the cheapest jobs on a house and one of the easiest to forget, until water starts running down the wall. In 2026, gutter cleaning costs from about £50 for a small terrace to £165 or more for a detached house, and Cambridge sits in one of the dearer regions for it. This guide covers what you should expect to pay for cleaning, small repairs, new gutters and downpipes, and fascias and soffits, plus when to book the work and when it is safe to do it yourself.

How much does gutter cleaning cost in 2026?

Checkatrade’s gutter cleaning guide (September 2026) prices cleaning by the length of gutter, which mostly follows the size of the house:

Property	Typical gutter length	Typical price
Small terrace	about 5 m	£50–£120
Semi-detached	about 15 m	£100–£150
4-bed detached	about 20 m	£130–£165
3-storey townhouse (gutter vacuum)	–	£165–£300
Hourly rate	–	£20–£30 an hour

Is gutter cleaning dearer in the East of England?

Slightly. Checkatrade’s regional table puts the East of England average at £146, within £114–£194. That is the third-highest of its 12 regions, level with the South West and behind only Greater London (£169) and Wales (£151); the North West is cheapest at £103. Our rough sum puts the East of England about 10% above the average of the 12 regional figures.

Interestingly, this is the one roofing-related category where Checkatrade shows a clear regional difference. Its Cambridge figures for roof repairs and replacements sit close to the UK averages.

What should a gutter clean include?

A thorough clean removes leaves, moss and silt from every run, clears the outlets and checks that each downpipe flows freely. Many cleaners now use a high-reach gutter vacuum, which reaches two- and three-storey gutters from the ground without a ladder against the wall. Ask for before-and-after photos; a good cleaner will also point out loose brackets, leaking joints or slipped tiles they notice while they are up there. Our roof and gutter cleaning service works this way.

Cambridge has a high share of flats (30.7% of homes in the 2021 Census, against 17.1% across England), so communal gutters on blocks are common. Those are usually arranged through the freeholder or managing agent, and access equipment adds to the price.

How much does gutter repair and replacement cost?

Small gutter repairs

Many gutter problems are quick fixes. Checkatrade’s gutter replacement guide prices realigning a sagging gutter at about £22 per metre, a replacement bracket at about £19 and a new stop end at about £20, with guttering specialists working at around £30 an hour. MyBuilder puts a typical job for new or repaired gutters at £400–£700.

Leaking joints, a gutter that has dropped and lost its fall, or a single cracked section are all repairs. Replacement makes sense when the gutters are brittle, have been patched repeatedly or are the wrong size for the roof.

Gutter replacement cost per metre by material

Material	Gutter, fitted, per m	Average	Downpipe, per m	Notes
uPVC	£30–£70	£45	about £40	Lowest cost and low maintenance
Aluminium	£55–£180	£95	about £80	Lighter than cast iron, available in colours
Cast iron	£85–£275	£130	about £140	Traditional look for period and listed homes

Replacing a typical 15–20 m run with three downpipes costs £650–£1,700, averaging about £1,000. For material alone, the FMB puts 4 m of uPVC guttering at about £17, which shows how much of the price is labour and access.

Period and listed homes

If your house is listed, check before changing cast iron for plastic. Greater Cambridge Shared Planning states that listed building consent is required for “any work that affects the character of the building”, and unauthorised work is a criminal offence. On unlisted homes in a conservation area, like-for-like gutter replacement is the safe option; our guttering team can match traditional profiles.

How much do fascias and soffits cost?

Fascias are the boards along the eaves that carry the gutter; soffits close off the underside. When gutters overflow for years, the fascias behind them often rot. Checkatrade’s fascia and soffit guide gives these figures:

• Fascias and soffits, supply and fit: about £150 per linear metre (£115–£185).
• Small semi, full uPVC replacement: about £2,750, excluding scaffolding.
• Capping over sound old boards: about £85 per linear metre.
• Bargeboards (the boards on a gable end): £300–£950 each, averaging £550.
• Access scaffolding: £300–£600 per elevation per week, averaging £450.

Because scaffolding is a big share of the bill, it usually makes sense to replace gutters, fascias and soffits together, or alongside roof work. Near our base in Chesterton, homes on streets such as Cam Causeway and Franks Lane have had external wall insulation, which the council notes adds about 120 mm to each wall. Where that happens, the eaves, fascias and gutters often need extending to suit. See our fascias and soffits page for how we approach roofline work.

What do access and roof cleaning add to the cost?

Access equipment

Cleaning from the ground with a gutter vacuum avoids access costs, but repairs and replacements usually need someone at gutter height. Checkatrade’s scaffolding guide puts a gutter-height single scaffold at about £250 a week, a scaffold tower at about £250 a week and a tower over a conservatory at about £420 a week. On a terraced street where the scaffold has to stand on the pavement, Cambridgeshire County Council must license it first, and it asks for at least 15 working days.

Before committing to scaffolding just to look, it is worth asking for a ladder or drone roof survey. Photos of the gutters, valleys and roof slopes show whether you need a clean, a repair or a bigger job.

Roof moss removal

If moss keeps washing into the gutters, the roof may need cleaning too. Checkatrade prices roof cleaning at £8.50–£14 per m², depending on the method: about £8.50 for a pressure wash, £11 for steam, £11.50 for hand removal with a biocide and £14 for a soft wash. An average semi costs £637.50–£862.50, plus about £18 per m² if scaffolding is needed. As we explain below, we would choose hand removal over pressure washing on a tiled roof.

When should you clean your gutters?

Late autumn, once most of the leaves have fallen, is the best single time. The Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages for Cambridge show October as the wettest month (58.7 mm), with August (55.9 mm) and November (52.6 mm) next. Cambridge sees around 107 days of rain a year, so gutters that are clear going into autumn protect your walls through the wettest stretch.

Moss is the other culprit. Checkatrade’s roof cleaning guide says moss can “contribute to blocked gutters”, while the Confederation of Roofing Contractors says moss rarely harms the roof itself and warns that pressure washing can be “very harmful to roofs”. Our view: clear what washes into the gutters, cut back overhanging branches, and never pressure-wash a tiled roof.

Signs your gutters need attention

• Water spilling over the front edge of the gutter in heavy rain.
• Plants or moss growing from the gutter.
• Green or dark streaks on the brickwork below.
• Gutters sagging or pulling away from the fascia.
• Drips from joints or a puddle at the foot of a downpipe that never drains.
• Damp patches on an inside wall near the eaves.

Is it safe to clean gutters yourself?

On a bungalow, from a sound ladder on firm, level ground, it can be. Above that, we would not recommend it. HSE says almost one in five deaths in construction work involve roof work and that all roofs should be treated as fragile until a competent person has confirmed they are not. That includes conservatories, garage roofs and flat-roofed extensions, which people often step onto to reach a gutter.

Take care with older outbuildings too. HSE lists asbestos cement products, including pipes and roofs, among materials that may be found in homes built or refurbished before 2000. Grey, rigid downpipes or gutters on a 1960s or 1970s garage could be asbestos cement, so do not drill, break or scrape them.

Clean, repair or replace?

What you see	Usually the answer
Overflowing gutters, no visible damage	Clean
Leaking joint or sagging section	Repair or realign
Cracked, brittle or repeatedly patched gutters	Replace the run
Soft or rotten boards behind the gutter	Replace fascias, then refit gutters
Damp inside with clear gutters	Investigate the roof; see our roof repair cost guide

Get a fixed price for your roof

Gutters are easy to overlook until they overflow. We inspect by ladder or drone, clean or repair what is needed, and tell you honestly when a clean is all your gutters need. You get a clear written quote with a fixed price, and the survey is free. Call 01223 902596 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm) or request a free quote.