Guttrz / Blog / New gutters with a new roof
Do I need new gutters when I get a new roof?
Roofing by Guttrz: a gutter company in North Canton that now sells roof replacements, so you get one honest answer about both from the owner who inspects them.
You do not always need new gutters with a new roof. Keep them if they are seamless aluminum on hidden hangers, hold their slope, and drain in a hard rain. Replace them if they are spike-hung, sagging, leaking at seams, or too small for the roof, and do it the same week as the roof so the new drip edge laps into the new gutter. Guttrz in North Canton, Ohio inspects the roof and the gutters together for free and gives one flat written quote good for one year, with the gutter line shown separately so you can take it or leave it.
Do I need new gutters with a new roof?
Not always. You need new gutters with a new roof when the existing ones are spike-hung and pulling loose, sagging between hangers, leaking at seams you have already resealed, or too small for the roof. If they are seamless aluminum, hang on hidden hangers, drain in a hard rain, and are less than about 20 years old, keep them. The honest answer depends on the gutters, not the roof.
Roofing by Guttrz exists partly because this question comes up on every roof. Guttrz is a gutter company first, so it has no reason to sell you gutters you do not need and every reason to tell you when yours are done. The roof and gutter replacement page explains how both go on the same week when both are needed. This post is about deciding.
When should you keep your gutters during a roof replacement?
Keep your gutters if they pass four checks: no sag when you sight down the run, no drips at the corners or end caps after a rain, hidden hangers screwed into the fascia rather than spikes, and clean drainage in a downpour. Seamless aluminum that passes those checks has years left in it.
Tear-off is rough on gutters. Shingle grit lands in them and ladders lean on them. Guttrz clears the grit out at the end of the day. A sound gutter shrugs this off. Aluminum does not rust, and a straight run on good hangers has nothing to gain from replacement. One more case: if the gutters were replaced in the last few years and already have guards on, leave them alone and have the guards checked after the roof is done.
When should you replace gutters with a new roof?
Replace gutters with a new roof when the problem is structural rather than dirt. The clearest signs:
- Spikes and ferrules. Older gutters hung with long spikes through a metal sleeve work loose every freeze-thaw season, and Northeast Ohio gives them one from November to March. Once the fascia holes are chewed out, resetting the spikes does not hold.
- Sag or standing water. A run that holds water after rain has lost its slope. If the fascia behind it is soft, that is a replacement job, and the fascia gets fixed while the roof edge is open.
- Sectional seams that keep failing. Ten-foot sectional gutters have a seam every ten feet and at every corner. Each one is a future leak. Seamless gutters have seams only at the corners and outlets.
- Too small for the roof. A large or steep roof dumps a lot of water fast. If 5-inch gutters overflow in every storm even when clean, 6-inch gutters with larger downspouts fix it.
- Rot behind them. Peeling paint and soft wood on the fascia mean water has been getting behind the gutter. New drip edge and new gutters stop that.
The repair or replace gutters guide goes deeper on each sign and what a repair can still fix. Where a reseal or a rehang is enough, Guttrz does gutter repair on its own.
Why does the drip edge matter for your gutters?
Drip edge is the metal strip along the roof edge that kicks water off the decking and into the gutter. On a new roof it goes on before the underlayment and laps over the back of the gutter. When old gutters stay, the new drip edge is set to lap into them. When gutters are replaced, the new gutter is hung tight under the new drip edge, so the two are matched from the start.
That tie-in is why roof and gutter work are best done the same week. If gutters are replaced a year later, the new gutter has to fit under a drip edge set for the old gutter height, which can leave a gap that water finds its way behind. Guttrz installs 5-inch and 6-inch K-style seamless aluminum gutters in Canton and the surrounding towns, formed on site, with the old gutters hauled away. The gutters go on after the roof is finished, and both can be done the same week.
Should gutter guards go on after a new roof?
Yes, if you want them, and the order matters. Guards go on after the roof and after the gutters, never before. A roof tear-off fills gutters with grit and nails, so guards installed earlier would have to come off and go back on. Guttrz installs stainless micro-mesh gutter guards in Canton that fasten to the gutter lip and the fascia, never through the shingles, so nothing on the new roof is disturbed. Under the oaks and maples in North Canton, Jackson Township and Green, guards are the difference between cleaning gutters twice a year and rinsing them once.
How does Guttrz decide what to recommend?
The free roof inspection covers the gutters too. The owner checks the hangers, sights the slope, looks at the fascia, and puts the gutter findings in the same photo report as the roof, rated Good, Watch, or Replace Soon. The flat written quote shows the gutter work as its own line, so you can take it or leave it without changing the roof price. The quote is good for one year either way. Pricing for the roof itself is on the roof replacement cost page, and the combined option is on the roof and gutter replacement in North Canton page. Gutter work has no published price; it is quoted from the inspection.
If you are not sure whether your gutters will outlast the roof, let the inspection answer it. Now booking spring 2027 roof replacements. Free roof inspections now. Book a free roof inspection in North Canton, or start with the Roofing by Guttrz overview.
Common questions
Should gutters be installed before or after a new roof?
After. The drip edge goes on with the roof, and the new gutter is hung tight under it so the two match. Installing gutters first means the tear-off fills them with grit and nails and ladders lean on them all day. The same-week order is roof, then gutters, then guards.
Can a roof tear-off damage my existing gutters?
It can dent a thin or loose gutter, and it always fills the gutter with shingle grit and a few nails. Sound seamless aluminum on hidden hangers comes through fine once the grit is cleared, which Guttrz does at the end of the install. Spike-hung or sagging gutters that were already marginal often get worse, which is one reason to replace them in the same week.
Can I keep my gutter guards during a roof replacement?
Usually the guards come off before tear-off and go back on after, because debris and nails land under them and the drip edge is being replaced. Screen and foam guards often do not survive the move. If your guards are fascia-mounted micro-mesh in good shape, ask to have them removed and reset rather than thrown out.
How long do aluminum gutters last in Ohio?
Seamless aluminum gutters commonly last 20 years or more in Northeast Ohio when they are hung on hidden hangers and kept clear. The hangers and seams fail before the metal does. Freeze-thaw cycles and ice loading in winter are what work spikes loose and open seams, so a gutter's age matters less than how it was hung.
Do new gutters come with a Guttrz roof quote?
Only if the inspection shows they are needed, and then as a separate line you can accept or decline. The roof price does not change if you keep your gutters. Both jobs can be scheduled the same week, with gutters going on after the roof and guards after the gutters.
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Written by Christian Schaffner, owner of Guttrz. Updated November 7, 2026.
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