Mistake 1: Not asking who actually does the work
The single most useful question you can ask: 'Is the crew that quotes this job the crew that installs it?' If the answer involves subs, second crews, or 'our installation partner,' you've learned that a layer sits between you and the work — and that layer is where accountability goes to hide when something drips a year later.
Mistake 2: Buying gutters from a company that sells something else
Gutters bought as a side item — from a roofer, a handyman service, a general remodeler — get side-item attention. Ask what percentage of the company's work is gutters and drainage. There's a real difference between a trade and an add-on.
Mistake 3: Letting the quote stop at the downspout
A quote that never mentions where the water goes after the downspout is a quote for half a system. Ask: 'Where will each downspout discharge, and what happens to that water in a heavy storm?' If the answer is a shrug and a splash block, the biggest question on the job is going unanswered.
Mistake 4: Accepting 'trust me' instead of a written scope
Get the scope in writing before work starts: footage, profile, downspout count and locations, what happens to the old gutters, and what the drainage plan is. Our version includes a pre-construction meeting before anyone touches the house — because a job that starts with a shared document doesn't end in an argument.
Mistake 5: Not asking what happens after the job
Ask how a problem gets handled six months later. The answer you want is specific: a phone that gets answered, and a return visit that goes on the schedule. Ours: phones answered seven days a week during business hours, and if you call about a problem after the job, a return visit goes on the schedule — you will not chase a dead number.
Mistake 6: Choosing on price alone
The lowest bid is a fact about the bid, not the work. Ask why it's lower — thinner material, spike-and-ferrule fasteners, no drainage plan, subbed labor — and price the difference honestly. Sometimes the low bid is fine. Knowing why is the point. Then get a free estimate from us and compare the answers side by side.
