Gutter Repair in Savannah, GA

Local know-how

Live oaks, Spanish moss and historic squares in Savannah

Savannah averages around 48 to 50 inches of rain a year, with intense summer thunderstorms and exposure to Atlantic hurricanes. High humidity keeps debris damp and fascia wet. Gutter repair in Savannah often involves rot behind the gutter as much as the gutter itself, and older homes may need fascia and soffit repair before anything can be re-hung.

Savannah's historic district, laid out around its famous squares, has one of the largest collections of historic buildings in the country. Many have built-in gutters, copper gutters or half-round profiles, and exterior changes in the historic district are subject to review. Live oaks draped in Spanish moss shade the streets; the oaks drop leaves in spring, and moss blows into gutters year-round.

Outside the historic district, Ardsley Park, Midtown and the Southside have early and mid-twentieth-century homes with hung aluminum gutters, while newer subdivisions toward Pooler and the islands have larger homes and longer rooflines. Gutter cleaning in Savannah is usually most needed in spring after the oak drop, with a check before hurricane season.

Salt air near the coast and the marshes corrodes steel fasteners, and storm surge and wind are the hurricane risks. In Hinesville and around Fort Stewart, housing is more modern but faces the same storms. Strong hangers at close spacing, stainless or coated fasteners, and downspouts strapped into solid wood help gutters stay on the house.

The Landmark Historic District and its rules

Savannah's Landmark Historic District, a National Historic Landmark covering the old town around the squares, is overseen by the Historic Review Board, and exterior work on contributing buildings normally needs approval. Many of its houses have built-in gutters behind parapets, copper leaders and decorative leader heads. Repairs are specialist work, usually relining or soldering rather than replacing with modern K-style gutters.

Live oaks, Spanish moss and resurrection fern

Savannah's live oaks drop leaves in spring rather than autumn, and the Spanish moss draped on them blows onto roofs year-round. Resurrection fern grows on the oak limbs and adds debris. Moss in a gutter holds water and rots fascia, so clearing it matters more than the leaf volume suggests.

Matthew, Irma and Dorian

Hurricane Matthew brushed the Georgia coast in October 2016, downing thousands of trees in Savannah and cutting power for days. Irma followed in 2017 with surge that flooded Tybee Island and downtown streets, and Dorian threatened in 2019. Coastal Georgia homes need gutters fastened for wind and clear before each season.

Tybee Island and the marsh

Tybee Island's beach cottages and newer raised homes face salt spray, wind and surge. Many sit on pilings with long downspouts. Along the marsh edges in Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope, salt air reaches inland, and steel fasteners fail quickly.

Ardsley Park and the Victorian District

Ardsley Park, developed in the 1910s and 1920s, has large brick and stucco homes on tree-lined streets. The Victorian District south of Forsyth Park has wooden houses from the 1870s to the 1890s with ornate trim. Both have their own review requirements and heavy oak canopy.

Humidity, rot and termites

Savannah's humidity keeps wood damp for most of the year, and Formosan termites are present in the region. Wet fascia behind a leaking gutter is an invitation to both rot and insects, so leaks should be fixed quickly rather than left to the next season.

Flat ground, tidal creeks and drainage

Savannah sits only a few feet above sea level, laced with tidal creeks and canals, and heavy rain often coincides with high tide so the drainage system backs up. Downspout water that pools next to a house has nowhere to go for hours. Leading it out to the street, into a planted bed or into a cistern keeps it away from piers and crawlspaces.

Pooler, Richmond Hill and the suburbs

Pooler, Richmond Hill, Rincon and the suburbs west and south of the city have grown with new subdivisions since the 1990s, many on former pine timberland. Those homes have shingle roofs, builder gutters and young trees, and their biggest issue is where downspouts discharge on flat, sandy lots.

Cisterns and rainwater in Savannah

Historic Savannah homes often had cisterns to collect roof water, and some survive in courtyards and gardens. Modern rain barrels serve the same purpose for watering the gardens the city is known for. A screened inlet keeps mosquitoes out, which matters in this climate.

Choosing gutters on the Georgia coast

Aluminum or copper with stainless fasteners, hangers close together for wind, and half-round profiles on historic homes. Avoid galvanized steel, which rusts within a few years in the salt air.

Georgian and Federal townhouses on the squares

The brick and stucco townhouses around Savannah's squares have parapet walls, slate or standing-seam roofs, and gutters built into the roof edge behind the parapet. Water travels along those internal troughs to a leader head on the side or rear wall. When a lining fails, the first sign is usually damp plaster on an upper floor or a stain spreading down the stucco outside. These repairs call for sheet metal skills and, in the district, approval before work begins.

Carriage houses and garden walls

Many downtown lots have a carriage house at the rear across a courtyard, and gutters there drain into small gardens enclosed by brick walls. Water trapped inside those walls has nowhere to go, so downspouts should be piped under the paving to the lane. Damp brick walls also lose mortar quickly in this climate.

Wilmington Island and the Isle of Hope

Wilmington Island, Whitemarsh and the Isle of Hope sit among tidal marshes east of the city, with homes under live oaks and pines close to the water. Salt and humidity are constant, and the marsh breeze carries both inland.

Savannah's summer storms

Afternoon thunderstorms through the summer can drop an inch or more in a short burst, and the ground is often already wet. Gutters sized for average rain overflow in those storms, so larger outlets and more downspouts are usually a better investment than a bigger trough.

Statesboro and the inland towns

Statesboro, Hinesville and Brunswick share coastal Georgia's heat and rain. Brunswick's Old Town has Victorian homes near the marsh; Hinesville's housing serves Fort Stewart; Statesboro has a large student rental market.

Salt air, humidity and Historic District review

Within sight of the river and the marshes, salt shortens the life of steel fasteners and cheap guard frames, and the humidity keeps wood damp for most of the year. On a house in the Historic District, exterior changes are reviewed, so a replacement should match the existing profile and material rather than introduce a modern cover.

Local guidance

What a proper Savannah inspection covers

An inspection worth paying attention to looks at the whole system rather than the point you called about, because the visible symptom is frequently not where the fault is.

That means checking the fall along each run, the condition and spacing of the hangers, every seam and end cap, the flow through each downspout and where it discharges, and the state of the fascia and drip edge behind the gutter.

It should end with you being shown what was found — photographs of anything above eye level — and a written scope rather than a verbal summary and a number.