Gutter Repair in Cincinnati, OH

Local know-how

Italianate homes, hillsides and heavy rain around Cincinnati

Cincinnati averages around 42 inches of precipitation a year, with spring storms, summer downpours and winter freeze-thaw. The city is built on hills, and many homes sit on slopes where downspout discharge can erode soil or send water toward neighboring properties. Gutter repair in Cincinnati often includes rethinking where the water goes, not just fixing the gutter.

Cincinnati has one of the largest collections of nineteenth-century Italianate architecture in the country, concentrated in Over-the-Rhine, Mount Auburn, Clifton and Northside. Many of these buildings have box gutters built into the bracketed cornice. Box gutter repair in Cincinnati is specialist work: relining with metal or membrane, repairing rotted wood and restoring the cornice so the gutter keeps its original line. The gutter system on these homes is part of the architecture.

Some of the region's hillsides are prone to slow landslides, especially where clay soils sit over shale, and water is the usual trigger. Discharging a roof's runoff onto a slope, or letting a downspout soak the soil above a retaining wall, can make movement worse. On hillside homes in neighborhoods like Price Hill, Mount Adams and Clifton, carrying water to a storm drain or a stable outlet is a sensible part of any gutter project.

Suburbs like Hamilton, Fairfield and Mason have newer homes with hung aluminum gutters under oaks and maples. Gutter companies in Cincinnati often replace old sectional gutters with seamless ones and add guards. A gutter installer in Hamilton or Mason will typically recommend 6-inch gutters for larger roofs, because Ohio Valley thunderstorms regularly overwhelm 5-inch systems.

Hyde Park, Mount Lookout and the east side

Hyde Park and Mount Lookout have large early twentieth-century homes on hilly streets with mature oaks, maples and sycamores. Many have slate or tile roofs and copper gutters. Oakley and Madisonville have smaller frame homes and bungalows.

Price Hill, Westwood and the west side

West side neighborhoods such as East Price Hill, Westwood and Cheviot have brick and frame homes from the 1890s to the 1950s on hilly ground. Steep yards and long downspouts are common, and many homes have downspouts piped underground to the street.

MSD and the combined sewer

Cincinnati's Metropolitan Sewer District has worked for years to reduce overflows from its combined sewers into local creeks and the Ohio River. Many older homes have downspouts connected to the sewer. Where it is safe and allowed, redirecting downspouts to the lawn reduces the load.

The 1937 flood

The Ohio River flood of January 1937 was the worst in the city's history, cresting near 80 feet and flooding much of the riverfront. Floodwalls now protect the city, but heavy rain still causes local flooding in valleys and low-lying neighborhoods.

Mason, West Chester and the northern suburbs

Mason and West Chester have grown fast with large subdivisions along Interstate 71 and 75. Many homes have builder gutters, young trees and complex roofs.

Indian Hill and the estates

Indian Hill has large estates on wooded lots, with long gutter runs, copper and slate.

Northern Kentucky across the river

Covington, Newport, Fort Thomas and Fort Mitchell are part of the Cincinnati metro, with historic homes and hilly streets. Many have the same box gutters, slate and steep lots as Cincinnati's older neighborhoods.

Honeysuckle, sweetgum and Cincinnati debris

Cincinnati's hillsides are covered in bush honeysuckle, an invasive shrub that drops berries and leaves into gutters on homes near wooded slopes. Sweetgums, maples, oaks and sycamores add autumn leaves, and maple seeds come in spring.

Clifton's gaslights and old homes

Clifton, near the University of Cincinnati, still has working gas street lamps and large Victorian and Tudor homes on hilly, wooded lots. Gutters there carry heavy leaf loads, and many homes have built-in gutters.

Downspout lines on Cincinnati hills

Because so many Cincinnati homes sit on slopes, downspouts are often piped underground to the street curb. Those lines crack and fill with roots. A camera inspection can find the problem.

Westwood and the Mill Creek valley

The Mill Creek valley runs north through the city's industrial heart, and neighborhoods like Northside, Camp Washington and St. Bernard sit near it, with older frame homes and businesses on low ground prone to backups. Water from roofs here should be led away from basements, and old downspout connections to sewers checked.

Anderson Township and the east

Anderson Township has large post-war and newer homes on wooded lots above the Little Miami River.

Mariemont, a planned village

Mariemont was built in the 1920s as a planned English-style village, with Tudor homes and slate roofs under strict design rules.

Over-the-Rhine rehab

Over-the-Rhine's Italianate row buildings are being restored block by block, and roof drainage is usually one of the first things fixed. Flat roofs drain to rear gutters and downspouts, and new owners often find rotted cornice gutters on the street side.

Northside and College Hill

Northside and College Hill have Victorian and early twentieth-century frame houses on hilly streets, many with deep porches and box gutters.

Blue Ash and Montgomery

Blue Ash and Montgomery have post-war and newer homes on larger lots, with mature trees and long gutter runs.

Delhi, Green Township and the far west

Delhi and Green Township on the far west side have post-war and newer homes on hills above the Ohio River, with long downspouts and steep yards. Water released on these slopes can carve gullies or soak the soil behind retaining walls, so downspouts are often run into pipes leading to the curb.

Loveland and the Little Miami

Loveland's historic downtown sits on the Little Miami River and its bike trail. Homes on the hills above have wooded lots, while those near the river face flooding in wet springs. Gutter work there often includes leading water away from basements that sit close to the river's high water mark.

Local guidance

Gutter problems that are not actually gutter problems

A good share of the calls we take in Cincinnati turn out to have a cause above or behind the gutter rather than in it, and replacing the gutter would not have fixed any of them.

Water appearing behind the gutter is usually a missing or badly fitted drip edge. Ice forming at the eave is an insulation and ventilation problem. A gutter separating from the house is nearly always rotted fascia. Staining on a ceiling below a valley is often flashing rather than drainage.

A contractor worth using will tell you that at the estimate rather than sell you a system that does not address what is actually happening.