Gutter Repair in Pittsburgh, PA

Local know-how

Hills, box gutters and grey winters in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh averages around 38 to 40 inches of precipitation and roughly 40 inches of snow a year, spread across a great many grey, damp days. Winters bring repeated freeze-thaw cycles that open seams and push gutters away from the fascia. The hills add a challenge few cities have: houses perched on steep slopes, with tall rear walls, long downspout drops and back yards that fall away sharply. Gutter repair in Pittsburgh often starts with working out safe access.

Much of Pittsburgh's housing is old, and box gutters are common on homes in Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Highland Park, Lawrenceville and Polish Hill. Box gutter repair in Pittsburgh usually means relining the gutter with metal or a rubber membrane, repairing the rotted wood beneath it and resealing the outlets. A leaking box gutter lets water into the cornice and walls, and the first sign is often peeling paint or stained plaster on the top floor.

The suburbs have more conventional hung gutters under mature oaks and maples. In Mount Lebanon and Bethel Park the housing is largely 1920s to 1950s brick colonials and Tudors; Monroeville, Plum and Cranberry Township have more post-war and newer homes. Gutter cleaning in Pittsburgh is mostly a late-autumn job, with a spring check for winter damage, and gutter replacement often moves homeowners from sectional to seamless aluminum.

Steep lots make discharge important. Water dumped at the top of a slope or behind a retaining wall can undermine it over time, and many Pittsburgh walls are old stone or block. Running downspouts to a stable outlet, or into a drain line, protects both the wall and the neighbor below. Pittsburgh gutter guards are worth considering on wooded hillside lots where getting to the gutters is difficult and risky.

South Side Slopes and city steps

Pittsburgh has hundreds of public staircases, and the South Side Slopes, Polish Hill and Fineview are where houses cling to hillsides so steep that some can only be reached by steps. Gutter work there means carrying ladders and materials up stairs and setting ladders on uneven ground. Downspouts often empty onto stairs or walkways below, which ice over in winter. Leading them into pipes that drain to the street is a common upgrade.

The 2004 Ivan floods and Millvale

In September 2004, the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan dropped heavy rain on western Pennsylvania within ten days. Girty's Run flooded Millvale's business district, and many communities along the rivers and creeks were hit. Those storms are why many Pittsburgh-area homeowners take drainage seriously.

The record-wet 2018 and landslides

2018 was Pittsburgh's wettest year on record, and the saturated ground triggered hundreds of landslides across Allegheny County, including one that closed a stretch of Route 30. Many homes on slopes saw retaining walls bulge or fail. Roof water poured onto a slope adds to the problem, so sending downspout water to the street or a storm drain is especially important on hillsides.

3 Rivers Wet Weather and rain barrels

Allegheny County's sewers combine stormwater and sewage in many areas, and overflows into the rivers during storms are a long-standing problem. Local groups and 3 Rivers Wet Weather have promoted rain barrels and downspout disconnection to reduce that load.

Mon Valley and the mill towns

Homestead, Braddock, McKeesport and the Mon Valley towns have frame workers' houses from the steel era, often close together on steep streets. Many have aging gutters, soft fascia and downspouts into old terra cotta pipes.

Cranberry, Wexford and the North Hills

Cranberry Township, Wexford and the North Hills suburbs have grown with larger homes since the 1980s. They see the same freeze-thaw and wet weather as the city, with more space for extensions and rain gardens.

Squirrel Hill and Shadyside

Squirrel Hill and Shadyside have large brick and frame homes from the early 1900s on tree-lined streets, many with slate roofs and built-in gutters.

Mount Washington and the view

Mount Washington's homes sit on the cliff above the rivers, facing strong winds that funnel up the slope.

Bethel Park and the South Hills

Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair and the South Hills have 1950s to 1970s brick homes on hilly streets, with downspouts often piped to the curb.

Lawrenceville and Bloomfield row houses

Lawrenceville and Bloomfield have narrow brick and frame row houses with shared walls and rear gutters. Many have been renovated with new roofs, but gutters are often left old and undersized.

Penn Hills and the eastern suburbs

Penn Hills, Monroeville and Plum have post-war homes on hilly lots, many with gutters on fascia softened by decades of damp.

Pittsburgh's damp winters and rot

Pittsburgh is one of the cloudiest large cities in the country, with long stretches of gray, wet weather from November to April. Wood behind leaking gutters stays wet for months and rots quickly. When replacing gutters on older homes, expect some fascia replacement, and consider PVC or aluminum-wrapped trim.

Sewickley and Fox Chapel

Sewickley and Fox Chapel have large estates with slate roofs, copper gutters and long driveways on wooded hills above the rivers.

Pittsburgh gutter questions

Common calls here are box gutters leaking into a cornice, downspouts blocked in old terra cotta lines, gutters torn loose by ice, and water appearing in a basement after a storm. A contractor who knows the city will look at the hillside above and below the house as well as the roof.

Local guidance

What to check yourself before calling anyone in Pittsburgh

You can diagnose most of it from the ground. After rain stops, look along the gutter line: if water is still sitting in the trough an hour later, the run has lost its fall and no amount of cleaning will fix that.

Next, run a hose into the gutter and watch the bottom of each downspout. A strong flow means the system is clear; a trickle or nothing means the blockage is below the outlet, often in the elbow or a buried line.

Finally, look at the fascia board behind and below the gutter. Dark staining, flaking paint or a visibly swollen board means water has been getting where it should not, and that needs dealing with before anything is re-fastened to it.