How much do Ottawa companies charge for removing and reinstalling eavestroughs during a siding project?

Removing and reinstalling eavestroughs during a siding project is a common and very reasonable cost to plan for in Ottawa, and understanding how it's priced will help you budget accurately and avoid surprises when quotes come in.

What to Expect for Eavestrough Removal and Reinstallation Pricing

In Ottawa's current market, most eavestrough contractors charge separately for removal and reinstallation rather than bundling it into the siding quote. Removal alone typically runs 1 to 3 dollars per linear foot, which is relatively straightforward work — unclipping hangers, disconnecting downspouts, and carefully setting the gutters aside. For a typical Ottawa bungalow with 120 to 150 linear feet of eavestrough, that's roughly $150 to $450 just for careful removal. The word "careful" matters here — if the contractor damages the gutters during removal, you may be looking at replacement costs rather than reinstallation.

Reinstallation is where the real cost sits. Putting existing eavestroughs back up requires re-drilling into new fascia, re-sloping the system correctly, resealing any joints disturbed during removal, and reconnecting all downspouts. Reinstallation in Ottawa typically runs 4 to 8 dollars per linear foot, bringing the combined removal and reinstall cost to roughly $600 to $1,650 for a bungalow or $900 to $2,400 for a two-storey home with 150 to 200 linear feet of gutter.

One important consideration specific to Ottawa's climate is that reinstallation is an excellent opportunity to correct hanger spacing. Many older Ottawa homes have hangers spaced at 30 to 36 inches, which was acceptable in milder climates but is genuinely inadequate here given the snow loading and freeze-thaw stress our systems endure. When your contractor reinstalls, ask them to bring hanger spacing down to 18 to 24 inches maximum — this adds modest labour cost but significantly extends the life of your system and reduces the risk of the gutters pulling away from the fascia under a heavy snow load.

This is also the right moment to have your contractor re-evaluate the slope of your eavestrough runs. The standard is at least one quarter inch of drop per 10 feet of run toward the downspout, but many Ottawa homes have sections that have settled out of slope over the years. Since the gutters are already off the house, correcting slope costs very little in additional labour compared to doing it as a standalone repair later.

A practical note on timing: siding projects in Ottawa are most commonly done from May through September, which overlaps with the busiest season for eavestrough contractors. Book your eavestrough contractor at the same time you book your siding crew, and ideally coordinate so the eavestrough removal happens the day before or morning of the siding installation, with reinstallation scheduled for immediately after the siding is complete. Leaving fascia boards exposed overnight is fine, but leaving them exposed for days risks moisture damage — especially during Ottawa's unpredictable spring and fall weather.

Some siding contractors will handle eavestrough removal themselves as part of their scope, but they often lack the tools and expertise to reinstall correctly, particularly when it comes to proper slope and sealing. It's generally worth hiring a dedicated eavestrough contractor for the reinstallation portion even if the siding crew handles removal.

If your existing eavestroughs are more than 15 to 20 years old, it's worth getting a quote for full replacement at the same time. Since the labour to remove old gutters and install new seamless aluminum is not dramatically more than reinstalling old sectional gutters, a siding project is one of the most cost-effective windows to upgrade your eavestrough system entirely.

For finding eavestrough contractors to quote this work, the Ottawa Construction Network directory at justynrookcontracting.com is a good starting point — and always get at least three written quotes that specify whether old material disposal, resealing, and downspout reconnection are included.