Gutter Installation & Repair in Paterson, NJ

Rain, River and Gutters: What They Can and Can’t Do

We will be straight with you: gutters do not stop river flooding. The Passaic River has flooded Paterson again and again, with federal disaster declarations going back to 1968 and including 1999, 2011 and 2012. In March 2024, businesses near the river on the north side flooded for the third time in three months. During Ida in 2021, River Street went under. If you live in Riverside, Bunker Hill or near Route 20, which floods when the river crests, rising water is a different problem from roof runoff.

What gutters do is control the water that comes off your roof. A two-family roof sheds a lot of water in a heavy storm, and without working gutters and downspouts it lands right against the foundation, often in a narrow side yard with nowhere to go. That is how basements take on water even when the river stays in its banks. Good gutters will not floodproof a house, but they keep roof water from making a wet basement worse.

Sizing Gutters for Paterson Roofs

Many Paterson houses are two and a half or three stories with long, steep roof slopes, and steep roofs send water into the gutter fast. Undersized gutters overshoot at the valleys and corners in a hard rain, which is when you need them most.

• Seamless aluminum K-style gutters are formed on site to the length of each run, so there are no seams to leak along the way.
• Larger gutters and downspouts make sense on big multi-family roofs and on any run that collects water from a valley.
• Flat rear roofs need a clear path off the roof, such as a scupper and leader head, so water does not pond and find its way inside.
• Hangers are fastened into solid fascia. Where the fascia is rotted, we replace the wood first.

Pitch and winter performance

A gutter that sags or slopes the wrong way holds water, and in a Paterson winter that standing water freezes, pulls on the hangers and drips onto steps and walkways where it turns to ice. On older houses, decades of re-hanging have often left runs with dips in the middle. We set each run with a steady slope toward its downspout and add downspouts on long runs so water leaves the gutter quickly instead of sitting in it.

We measure the roof areas that drain to each run and size gutters and downspouts to match. Our gutter installation page explains the process step by step.

Guards, Copper and Half-Round, Cleaning and Repair

Blocks around Eastside Park and other tree-lined streets fill gutters every fall. Gutter guards cut down on clogs and ladder work, which matters on a three-story house. They are not zero-maintenance, and we tell you what to expect for the guard you choose.

Copper and half-round gutters fit older and historic Paterson homes. The Downtown Commercial district guidelines note that built-in gutters are typical there, strongly discourage replacing a built-in gutter with a hanging one, strongly discourage PVC downspouts even when painted, and recommend galvanized metal for new exterior downspouts. They also recommend cleaning gutters in spring and fall, which is good advice anywhere in the city.

For gutters that are mostly sound, we offer gutter cleaning and gutter repair: resealing leaking corners, rehanging sagging runs and replacing crushed downspouts.

Downspouts, Neighbors and Permits

Where a downspout empties matters as much as the gutter. On closely spaced Paterson lots, a downspout that dumps into a shared walkway or toward the house next door creates ice in winter and complaints year-round. We extend leaders away from foundations, use splash blocks or extensions where there is room, and keep discharge on your own property. If you are thinking of connecting a leader to an underground line, check with the city first.

Gutter Questions from Paterson Homeowners

More Gutter and Roofing Help in Paterson

See our Paterson roofing contractor page for everything we do in the city, our Passaic County page for the wider area, and our main gutter services in New Jersey page.

Gutters work with the rest of the exterior, so also read about roof repair in Paterson, roof replacement in Paterson and siding in Paterson.

We install gutters nearby too, including gutters in Clifton, gutters in Totowa and gutters in Elmwood Park.