uPVC is cheapest and lasts 20 to 25 years. Aluminium costs appreciably more, lasts far longer and can be formed seamlessly on site. Cast iron suits period and listed properties and needs painting. Steel sits between. For most houses uPVC is the sensible default, and getting the size right matters more than the material.
- Capacity first, material second. An undersized gutter in any material overflows.
- Seamless aluminium removes joints, which is where almost all gutters leak.
- Cast iron is often the only acceptable option on a listed building.
- Half-round is the cheapest profile and frequently the smallest. Check the section, not the name.
The four materials
| uPVC | Aluminium | Cast iron | Steel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical life | 20–25 years | 30+ years | Very long, if painted | 30+ years |
| Relative cost | Lowest | High | Highest | Moderate to high |
| Maintenance | Clearing only | Clearing only | Repaint inside and out | Clearing only |
| Joints | Union every few metres | Seamless option available | Bolted, sealed | Jointed |
| Weight | Light | Light | Very heavy | Moderate |
| Expansion movement | Significant | Modest | Minimal | Modest |
| Repairable | Replace the section | Patch or replace | Yes, very | Replace |
| Colour options | Wide | Very wide, powder coated | Painted any colour | Wide |
| Period appearance | Poor to fair | Good, in the right profile | Correct | Good |
| Best for | Most houses | Long runs, period look, low upkeep | Listed and conservation | A middle option |
The lifespan figures assume the gutter is kept clear and was sized correctly. A gutter of any material that holds standing water because the fall is wrong will fail earlier than the figure suggests.
uPVC: the sensible default
For most houses this is the right answer, and the reasons are practical rather than enthusiastic.
It is inexpensive, widely available in every profile and size, light enough to handle safely on a ladder or tower, and needs nothing but clearing. Replacement sections are stocked everywhere, so a repair twenty years from now is straightforward.
The limitations are worth knowing.
Joints. A run is assembled from lengths joined with unions containing a rubber seal, and that seal is a consumable with a life of roughly ten to fifteen years. Most uPVC gutter leaks are perished seals.
Thermal movement. uPVC expands and contracts noticeably along its length. Unions have an expansion gap and the gutter must be cut to leave it. A run fitted tight on a cold day pushes its joints apart the following summer.
Brittleness with age. UV degrades it, so a twenty-five-year-old gutter cracks when handled and every repair breaks something adjacent.
Quality varies. Cheaper grades are thinner, go brittle sooner and discolour faster. The price difference between budget and good uPVC is small against the labour and access, so it is a poor place to economise.
For a standard semi or terrace with ordinary runs, good-quality uPVC in the right profile is hard to argue against.
Seamless aluminium: what you are paying for
Aluminium guttering deserves more attention than it gets, because its main advantage addresses the commonest failure mode in the whole subject.
It can be formed on site. A machine on the back of a van takes a coil of coated aluminium and rolls it into finished gutter at whatever length the run needs. A twelve-metre elevation gets one continuous piece with no joints in it at all — only at the corners and the outlet.
Since perished joint seals are what most gutters leak from, removing the joints removes the problem. That is the substance of the case for it.
It lasts. Powder-coated aluminium does not rot, rust or go brittle, and thirty years and beyond is reasonable.
It is light. Despite the longevity, it weighs little, so it does not stress the fascia the way cast iron does.
It suits period properties. Cast aluminium is available in traditional ogee and moulded profiles that look close to cast iron at a fraction of the weight and with none of the painting. On a Victorian or 1930s house where matching the original profile matters, this is usually the best compromise available.
The cost. Appreciably more than uPVC, and it needs a contractor with the forming equipment, which is not every roofline firm.
Where it makes most sense: long runs with several joints that keep failing, period properties where the profile matters, hard-to-access elevations where you want to go up once and not return, and anywhere the owner intends to stay a long time.
Cast iron and steel
Cast iron
Correct on a listed building and often expected in a conservation area, where replacing it with plastic may need consent and may be refused. It is still manufactured in traditional profiles. The case against it on an ordinary house is weight, cost and maintenance: it needs painting inside as well as out, and cast iron painted only on the visible face rusts from within, which is how most existing cast iron fails. Properly maintained it outlasts everything else by a wide margin, and existing cast iron is frequently more repairable than people assume — it fails at the bolted joints and the back edge rather than generally.
Steel
Galvanised and coated steel sits between aluminium and cast iron. It is stronger than aluminium, heavier, and available in deep profiles with high capacity, which makes it a reasonable choice on large or commercial roofs. On a domestic property it is less common, mainly because aluminium does the same job lighter.
Copper and zinc
Occasionally specified on high-end or architect-designed work. Very long-lived, expensive, and they weather to a patina that is either the point or a surprise, depending on expectations. Rarely relevant to ordinary domestic replacement.
Mixing materials
Worth avoiding where you can. Different materials expand at different rates, and the junctions between them are extra joints. Where a house has cast iron at the front for appearance and uPVC at the rear for economy, that is a deliberate decision rather than an accident, and the two systems should meet at a corner rather than mid-run.
Profile and size matter more than material
This is the point that gets lost in material comparisons, and it is the one that determines whether the gutter works.
A gutter has to carry the water from the roof area draining into it. That depends on the roof area, the pitch, the rainfall intensity and the number of outlets — not on what the gutter is made of.
Standard half-round is the cheapest and most commonly fitted profile, and it is also among the smallest in capacity. It is perfectly adequate on a modest roof with a reasonable run and an outlet at a sensible interval. On a large roof, a steep pitch, a long run with one outlet, or where a valley discharges into it, it is not.
This is exactly why replacing older guttering with standard half-round so often produces overflowing that was never a problem before. Older houses frequently had deeper ogee or moulded sections with considerably more capacity, and swapping down a size while keeping everything else the same guarantees spillage in heavy rain.
The profiles worth knowing:
Half-round — the standard, cheapest, lowest capacity. Available in a deeper version.
Deep-flow or high-capacity half-round — same shape, greater depth, much more capacity. Often the right upgrade.
Ogee — S-curved front, flat back fixing against the fascia. Period appearance and good capacity.
Square or box — high capacity, contemporary look, common on larger properties.
When getting quotes, ask what section is being fitted and how it compares with what is there. A like-for-like replacement in the wrong size is the commonest way a new gutter performs worse than the old one.
What it costs
These are the roofline figures published across this site:
| Job | Typical Coventry guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full uPVC fascia, soffit & guttering (semi) | £1,000–£1,500 | Supply & fit |
| Per elevation (fascia + gutter) | £400–£700 | Front or rear |
| Labour | ~£30/hr | Qualified roofline fitter |
| Gutter clean & reseal | £80–£200 | Clears blockages, stops overflow |
Those figures are for uPVC systems. Aluminium typically costs appreciably more and cast iron more again, with cast iron also carrying a repainting commitment. Against that, access is a large share of any roofline cost, so a longer-lived material spreads that access cost over more years.
Ask what section is going on, not just what it is made of. A like-for-like swap in the wrong size is how a new gutter ends up overflowing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best material for guttering?
For most houses, good-quality uPVC in the correct profile — inexpensive, 20 to 25 years, replacement parts available anywhere. Aluminium is worth the premium on long runs, period properties and awkward access. Cast iron is for listed and conservation properties where it may be the only acceptable option.
Is seamless aluminium guttering worth it?
Often, yes. It is formed on site from a coil, so a whole elevation is one continuous piece with no joints except at corners and outlets. Since perished joint seals are what most gutters leak from, removing the joints removes the commonest failure. It also lasts 30 years and more.
How long does uPVC guttering last?
Typically 20 to 25 years. The joint seals need attention well before that — roughly 10 to 15 years — and towards the end UV makes the plastic brittle so it cracks at fixings and every repair breaks something adjacent. Cheaper grades go brittle sooner.
Does cast iron guttering need painting?
Yes, inside as well as out. Cast iron painted only on the visible face rusts from within, which is how most existing cast iron fails. Properly maintained it outlasts every other material by a wide margin, and existing runs are often more repairable than people assume.
Why does my new guttering overflow when the old did not?
Almost certainly because it is a smaller section. Older houses often had deeper ogee or moulded profiles with considerably more capacity than standard half-round, which is the cheapest and most commonly fitted replacement. Ask what section is being fitted and how it compares.
Can I mix guttering materials on one house?
You can, and it is better avoided where possible. Different materials expand at different rates and the junction between them is an extra joint. Where it is a deliberate choice — cast iron at the front, uPVC at the rear — the two systems should meet at a corner rather than mid-run.
Size it before you choose it
We work out the capacity the roof needs first, then recommend a material. That order is why our replacements do not overflow.