Gutter Installation in LaPlace, LA
Big Easy Roofing installs seamless gutters and downspouts across LaPlace and the east bank of St. John the Baptist Parish, formed on site to the exact length. On most houses the question is size. On a historic building in the LaPlace Historic District, the parish guidelines add a second one: how the system goes on without harming what is already there.
LaPlace gutter installation at a glance
A whole home seamless aluminium system is estimated at $6 to $12 per linear foot fitted, which puts a typical 120 to 180 foot house between about $800 and $2,200. Copper and steel are priced separately. Installation takes one to two days, and on a historic building the parish guidelines shape how it goes on.
Estimated cost band
A whole home residential install in seamless aluminium, typically 120 to 180 linear feet, which is where the $6 to $12 a foot rate lands. Copper is a different order of cost. We measure the runs and the roof area feeding them before quoting.
Typical duration
Time on site from taking the old runs down to splash blocks in place, depending on linear footage, access and how many downspout drops are going in.
Which office covers you
We have not found a parish statement either way on whether a permit is needed for gutter work on its own. The state rule we cite on our roofing pages, R.S. 37:3737(I), is written about roof construction and reroofing, and a gutter is not a roof covering. We ask the Permit Division on (985) 651-5565 when a job reaches the roof or the fascia.
Materials fitted
Seamless 5 inch and 6 inch K style aluminium, galvanised steel, and half round copper on historic or slate roofed houses (our suggestion, not a parish specification). We do not fit vinyl, which gives roughly five to ten years on the Gulf coast before it goes brittle.
What sets the size
A gutter is sized from the roof area draining into it against the rainfall rate it has to carry. No LaPlace NOAA Atlas 14 figure is verified in the research on file here, so the calculation is run against the rate NOAA returns for your actual address.
On a historic building
The parish 2024 LaPlace Historic District Design Guidelines ask for new gutters and downspouts to be installed in a manner that is minimally intrusive to the historic character of the building, without unnecessary damage to historic materials.
Every figure on this page is an estimate, not a quote, and is subject to Big Easy Roofing sign off. Cost and timescale depend on size, pitch, access, weather, materials and whatever is found once work starts, so call Big Easy Roofing on (504) 800-8196 and we will come out and give you an estimate for your own roof.
Gutters are quoted by the foot, so price per foot is the number to start from. Seamless aluminium is estimated at $6 to $9 a foot on a standard 5 inch profile and $8 to $12 on 6 inch, so a hundred feet of 5 inch lands around $600 to $900 fitted and two hundred feet around $1,200 to $1,800. Steel is a little under aluminium, copper is several times over it. Every figure on this page is an estimate, not a quote, and is subject to Big Easy Roofing sign off.
What that per foot number hides is the part that decides whether the system works. Two houses with identical gutter lengths can need very different numbers of downspouts, because the gutter is only a channel and the downspout is the drain. Capacity comes from the roof area feeding a run against the rainfall rate that run has to carry, and Louisiana rain arrives in short heavy bursts, so it is the burst rather than the annual total that a gutter has to survive.
The LaPlace detail on top of that applies to fewer houses but matters a great deal on them. St. John the Baptist Parish publishes design guidelines for the LaPlace Historic District, and their roofing section has two lines on gutters and downspouts. For whether the guidelines apply at a particular address, contact Planning and Zoning on (985) 651-5565; we ask before scoping. Call Big Easy Roofing on (504) 800-8196 to book a measure.
How we size a system for a LaPlace roof
The profile follows the roof area draining into the run, and the downspout count follows the rainfall it has to move. These are the specifications we work to and the estimated installed cost for each, before access and fascia condition are looked at.
| Roof area drained | Profile we fit | Downspouts | Estimated cost per foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4,000 sq ft | 5 inch K style aluminium | 2 x 3, one per 20 feet of gutter | $6 to $9 |
| 4,000 to 6,000 sq ft | 6 inch K style aluminium | 3 x 4, one per 35 feet of gutter | $8 to $12 |
| 6,000 to 8,000 sq ft | 6 inch K style aluminium | 3 x 4, one per 30 feet of gutter | $8 to $12 |
| Steep pitch, any area | 6 inch K style aluminium | 3 x 4, spacing tightened again | $8 to $12 |
| Historic or slate roof | Half round copper | 3 inch round copper | $20 to $40 |
| Steel option | 5 or 6 inch K style steel | As the aluminium equivalent | $5 to $10 |
| Vinyl | Not fitted | Not fitted | Five to ten years here, so we skip it |
Estimated ranges, not quotes, and they assume sound fascia to hang from. The spacings are the starting point we work from and are then set against the roof area actually draining into each run. A steep roof delivers water to the gutter faster than a shallow one of the same area, which is why the spacing tightens rather than the profile changing again. The half round copper row is our own suggestion for older houses; the parish guidelines do not name a gutter profile or material.
What the LaPlace guidelines say about gutters and downspouts
The parish 2024 LaPlace Historic District Design Guidelines cover gutters and downspouts in two lines in their roofing section: install them in a manner minimally intrusive to the historic character of the building, and do not unnecessarily damage historic materials. They say what, not how, and they apply where the guidelines apply.
The two lines on gutters
The guidelines say to "install new gutters and/or downspouts in a manner that is minimally intrusive to the historic character of the building" and to "ensure the installation does not unnecessarily damage any historic materials." They do not name a gutter profile, material, colour or downspout position.
The principle behind them
The guidelines reproduce the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, one of which reads: "New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property."
What that means on our scopes
On a historic building we fix hangers to sound fascia rather than cutting into original trim or cornice detail, run downspouts on the least visible line that still takes water away from the building, and photograph the eave before anything comes off. Those choices are ours; the guidelines set the aim, not the method.
Who says whether it applies
The parish Residential Permit Application records, in its office use section, a Historic District Y or N box and a Design Rev. Corridor Y or N box. For whether the guidelines or a Certificate of Appropriateness apply to a particular address, ask Planning and Zoning on (985) 651-5565; our LaPlace siding installation page covers how the Certificate process works.
Seamless against sectional, and why we form on site
A sectional gutter is made of lengths joined every few feet, and every joint is sealed with a bead that has to survive Louisiana heat cycling. Those joints are where sectional systems leak, before the metal itself is finished.
A seamless run is rolled from a single coil on site to the exact length of the elevation, so the only joints left in the trough are at corners, outlets and end caps. It costs a little more to fit and it removes the leak path sectional systems fail at, which is why we fit it as standard rather than as an upgrade.
What to check on any gutter quote
Ask how many downspouts are included and what size they are, and what roof area each one is being asked to drain. A quote that specifies 2 x 3 outlets on a large or steep roof is cheaper for a reason, and the saving is taken out of capacity.
Ask what happens if the fascia will not hold new hangers. It is common on an older house, it changes the price, and it is better itemised on the quote than discovered on the day.
On an older house in the LaPlace Historic District, also ask how the hangers will be fixed and where the downspouts will run, and whether anyone has asked Planning and Zoning about the address. The guidelines are written in the parish Historic District Commission documents, not in a contractor's price list.
What shortens a gutter system in this climate
Three things decide whether a new system reaches its service life here: the rate it was sized for, what it is made of and hung on, and where the water goes at the bottom of each downspout. All three are settled at install and cost very little to get right at that point.
Sized to the rate at your address
The spacing calculation is run against the 100 year 60 minute rainfall intensity NOAA Atlas 14 returns for your specific coordinates. A LaPlace figure is not verified in the research on file here, so we pull the number for your address at the measure rather than borrow one from a nearby city.
The higher the rate, the smaller the roof area each downspout can safely handle, which is why two houses with the same footage of gutter can need a different number of drops.
Material choice, and why vinyl is not offered
Vinyl gutter is cheap to buy and it is the one material we will not fit here. Ultraviolet and sustained heat make it brittle, and a brittle gutter cracks at the hanger rather than bending, so in sustained Gulf heat it can be down at five to ten years against twenty to thirty for aluminium.
Aluminium is the sensible default: it does not rust, it takes a baked paint finish and it can be rolled seamlessly on site. Copper is a different decision, made on appearance and longevity rather than on cost. A gutter is only as sound as the fascia it hangs on, so the board is checked before anything is ordered.
Where the water goes at the bottom
The parish Flood Protection page lists grading soil and redirecting gutters away from buildings among its permanent measures to minimise flood damage. That measure is covered on our LaPlace roof maintenance page.
On an install it means each downspout is planned with its discharge point, to a splash block set away from the foundation, and the discharge point is written on the quote.
Big Easy Roofing Process
Three steps and a free measure. The roof area is measured as well as the gutter length, and on an older house the first question is whether the historic district guidelines apply.
