Seamless Gutter Replacement
Seamless Gutter Replacement for St. Paul Campus Homes
A university housing team on Summit Avenue in St. Paul needed water pulled away from aging campus houses before winter. Here's how we replaced 30-year-old gutters with a 5-inch seamless aluminum gutter system and added LeafBlaster gutter covers to ensure superior performance.Water was getting into the basements of several university-owned houses on Summit Avenue, and the stucco outside told the same story. Dark water marks ran down the walls below valleys and roof edges where runoff had been spilling for years. The gutters were roughly 30 years old and long past the point where seasonal cleaning made any difference.
The property belongs to the University of St. Thomas, which owns a cluster of single-family homes right at the edge of campus in St. Paul, Minnesota. The head maintenance manager flagged us down after spotting our van nearby, and we ultimately scheduled a property assessment, where we came out to walk the roofs, fascia, and drainage points. He needed a practical fix, not a full exterior overhaul, so we scoped the best opportunities for seamless gutter installation around all of the houses and identified problem areas causing the water intrusion.
Key Takeaways
- The ChallengeThirty-year-old gutters on a group of campus-owned houses were overflowing into basements and staining stucco, with rotted fascia hidden behind several runs.
- The SystemWe installed 5-inch seamless K-style aluminum gutters sized to the roofs, replaced damaged fascia boards, and added LeafBlaster gutter covers to cut down annual maintenance.
- The ResultRunoff is now carried away from the foundations on every house we touched, and the work wrapped up before winter.
Project Summary
| Client Profile | University-owned single-family houses near campus |
| Location | St. Paul, MN |
| Primary Objective | Stop basement water intrusion and stucco damage with seamless gutter replacement |
| System Installed | 5-inch seamless K-style aluminum gutters with LeafBlaster gutter covers |
| Key Outcome | Water directed away from foundations with reduced yearly cleaning |
Assessing Water Damage Across Campus Houses
Each house on the block has a different roof, so the walkthrough started where the water ends up. Some are hip roofs, some are gabled, and several have valleys dumping heavy volume onto one short run of gutter. Below those spots we found the worst of it: significant stucco damage and water marks tracking down the walls.
The maintenance manager confirmed what the siding showed, telling us water had been coming into the basements. The gutters were original to roughly 30 years ago, and the only upkeep had been a once-a-year cleaning by an outside contractor with no record of how thorough it was. Another contractor had already pushed a full exterior redo, but these houses only need to hold up for the next five to 10 years, so we priced the work to match that reality.
Performing Seamless Gutter Installation on Summit Avenue
Older gutters like these were nailed up rather than hung on brackets, which makes tear-off slower and rougher on the fascia. Once the old runs came down, we found rotted fascia board behind one of them and replaced those sections before anything new went up. New gutters hung on sound wood with modern hidden hangers hold their pitch; new gutters hung on rot do not.
We extruded 5-inch seamless aluminum gutters on site, sized to the roof areas on each house, and walked the downspout locations with the maintenance manager before fastening anything. Most of the houses received a full seamless replacement, with targeted work on the problem areas elsewhere, and we finished with gutter cover installation using LeafBlaster Pro guards so the maintenance team is not chasing clogs every fall.
Working on a tight campus block meant staging the job a couple of houses at a time over about three weeks, which kept parking and access clear and had everything done ahead of winter.
Project Gallery
Here's how our team got to work.
Ensuring Dry Basements Before Another Minnesota Winter
Every house we worked on now has continuous aluminum gutters pitched to carry roof runoff into downspouts aimed away from the foundation. That is the whole point of the system, and it is what stops the basement water and the staining on the stucco from getting worse.
We also pointed out what we could not fix. There was roof sagging on one house from rotted sheeting, so we passed that along to the maintenance manager with a clear description of what we saw rather than leaving it buried in a report. He now has a gutter system that will outlast the five- to 10-year window he was planning for, plus covers that take the yearly cleaning headache off his list.
Need Your St. Paul Gutters Replaced Before Winter?
Twin Cities Gutter Care offers seamless gutter replacement, fascia repair, and gutter cover installation for homeowners, property managers, and multi-unit owners across St. Paul and the rest of our Twin Cities Service Area. Our crew fabricates every run on site, hauls away the old material, and backs the labor with our workmanship warranty. One crew, no subcontracting, and honest pricing from the first walkthrough.
Seeing water in the basement or stains running down your siding? Call Twin Cities Gutter Care at 612-968-7081 or request a free on-site estimate for your St. Paul property!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do gutters last on St. Paul homes?
In our climate, you get about 20 to 30 years out of a gutter system if it has been maintained properly. Once gutters pass that mark, we usually see bent sections, runs pulling away from the fascia, and overflow at the valleys. Age alone is not the only factor, so we look at water marks on the siding and whether water is showing up in the basement before recommending replacement.
Do you have to replace every gutter on the property?
No. On this Summit Avenue project, we replaced the gutters on most of the houses and addressed only the problem areas on the rest. If your system is sound and the trouble is isolated to one corner, a reseal, a repitch, or an added downspout is often the honest answer.
Can you work around a busy campus or rental property?
Yes. We staged this job a couple of houses per week over about three weeks so access, parking, and daily traffic were never blocked for long. For multi-unit and property management clients, we set the schedule around your operations and walk downspout locations with you before installation.