Before you let anyone near your roofline in Dublin, ask for four things: a CRO number, current tax clearance access (TCAN), a C2 or eTax Clearance certificate, and public liability insurance of at least €6.5M naming the trader. Cross-check the CRO number free on core.cro.ie, and never pay a deposit against a verbal price on the doorstep.
Summary
- CRO registration is verified free in about 30 seconds at core.cro.ie — a legitimate Dublin gutter installer will hand over the number without being asked twice.
- Public liability of €6.5M or more is the working minimum for terraced streets in Phibsborough, Ranelagh or Stoneybatter where a dropped ladder can hit a neighbour's slate.
- A valid Tax Clearance Access Number (TCAN) lets you check status directly on ROS — no TCAN, no job, because you become liable for RCT if the trader is not compliant.
- A door-to-door caller in Finglas, Coolock or Tallaght quoting a cash price for "moss on your gutter I spotted from the road" is the single most reported doorstep scam pattern to An Garda Síochána.
- A proper written quote for Dublin guttering names the material, the metreage, the bracket spacing, the downpipe count, VAT, the guarantee term and the payment schedule — anything less is a handshake.
- CIRI registration (Construction Industry Register Ireland) is the industry-body check that separates a registered contractor from a man with a van and a ladder.
Why vetting matters more in Dublin than anywhere else
Dublin's housing stock does not forgive a bad guttering job. A terrace in Portobello shares a parapet gutter with the house next door; a semi in Cabra has a party wall that carries a shared downpipe; an apartment block in Smithfield has a management company that will refuse to sign off work done by an uninsured trader. The tighter the street, the higher the stakes when something goes wrong.
The trade also has a doorstep problem here. An Garda Síochána and the CCPC have both flagged rogue traders working the estates in Finglas, Coolock, Tallaght, Ballyfermot and Clondalkin, targeting older homeowners with a "moss on your roof" or "loose gutter at the back" opener. The quote is verbal, the deposit is cash, and the work is either never done or done so badly it has to be redone.
Vetting is not paranoia. It is the difference between a 10-year written guarantee you can actually enforce and a receipt on the back of a compliment slip.
The four documents to see before you sign
1. CRO registration
Every legitimate trading entity in Ireland — sole trader operating under a business name, partnership or limited company — is on the Companies Registration Office register. Ask for the CRO number and check it yourself at core.cro.ie. The search is free, takes under a minute, and tells you the registered address, the directors, and whether the company is currently trading or dissolved.
Red flag: a trader who trades under a name that is not registered, or whose company was struck off two years ago and is now trading under a similar name.
2. Tax clearance
For any job over €10,000 combined in a rolling twelve-month period, or any subcontracted work, you can be pulled into Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) if the trader is not tax-compliant. Ask for the trader's Tax Clearance Access Number (TCAN) and their tax reference. Verify both on ROS at revenue.ie using the free Tax Clearance Verification service.
No TCAN means either the trader has not applied, has been refused, or has had clearance withdrawn. None of those are your problem to solve — walk away.
3. C2 / eTax Clearance and RCT status
The old C2 card is gone, replaced by the eTax Clearance Certificate, but the trade still calls it a C2 and you will hear the phrase on Dublin doorsteps. What matters is that the trader is registered for RCT as a principal or subcontractor as appropriate and can prove it. On a full roofline replacement where scaffolding hire and subcontracted labour push the job over the RCT threshold, this is not optional.
4. Insurance that actually covers the work
The minimum figures to ask for:
- Public liability: €6.5M is standard for a competent Dublin gutter contractor. €2.6M is the old floor and is no longer adequate for terraced streets or three-storey Victorian returns.
- Employer liability: €13M where the contractor employs crews directly (as opposed to subcontracting).
- All risks / tools: not for you, but its absence tells you something about the operation.
Ask for the certificate of insurance, not a screenshot. Check the policy is in date, names the trading entity you are contracting with (not a different company), and that "guttering", "roofing" or "working at height" is not excluded. Ring the broker on the certificate if the sums do not add up.
For context on what a compliant contractor actually looks like, our own Dublin guttering credentials page lists the CIRI registration, VAT number and insurance sums that we hand over before appointment.
How to spot a door-to-door caller
The pattern is remarkably consistent across the North Dublin and West Dublin estates the Gardaí have flagged. If four of these five apply, close the door:
- Unannounced knock — you did not ring anyone, and no neighbour recommended them.
- "I was working around the corner and noticed…" — the opener is always about something they claim to have seen from the road.
- Verbal price only, cash preferred, "today only" — no letterhead, no VAT number, no written quote.
- Deposit demanded before any survey — a legitimate Dublin trader inspects free, quotes in writing, and only then discusses terms.
- No fixed address on the vehicle or paperwork — a mobile number, a first name, and a van with no signage.
The CCPC's own guidance is blunt: for any doorstep offer over €200, you have a 14-day cooling-off period by law under the European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013. A trader who refuses to put that in writing is telling you they intend to break the law.
If you have concerns about a doorstep caller in your area, contact your local Garda station and the CCPC on 01 402 5555. Our page on what a proper Dublin gutter inspection looks like sets out how a free survey should actually run — up on the roof, not squinting from the driveway.
What a proper written quote for Dublin guttering must contain
A quote is not a scribbled number. On any job over a couple of hundred euro, the following need to be on the page before you sign anything:
| Item | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Trading entity and CRO number | Full registered name, address, CRO number, VAT number |
| Insurance sums | Public liability figure, name of insurer |
| Scope of work | Which elevations, which runs, remove-and-dispose of old material |
| Material and profile | uPVC / aluminium / cast iron, profile size (112mm half-round, 125mm deep-flow), colour |
| Metreage | Linear metres of gutter, count of downpipes, count of outlets |
| Bracket spacing | Fixing centres, especially on coastal or exposed gables in Howth, Sutton or Clontarf |
| Fascia condition | Whether the board behind is sound or being renewed |
| Access | Ladder, tower, scaffold — and who is paying for it |
| Price breakdown | Labour, materials, waste disposal, VAT shown separately |
| Guarantee | Term in years, what it covers, in writing before signing |
| Payment schedule | Deposit (if any), stage payments, balance on completion |
| Cooling-off notice | Where the contract was signed at your home |
If the quote does not name a material, a length or a bracket spacing, the trader is leaving themselves room to fit the cheapest profile at the widest fixing centres. On a coastal gable in Sutton, that run will pull away in the first winter gale.
Our own written quote template for full gutter replacements breaks each of these lines out before anything is signed, and the 10-year written guarantee is handed over at the same time rather than promised afterwards.
Indicative Dublin pricing — so you know when a quote is wrong
Vetting the number matters as much as vetting the trader. A quote that comes in at half the market rate is a warning, not a bargain — either the material is substandard, the crew is uninsured, or the deposit is the last you will see of them.
Indicative current Dublin rates, supplied and installed:
- uPVC: €50–€65 per metre
- Aluminium: €65–€75 per metre
- Cast iron (heritage): €75–€90 per metre
A standard three-bed semi in Drumcondra or Terenure carries roughly 15–20 metres front and rear combined. A full uPVC replacement on that house should land in the €1,000–€1,400 range including new brackets, unions, outlets and downpipes. A cast iron replacement on a Rathmines redbrick sits closer to €2,100–€2,800. A doorstep quote of €400 for the same work is not a discount; it is a scam. Confirm exact rates after a free survey.
For a full breakdown, see our Dublin gutter replacement pricing page and the separate notes on when a gutter repair beats a full replacement.
The five questions to ask on the phone
Before you even schedule a survey, three minutes on the phone weeds out most of the risk:
- "What is your CRO number and can I check it on core.cro.ie?" — hesitation is the answer.
- "What are your public and employer liability sums, and who is the insurer?" — a competent trader answers in seconds.
- "Do you employ your crews directly or subcontract?" — subcontracted crews are not automatically a problem, but the guarantee needs to be clear about who stands behind the work.
- "Is the guarantee written and handed over before signing?" — a verbal guarantee is not a guarantee.
- "Are you a member of CIRI or the National Guild of Master Craftsmen?" — industry-body membership is not proof of competence on its own, but its absence combined with no CRO and no insurance certificate is decisive.
We are members of both CIRI and the National Guild of Master Craftsmen, and every job carries a 10-year written guarantee with a Lifetime Leak Guarantee on full replacements. The paperwork is available before we are appointed.
Want a firm price for your house?
Free survey, a written fixed price and no call-out fee, anywhere in Dublin.
Outside Dublin? Munster Gutters covers Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Waterford, Clare and Tipperary: see their guide to gutter repair costs in Ireland.