A full gutter replacement on a typical Dublin semi-detached house takes one to two days, costs €1,000–€1,400 in uPVC or €1,300–€1,800 in aluminium (indicative — confirmed free after survey), and covers roughly 15–20 metres of run front and rear. Access is usually a tower on the drive; the neighbour's line must be matched on a paired semi.
Summary
- A standard Dublin semi carries 15–20 metres of gutter front and rear combined, which sets the material bill before access or disposal is added.
- Indicative installed rates run €50–€65 per metre in uPVC, €65–€75 in aluminium and €75–€90 in cast iron — confirm exact figures after a free survey.
- On narrow 1940s–70s driveways in Raheny, Terenure and Templeogue a mobile tower is usually faster and cheaper than scaffold, provided the rear is reachable through a side passage.
- On a paired semi the new profile, colour and downpipe position have to match your neighbour's line, or the join at the party wall will leak within a season.
- Old cast iron goes to a licensed metal recycler; any asbestos-cement gutter or downpipe (found on some 1950s–60s builds) must be removed under the 2010 Asbestos Regulations by a notified contractor.
- Every full replacement carries our 10-year written workmanship guarantee and a Lifetime Leak Guarantee.
Why a full replacement, not another repair?
We repair before we replace, and we say so plainly. A single failed joint or one sagging bracket on a 1960s semi in Templeogue is a repair job — priced from €500, most landing between €1,000 and €1,900. What tips a house into full replacement is different: a run that sags between every bracket, uPVC that has gone brittle and cracks when a bracket is refixed, or the original 112mm half-round overflowing along its whole length even after a clean.
That last one catches out a lot of owners in the 1970s estates around Coolock, Ballymun and parts of Templeogue. The gutter is not blocked and the fall is not lost — the profile is simply undersized for the roof area it drains. In a wet Dublin winter, with the Met Éireann long-term average sitting around 750–800mm annually and heavier bursts more common than they were, the water arrives at the outlet faster than a 112mm half-round can carry it away. The fix is to upsize to a 125mm deep-flow profile. No repair solves it.
If the fascia board behind the gutter has softened — press a screwdriver into it and it goes in like cheese — there is nothing for a new bracket to bite into. In that case gutter, fascia and soffit are done in one visit. More work on the day, considerably cheaper than doing it twice.
How much does a full gutter replacement cost on a Dublin semi?
Indicative ranges for a typical semi with about 20 metres of run, including removal and disposal of the old system, new brackets, unions, outlets and downpipes:
| Material | Typical semi (~20 m) |
|---|---|
| uPVC | €1,000 – €1,400 |
| Aluminium | €1,300 – €1,800 |
| Cast iron (heritage) | €2,100 – €2,800 |
Material is the single biggest lever — uPVC materials run around €10 per metre, cast iron closer to €50. Access, disposal of hazardous materials, and whether the fascia has to come off with the gutter all move the final figure. Every quote is written down before anything is signed, with no call-out fee for the survey. See our full gutter replacement pricing in Dublin for larger or detached properties.
What actually happens on the day
Day one, morning: access and strip
The van arrives between 8:00 and 8:30. On a Raheny semi with a driveway wide enough for a car and a side gate to the rear, we set a mobile aluminium tower on the drive for the front elevation and wheel a second tower down the side passage for the rear. Scaffold goes up instead where the drive is blocked, where the eaves are above about 6 metres (rare on a two-storey semi but common on a converted attic in Terenure), or where the rear is only reachable through the house.
Old gutter comes down section by section, brackets unscrewed rather than levered off — levering tears the fascia. If the existing system is cast iron, sections are lowered on ropes rather than dropped. A 3-metre cast iron gutter with cast brackets can weigh 35–40kg and will punch through a conservatory roof if it falls.
Day one, afternoon: fascia check and new brackets
With the gutter off, the fascia is inspected the whole way along. On the 1940s and early 1950s semis around Cabra, Crumlin and older parts of Terenure, the original board is often softwood behind a later capping — the capping looks sound, the board behind it has gone. Rotten sections come off, new fascia goes on, and brackets are set to a proper fall of about 1:600 (roughly 5mm drop over 3 metres) toward the outlet.
Day two: gutter, downpipes, test
New gutter is clipped into the brackets, joints made with the correct seals for the profile, outlets and downpipes fitted, and the whole system flushed with water from a hose at the far end. If any joint drips, it is remade there and then. You get the run tested in front of you before we pack up.
Access on a narrow Dublin driveway
The 1940s–70s semi was designed for one car and a coal bunker. Modern SUVs and side extensions have eaten most of that space. The access decision is usually made from the pavement in the first ten minutes of the survey.
A mobile tower works when: the drive gives us 2 metres of clearance along the front elevation, the rear is reachable through a side passage at least 900mm wide, and eaves height is under 6 metres. This is the majority of Raheny, Templeogue and Terenure semis.
Scaffold is needed when: the front is right on the footpath with no set-back (some inner-suburb terraces creeping into this brief), the rear is only reachable through the house, or a two-storey rear extension puts the back gutter over 6 metres. Scaffold adds a day at each end for erect and dismantle, and €400–€900 to the bill depending on the run — indicative, and priced by the scaffolder, not us.
Where the neighbour is home and amenable, a shared tower on the party wall side saves everyone money on the day. It is worth asking.
Matching the neighbour on a paired semi
A pair of semis shares one continuous roofline, and the gutter runs across the party wall in a single length on most 1950s–70s builds. Two things have to match, or the join fails:
- Profile and depth. A 112mm half-round butted against a 125mm deep-flow leaks at the transition within a season — the water level in the deeper profile is above the rim of the shallower one. If your neighbour has already replaced with a modern deep-flow, yours should match. If theirs is original and staying, and yours needs upsizing, the honest answer is to fit a stop-end at the party wall and run each half to its own downpipe. We flag this at survey.
- Colour. Black to black, brown to brown. On a Templeogue semi where the neighbour's fascia is white uPVC and yours is being renewed in white, the join looks like one house. Mismatched colours halve the kerb appeal of both properties, and no estate agent will thank you for it.
We knock next door before the survey quote is written where the join is shared. Ten minutes of conversation prevents a fortnight of email later.
Disposal — cast iron, uPVC and asbestos-cement
What comes down matters as much as what goes up.
- uPVC and aluminium go to a licensed C&D waste facility. Included in the price, and the docket is available on request.
- Cast iron goes to a metal recycler. On a full house strip that can be 150–200kg of iron, which offsets a small part of the disposal cost — reflected in the quote.
- Asbestos-cement is the one that catches people out. Some 1950s and early 1960s Dublin semis, particularly council-built stock in parts of Ballymun and Coolock and a scatter of private builds in Terenure, were fitted with asbestos-cement gutters and downpipes. The material is grey, heavy, brittle and cannot be sanded, cut or broken on site. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2010, removal requires a contractor notified to the HSA, sealed disposal, and a consignment note. We do not remove it ourselves — we identify it at survey, pause the job, and bring in a notified specialist before the gutter work continues. Adds two to five working days and €600–€1,500 to the overall project, indicative and priced by the asbestos contractor directly.
If in doubt, do not tap it, do not drill it, and do not let anyone quote to "just take it down with the rest".
How long does the job take?
One to two working days for a standard semi in uPVC or aluminium, provided the weather holds and no asbestos is found. Cast iron replacement on a period property runs to three days because sections are heavier and joints are made with butyl and bolts rather than clipped seals. Fascia and soffit renewal on the same visit adds half a day to a day. See how we handle gutter and fascia replacement in one visit for the full sequence.
The guarantee, in writing
Every full replacement carries our 10-year written workmanship guarantee on everything installed, and our Lifetime Leak Guarantee — the leak guarantee is specific to full replacements, not repairs or partial work. Both are handed over in writing before contracts are signed, not promised afterwards. Insurance certificates (€6.5M public liability, €13M employer liability), the CIRI registration number and the VAT number are available on request before we are appointed.
For related work on the same visit, see our pages on uPVC fascia and soffit replacement and downpipe replacement and repositioning. If you are in an older redbrick and the existing system is worth saving, read cast iron gutter repair on period Dublin houses first.
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.