Measure the footage
Cleaning uses the same eave runs as gutter installation. Measure the gutters that the crew will clear and add their lengths. Confirm which runs are included with the owner. A quote for the front alone needs a different quantity from a quote for the whole house.
Keep lower roofs separate. On a two-story house, gutters on a porch roof are priced at the one-story rate. Measured Bid prices detected lower-roof runs a story lower. Check those assignments before sending the estimate, especially where a slope in the yard changes access.
Build a per-foot rate from crew time
Start with feet cleaned per crew hour. Count setup and ladder moves in that time. Include bagging debris and the final cleanup. If you measure only the minutes spent scooping, the rate will leave part of the visit unpaid.
Use loaded labor cost for each worker. Add payroll costs to wages, and include a wage for your own time when you work on the crew. Keep costs already counted in labor out of overhead. Add supplies and disposal fees to the direct cost of the job.
These inputs are examples. Each worker in a crew of 2 costs $45.00 an hour. The crew cleans 120 ft per crew hour on a one-story job. Supplies and disposal add $0.05 per foot. Time your own jobs to replace the production rate.
The example reserves 15% of the selling price for overhead and 20% for profit. That leaves 65% to cover direct costs. Divide direct cost by that share. Adding the overhead and profit percentages to cost would produce a different margin.
Travel needs a place in the calculation. You can include normal travel time in the timed visit or recover it through a trip allowance when building the price. Use the same method when reviewing completed jobs. A long drive outside your usual service area needs its own allowance.
Add a rate for each story
Two-story gutter cleaning can take longer for the same footage. Taller ladder moves slow the crew down. Access equipment and fall protection can add setup time. Check the access method before assuming your usual production rate fits the house.
| Stories | Feet per crew hour | Built rate per foot | App sample rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 120 | $1.25 | $1.25 |
| 2 | 85 | $1.75 | $1.75 |
| 3+ | 60 | $2.50 | $2.50 |
These inputs produce a two-story rate 40% above the one-story rate. The highest story rate is 100% above it. Those steps come from this example's crew speeds. Use your own recorded crew speeds to set your story rates.
Track hours by access level when a house has both upper and lower gutters. If the crew spends most of the visit moving equipment for a short upper run, an extra access line may describe the work better than raising every foot on the house.
Set a cleaning minimum
A short run still needs a visit. Set a minimum that covers the crew time committed to a small job, including travel. Add any direct costs for that visit before allowing for overhead and profit.
This example assumes the short visit has no separate disposal charge. Add one if your jobs do. The resulting minimum matches the app's sample cleaning minimum of $150.00.
At the example one-story rate, the per-foot line reaches the minimum at 120 ft. The sample house has 118 ft, so its $147.50 cleaning line rises to $150.00. Apply the minimum once to the cleaning job. It replaces a smaller cleaning subtotal.
Price the extras that change the work
Inspect the gutters before agreeing to a fixed scope. Guards that need removal and reinstallation take extra time. Write that work on its own line and confirm how the guards are fastened. Aerial measurements do not tell you their condition.
State whether downspout flushing is included. A blocked underground drain may need a separate service. Heavy packed debris also changes crew speed. Roof debris removal needs a defined area and access plan when the owner asks for roof and gutter cleaning together.
Measured Bid prices cleaning per foot by story, with lower-roof runs at the lower rate. It applies your steep-roof percent to affected runs above your chosen pitch threshold, then applies the cleaning minimum. The sample steep adjustment is 15%. Check access before relying on it.
Guard removal and reinstallation, flushing and debris work have no built-in cleaning lines. You can set each up as a priced extra per job, each, or per foot of gutter. You can also write a custom line on the estimate. In the app, selected priced extras are added after the cleaning minimum.
The downloadable sheet applies its steep percent to all populated gutter, guard and cleaning lines. For mixed pitches, work out the affected-run charge by hand and use an Other line instead. The sheet includes Other lines in the subtotal before its minimum. If extras must sit above the minimum, make the minimum adjustment explicit before adding them.
Per foot, per square foot or a flat rate?
Per foot of gutter is a defensible unit because it follows the length being cleaned. A price per square foot of house uses floor area as a stand-in. Roof shape can change the gutter length even when the footprint stays the same.
For example, the engine measures 98 ft on a gable roof and 171 ft on a hip roof over the same 1,776 sq ft rectangular footprint. A floor-area price would miss that difference. Living area also changes with story count without necessarily adding gutter runs.
You can give the owner a flat total after measuring and pricing the work. Keep the footage and scope on your job sheet so you can explain the price and compare it with the completed job. For repeat visits, confirm that access and debris conditions still match the original quote.
Worked example on the sample house
This estimate covers the one-story sample house with no extra work. The footage comes from Measured Bid's engine. The template keeps cents in its line math and applies the sample cleaning minimum.
Sierra Gutter Co.
(916) 555-0100
Gutter estimate
No. 1042
- Stories
- 1 story
- Job type
- Cleaning existing gutters
- Steeper than 8/12
- No
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gutter cleaning | 118 ft | $1.25 / ft | $147.50 |
- Minimum job price applies.
With the same house entered as two stories, the engine measures 118 ft. The sheet's cleaning subtotal becomes $206.50 and its total is $206.50. The app rounds the cleaning line to $207.00 before applying its configured estimate rounding.
For the one-story job, the app shows a homeowner range of $150 to $175. The contractor can review the line items before sending a price. That range uses the sample configuration and measurement confidence.
Check your rates against won jobs
Keep the quoted footage with each completed job. Record crew hours and the work that slowed the visit. Separate a measurement error from a production-rate error. If a job had more gutter than you bid, check the footage. If the expected footage took longer to clean, check the crew hours.
Compare short jobs with your minimum as well. If travel keeps consuming the allowance, review your service area or your minimum. If guarded gutters keep taking longer, price that work explicitly on the next quote.
Measured Bid's range accuracy report compares final won prices with quoted ranges. Use it alongside your time records. Review recurring differences before changing your rates, then test the revised prices against jobs you already understand.