How to price a gutter-cleaning job by its work and costs.

Define the work before choosing a rate.

Record the total length of the gutter runs you intend to include. Note the unit beside the number and use a rate in that same unit. Do not include a run twice simply because it is viewed from more than one side.

Write down whether the scope includes guard inspection, removal and replacement, or downspout flushing. A separate item makes that work visible instead of hiding it inside an unexplained rate.

• Gutter runs: length and unit.
• Guard work: treatment and the length affected.
• Downspouts: number and the agreed work.
• Access or blockages: record uncertainty for review; this guide does not prescribe a safe work method.

Keep the customer charge separate from your costs.

A length-based charge describes how you price the job. Your cost calculation asks a different question: what will this scenario cost your business? List labour, travel time, consumables, vehicle, equipment and overhead allocations that you choose to include.

For more than one worker, distinguish worker-hours from elapsed job time. Two people working for two hours represent four worker-hours, while the job still takes two elapsed hours. Use the relevant figure for each calculation.

A customer travel charge and an internal vehicle or travel-time cost are different entries. State what each covers so that an extra is not added twice to the customer price. Any uncertain costs remain assumptions, not verified facts.

Make adjustments explicit.

The demonstration applies a height adjustment to the base cleaning charge, then a debris adjustment to the adjusted cleaning charge. This ordering matters: the second percentage is calculated on a different amount.

Guard work, downspouts and customer travel are separate additions in this example. They are not multiplied by the height or debris factors. These are declared demonstration rules, not a universal trade pricing method.

Use only factors you can explain for your own scenario. An uncertain access condition or blockage needs review before you treat an estimate as a firm quote; this page gives no equipment, access or safety instructions.

Check the minimum charge and margin.

In the example, the £100 minimum is compared with the subtotal after customer extras. Because the subtotal is £190, the minimum adds nothing. A higher chosen minimum would raise the charge, not reduce the internal costs.

The illustrated £70.50 profit is the £190 charge less £119.50 of entered costs. Margin uses the charge as its denominator: £70.50 ÷ £190 × 100 = 37.11%, rounded. Dividing by costs would calculate markup instead.

Revenue per elapsed hour is £190 ÷ 2.5 = £76. It is revenue, not hourly profit or wages. These figures exclude taxes and payment fees; no tax treatment or accounting advice is supplied.

Choose a rate you can explain.

No regional rate is supplied here. The £3/m example is an input chosen to test arithmetic. A defensible scenario uses your own scope, time and costs; it does not turn a search result or one forum comment into a national average.

Use the minimum tool to compare your cost-led floor and the profit tool to review a proposed price. Then carry your chosen inputs into the gutter calculator.

Illustrative arithmetic / not market rates

Trace the £190 demonstration from charge to costs

40m at £3/m; height +25%; debris +10% after height; two downspouts at £5; travel £15; minimum £100; no guards. Illustrative figures, not a real property.

The £57 other-cost total is declared, not inferred from a real business. The method separates selected charges from private cost inputs. Review guard treatment, access uncertainty and omitted costs before using your own quote.

Scenario record checked 14 October 2026. Read the formula and scenario register.

How to price gutter cleaning: questions