How to measure gutters: linear feet, sections & hangers
Gutters go on the eaves, not the gable rakes. Measure each eave, add them up, then turn linear feet into sections, hangers, caps and corners.
Measuring gutters is addition, not geometry — once you know where to measure. Get the linear feet right and every other quantity (sections, hangers, end caps, corners, elbows) falls out of it.
Linear feet = sum of the eave runs
Gutters mount on the eaves — the horizontal edges where the roof meets the wall. They do not go on the gable rakes (the sloped edges). So walk the house, measure each eave in feet, and add them: linear feet = Σ eave run lengths.
Worked example. A simple house with eaves of 42, 42 and 26 feet: 42 + 42 + 26 = 110 linear feet. The gutter linear-feet calculator sums up to six runs for you. Measure at the eave, from outside corner to outside corner.
Sections (sectional gutter only)
Sectional gutter comes in 10-foot stock lengths: sections = ceil(linear feet ÷ 10). For 110 feet that is ceil(11.0) = 11 sections. Seamless gutter has no 10-foot joints — it is one continuous run per eave — so this only applies if you are buying sectional. See seamless vs sectional.
Hangers
Hangers hold the gutter to the fascia at a fixed spacing: hangers = ceil(linear feet ÷ spacing). Standard spacing is 24 inches (closer — 16 inches — in heavy-snow country). At 24-inch (2-foot) spacing, 110 feet needs ceil(110 ÷ 2) = 55 hangers. The hanger & fastener spacing table lists the conventions.
End caps, corners and elbows
- End caps close the open ends of each run: 2 per run. Three runs → 6 caps (minus one anywhere a run turns a corner instead of ending).
- Corners (inside and outside miters) are counted from the house — one per place the gutter turns the wall. Count them off the plan; four is common on a simple rectangle with wrapped corners.
- Downspout elbows: figure 3 per downspout by default — two at the top to bring water back to the wall, one at the bottom to kick it out. The elbows & offsets calculator adds two more per soffit offset.
Full example. 110 linear feet, 3 runs, 24-inch hangers, 4 corners, 3 downspouts → 11 sections, 55 hangers, 6 end caps, 4 corners, 9 elbows. The sections & materials calculator produces the whole parts list at once.
Add for waste, corners and slope
Every real job cuts material at corners and outlets and wastes a little. Order 5–10% extra linear footage. On sectional gutter that overlap at slip joints also eats length. Buy the round number of sections above your calculation, not exactly to the foot.
Common mistakes
- Measuring the rakes. The single most common error — the sloped gable edges do not get gutters, so counting them inflates your order.
- Measuring at the ground. Measure at the eave line. Overhangs and bump-outs change the eave length versus the wall below.
- Forgetting the second story. Upper eaves that drain onto a lower roof still need gutters — measure every eave at every level.
- Ignoring hanger spacing for snow. 24-inch spacing is a fair-weather default; tighten it where ice and snow load the gutter.
Bottom line: add up the eave runs for linear feet, divide by 10 for sections and by the hanger spacing for hangers, count caps and corners off the plan, figure 3 elbows per downspout, and buy 5–10% extra. Measure your own eaves — these are planning quantities, and every house has a quirk the tape measure will find.