The short answer
Aluminium comes in different gauges and the difference is real. Thinner stock is cheaper and dents from a ladder leaning against it, from hail, and from a branch. Heavier gauge holds shape, resists impact, and costs slightly more per foot. Most quotes don’t state which they’re using, which means asking is one of the more useful questions you can put to an installer.
Rusts?
No — it oxidises and stops
Weak point
Dents easily at thin gauge
Ask for
The gauge, in the quote
Finish
Baked on, not painted after
Aluminium against the alternatives
Four materials, and one of them is the answer for almost every house.
Default
Aluminium
Doesn’t rust, light enough to install without heavy equipment, available seamless, and takes a durable baked finish in many colours. Dents, and that’s the trade.
Stronger
Galvanised steel
Resists impact far better, which matters under heavy hail or where ladders are frequent. It will rust wherever the coating is breached, and the working life is shorter than aluminium in wet climates.
Premium
Copper
Extremely long-lived and it develops a patina people either love or don’t. Several times the cost, needs soldered joints, and it attracts theft in some areas.
Cheapest
Vinyl
Inexpensive and DIY-friendly in sectional form. Becomes brittle with UV exposure and cold, sags between supports, and has a much shorter life. Reasonable on a shed.
What gauge actually changes
Thinner aluminium is perfectly adequate for holding water. What it isn’t adequate for is the incidental abuse gutters take — a ladder rested against the lip, hail, a branch coming down, someone leaning out of a window.
Once a section is dented the channel deforms, which affects how water flows to the outlet and gives debris something to catch on. Heavier gauge costs marginally more across a house and removes most of that. If a quote doesn’t mention gauge, ask — and be slightly wary of one that won’t say.
The colour question
Factory finish is baked on and bonds to the metal, which is why it lasts decades without flaking. Painting aluminium gutter afterwards rarely holds well — the surface oxidises quickly and paint struggles to key to it. Choose the colour at the point of ordering rather than planning to change it later.
Specifying it
Five questions, and the first is the one nobody asks.
Ask the gauge
Thicker stock resists denting and holds shape. The cost difference across a house is small; the durability difference isn’t.
Confirm the finish is factory-baked
Not painted on site. Baked finishes bond to the metal and last decades.
Check the channel profile and size
K-style or half-round, and the width. Capacity comes from this and the downspout count, not from the material.
Ask about the downspout gauge too
Often lighter than the channel, and it’s where ladders and lawnmowers do damage.
Match or contrast deliberately
To fascia or to roof. It’s baked on, so this is effectively permanent.
Material comparison
Where this stops being a DIY job
Installation above single storey. Aluminium is light, which helps, but handling long lengths level at height is still two-person work with proper access.
Repairing a badly dented run. Dented aluminium can’t practically be worked back to shape. That section gets replaced.
Any fascia repair. Carpentry, and it comes before the gutter goes on regardless of material.
What a good quote states
Spec
Names the gauge
Rather than just “aluminium”. It’s the only real decision in the material.
Finish
Confirms factory-baked
Site painting on aluminium rarely holds.
Sizing
Derives capacity from roof area
Material doesn’t change how much water arrives.
Common questions
Does aluminium gutter rust?
No. It oxidises on the surface and that layer then protects the metal beneath, which is why it lasts so long in wet climates.
What gauge aluminium gutter should I get?
The heavier option available. Thinner stock dents from ladders, hail and branches, and once deformed the channel affects flow and catches debris.
Can I paint aluminium gutters?
Badly. The surface oxidises quickly and paint struggles to key to it. Factory-baked finishes bond to the metal, so choose the colour when ordering.
Is steel better than aluminium?
Stronger against impact, but it rusts wherever the coating is breached. Aluminium is the sensible default for most houses; steel makes sense under heavy hail.
Quoting a new system, or replacing dented runs?
Asking about gauge and finish costs nothing and it’s the only material decision that matters here. The install above single storey, and any fascia repair underneath, are the parts worth handing over.
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