A price per linear foot is how gutter work is quoted and it is not how it should be calculated. The foot is a unit for talking to customers; the cost is time on a ladder, the risk of the second storey, and getting the debris away. Build the rate from those and the per-foot number falls out. Copy a per-foot number from a competitor and you have inherited their roof heights, their crew cost and their disposal arrangements, none of which are yours.
What actually drives the time on a gutter job
Linear feet is the smallest of the four drivers. Storeys matter more, because a second-storey run needs a longer ladder, more repositioning and two people where one would do at ground level. Roof pitch and access matter next: a conservatory, a flowerbed or a fence under the run turns a five-minute section into fifteen. And the state of the gutters matters most of all on a first clean, where compacted debris can double the job.
Deriving the rate, step by step
Take a job you have done. Measure the run in linear feet. Record the paid hours across the crew, load the wage with the employer's payroll tax and insurance, add the trip and your overhead per hour, and add disposal if you take the debris away. Divide the resulting cost by the linear feet and you have your cost per foot. Apply your margin by division and you have a price per foot for that kind of property, which is the qualification most published rates omit.
Minimum charge, and why it is not optional
Setup, ladder work and packing away do not shrink with the run. A thirty-foot bungalow at a per-foot rate can price below the cost of turning up. Every gutter business needs a minimum, it should be roughly the cost of an hour on site plus the trip, and it should be stated in the quote rather than applied as a surprise.
Access equipment, and the assessment behind it
Where ladders or other access equipment are used, the employer's duty is to assess the hazards and provide equipment suitable for them, which is a general requirement rather than a paperwork exercise. Practically this means the ladder is rated for the job, the crew is trained on it, and the assessment exists in writing against the property when the property is awkward. Keep it on the customer record and it is there for the next visit and the next cleaner.
Questions people ask about gutter cleaning price per foot
What is a typical gutter cleaning price per foot?
Published figures vary so widely by region and storey that quoting one here would mislead you. Derive yours from one job you have already done; it takes ten minutes.
Should a second storey cost double?
Not usually double, but meaningfully more: it is the repositioning and the crew size, not the height itself, that costs the time.
Do I charge extra for disposal?
If you take the debris away, yes, as a stated line. Leaving it bagged on site is a different service and should be a different price.