Zinc, timber mastgoot, box gutters and PVC - cleaned, fixed or replaced
On 28 July 2014, Schiphol logged 60.5 mm of rain in a single day. If your gutter in Amsterdam is packed with leaves on a day like that, the water runs down your wall instead. Sometimes it ends up indoors. We clear gutters, solder leaking zinc seams, repair the old timber gutters you see on a lot of Amsterdam houses and replace what's past saving. Whether yours is zinc, wood or plastic, we'll tell you what suits the house and whether a repair is still worth it.
Get your gutters checked
- 1Tell us where it overflows or drips
- 2We check the whole run, outlet to corner
- 3You get a price per metre or for the repair
- Free roof inspection
- Before and after photos
- Priced per m² or per metre
- One person to deal with
- English & Nederlands
Why it matters
What decent gutters in Amsterdam save you from
Schiphol gets about 850 mm of rain a year according to the KNMI (the Dutch met office), with 24 days of 10 mm or more. And 2023 brought 1,153 mm nationally, the wettest year since records began. All of it goes through your gutters.
Your insurance still applies
Insurer Univé spells it out: water damage from a poorly maintained gutter isn't covered. A clean gutter is cheaper than an argument.
Dry walls
An overflowing gutter soaks the brickwork every time it rains. Expect damp patches inside, crumbling pointing outside and window frames that rot sooner.
Ready for cloudbursts
Days with 50 mm of rain or more now happen roughly twice as often as around 1950, the KNMI says. A gutter that coped fine thirty years ago might not now.
Keep the mastgoot
Plenty of older Amsterdam houses have a mastgoot (a timber gutter hung along the eaves). It can usually be repaired and relined, so the house keeps its original look.
Drainage that keeps up
A gutter is only as good as its outlet. We check the downpipe, fit a leaf guard where it helps and see whether you need an emergency overflow.
One clean a year
Univé recommends cleaning gutters at least once a year. We do it after the leaves have dropped and check seams, brackets and timber while we're up there.
1
person to deal with, inspection to handover
m²
priced per square metre or metre of gutter, line by line
EN · NL
inspection and quote in your language
€0
for the roof inspection and photos
How we work
How we sort out gutters in Amsterdam
Where the water drips is rarely where the problem is. So we check the whole gutter before touching anything.
- 01
Full check
We go along the entire run looking at fall, seams, corners, brackets and the outlet, plus the eaves and fascia behind. You get photos.
- 02
Price per metre
Replacement is priced per metre, repairs per job. Gutter work carries 21% VAT, and the quote shows it.
- 03
Safe access
Over 2.5 m, Dutch law requires fall protection. Short jobs sometimes only need a notification to the city at least 48 hours ahead. Longer work means a street-use permit for scaffolding.
- 04
Clearing and flushing
Leaves, moss and sludge come out, then we flush the gutter and downpipe. If a gull is nesting in your gutter, we wait. Wild birds' nests are protected.
- 05
Repair or replace
We solder leaking zinc seams, replace rotten sections of a timber gutter and swap out whatever's finished. Long new zinc runs get an expansion joint.
- 06
Water test
We run a hose through the gutter so you can see the fall is right, the downpipe is clear and the overflow does its job.
- 07
Handover
Site cleared, waste taken away. You get before and after photos and a note on when the next clean is due.
- →
Where to start?
Step one is a roof inspection. It costs nothing and you're not signing up to anything.
Book an inspection →
Before and after
Photos of the damage, photos of the result
Most people never see their own roof up close, which leaves you relying on whatever the roofer tells you. That's exactly where this trade gets its reputation. So we take photos: of the damage before we start, of the base once it's exposed and of the finished work. Ten years from now you'll still know what's under that membrane.
The quote names the materials, the number of square metres or metres, and how we'll finish the details: upstands, lead, pipes through the roof. If it leaks afterwards where we worked, and our workmanship is the reason, we come back and fix it. If the cause is somewhere else, next door or in a part we never touched, we'll tell you straight and show you the pictures.
Photos
of the damage before and of the result after
Itemised
materials, quantities and finishing all set out in the quote
Worth checking
What to ask before you get gutters fixed
Get someone to look up close. From the ground, a blocked gutter looks just like one with a split seam or the wrong fall, and the fixes are completely different. A quick hose-out and goodbye can leave the real fault in place.
With zinc, thickness and movement matter. Zinc expands and contracts, so long runs need expansion joints. Heritage guidance from the Dutch municipality of Montferland sets a maximum of 12 m between expansion points and 1.1 mm zinc for gutters, and advises against soldering new zinc to old. Ask your roofer how they deal with that.
And if you have a timber mastgoot? Swapping it for PVC is cheaper, but on an old Amsterdam house it shows straight away. Ask whether the wood can be saved first. In a protected cityscape or on a listed building, the city may have a view as well.
Side by side
Zinc, timber, box gutter or PVC
These are the four gutter types you'll find around Amsterdam. Prices per metre come from the Dutch price guide Trustoo. Timber and box gutters are always made to measure.
| Zinc gutter | Timber mastgoot | Box gutter | PVC gutter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per metre | €75 to €100 | Made to measure, priced after a survey | Made to measure, priced after a survey | €63 to €73 fitted |
| Where you'll see it | Pre-war buildings and renovated roofs | Older Amsterdam houses, hung along the eaves | On or behind the wall, like the timber box gutters on the dyke houses of Waterland | Post-war homes and extensions |
| How it fails | Seams crack from expansion and contraction | Wood rots where the lining has opened up | Leaks come straight inside because it sits on the wall | Glued joints let go and it starts to sag |
| Upkeep | Clean yearly, check seams | Clean yearly, check wood and lining | Keep the outlet clear; an overflow matters most here | Clean yearly, check brackets |
| Looks | Grey, dulls nicely with age | Historic, suits old facades | Barely visible from the street | Plastic, stands out on an old building |
| Protected area or listed | Usually the accepted replacement | Changing material: run the permit check first | Repair like for like | Differs from the original look, so check first |
Zinc work
Zinc gutters built for Amsterdam weather
Schiphol's wettest months run from August to November, right when the trees drop their leaves. That's when a zinc gutter has to shift the most water through an outlet that may be half blocked. So we pay attention to the parts you never see afterwards: the fall, bracket spacing, expansion and the joint with the downpipe.
- Soldered seams and corners, not sealant as a permanent fix
- Expansion joints in long runs so the zinc can move
- Leaf guards and an overflow where the outlet tends to clog
- Timber mastgoot repairs with a new lining
"A lot of gutters reported as leaking turn out to be blocked. Clearing and flushing them often fixes it."
Rough prices
What do new gutters cost in Amsterdam?
Trustoo puts plastic gutters at €63 to €73 per metre fitted, and zinc at €75 to €100 per metre. Werkspot quotes €120 to €150 per metre for copper. Homedeal reckons an average terraced house has about 12 m of gutter, which works out at €960 to €1,440 in zinc. Gutter work carries 21% VAT.
- €Height and access: ladder, cherry picker or scaffolding with a permit
- €Material: PVC, zinc or copper, or repairing a timber mastgoot
- €Number of metres, corners and outlets
- €The state of the eaves and fascia the gutter hangs from
- €New downpipes, leaf guards or an emergency overflow
Indicative from
€63/m
Indicative price for a fitted plastic gutter, per Trustoo. After a visit you get a fixed price from us.
Get your own priceQuestions
Gutters in Amsterdam: common questions
How often should my gutters be cleaned?
Univé recommends at least once a year. If there are trees near your house, book it after the leaves fall. Schiphol's wettest months are August to November, so a blocked gutter at that time of year has a hard job.
Will my insurance cover water damage from a leaking gutter?
Not if the gutter was neglected. Univé says it outright: damage caused by a poorly maintained gutter isn't paid out. Keep the invoice or photos from the last clean, just in case.
Can a timber mastgoot be repaired?
Often, yes. We replace the rotten sections of wood and give the gutter a new lining. Only if the timber is soft along most of its length do we suggest replacing it, and then we talk through which material suits the house.
Can I replace my zinc gutter with PVC?
On an ordinary house outside a protected area it's normally just maintenance. If you live in a protected cityscape, such as the city centre or Plan Zuid, or in a listed building, run the vergunningcheck (permit check) on the Omgevingsloket site first. The gemeente Amsterdam decides, advised by its Commissie Ruimtelijke Kwaliteit (design review panel).
My gutter is clean but still overflows. Why?
The fall may be wrong, the downpipe may be too small, or it's blocked further down. Sometimes the downpour is simply bigger than a gutter can handle. An emergency overflow makes sure the excess ends up outside, not in your ceiling.
Who pays for the gutters on an apartment building?
Gutters are a shared part of the building, so it's the VvE (owners' association). By law it has to save for major maintenance, either through a long-term maintenance plan (MJOP) or by setting aside at least 0.5% of the rebuild value each year. We can quote in a way that slots into that plan.
Reviews
Customer reviews
No reviews here yet. Photos of every roof, though.
We're collecting reviews and will post them here as they come in, unedited and with permission. In the meantime, judge us on the work itself: every job comes with photos of the damage and of the finished result. Feel free to ask at the inspection what we've done near you.
Other roof work
Other roofing work
Where we work
Gutters across Amsterdam and nearby
We clear and replace gutters all over the city, from the canal belt to the dyke houses in Durgerdam. Outside Amsterdam we work in Diemen, Abcoude, Badhoevedorp, Landsmeer and more.
- Amsterdam-Zuidoost
- Amstelveen
- Diemen
- Duivendrecht
- Ouderkerk a/d Amstel
- Abcoude
- Weesp
- Almere
- Badhoevedorp
- Hoofddorp
- Zaandam
- Purmerend
Get your gutters checked before autumn
Call early and it's usually just a clean. Wait until it drips through the ceiling and it rarely is.