Start with conditions, not a product
Roof area, valleys, tree debris, fascia condition, downspout placement, and the final discharge point matter more in Birmingham than gutter color -- especially given heavy summer thunderstorms and a hardwood tree canopy over the metro's mill-era and postwar neighborhoods.
Build a complete scope
- Roof area and the capacity that actually requires on this house
- Fascia and rafter tail condition in the older in-town housing
- Downspout count and placement, sized rather than matched to what exists
- Where discharge lands on a slope, and how far it is carried from the wall
- Debris handling, access for maintenance, and the warranty offered
Birmingham context
On Birmingham's ridge-and-valley suburbs, the discharge point is the decision that carries the job. Where houses are built into slopes along U.S. 31 and U.S. 280, roof water released at the uphill side does not soak in and disperse -- it runs downhill along the foundation under pressure and arrives somewhere with force, which is precisely how water ends up loading a basement wall that would otherwise be dry. Clay soil compounds it, because Piedmont clay sheds concentrated flow instead of absorbing it and erodes readily under it, so a downspout ending at grade cuts a channel rather than dispersing. That is why extended and buried discharge lines are common here and worth budgeting for. In the older in-town neighborhoods and mill villages, fascia and rafter tails frequently need attention before anything new is hung on them.