A gutter helper unloads coil, ladders and parts at each house, catches gutter as it comes off the machine and builds downspouts on the ground for the installers. At the end of the job they clean up scraps and screws and count what's left on the trailer.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, structure and exterior contractors · BLS, May 2025
As a Laborer / Helper in the Gutter Installation industry, you will play a crucial role in preparing job sites, supporting installers, and ensuring clean-up tasks are efficiently completed. Your efforts directly contribute to the smooth execution of installations and the overall satisfaction of our customers, helping the company maintain its reputation for quality and reliability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Prepare job sites by unloading materials and setting up necessary equipment.
Assist installers with the installation of gutters to ensure timely and accurate completion.
Perform thorough site clean-up to maintain a safe and organized work environment.
Use basic hand tools and power tools effectively to support installation tasks.
Communicate effectively with team members to ensure a cohesive workflow.
Adhere to safety protocols to minimize risks and ensure a safe working environment.
Assist with inventory management by tracking materials used on job sites.
Support quality control efforts by inspecting completed work for compliance with standards.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Arrive at job sites punctually and prepare materials and tools for the day’s tasks.
Assist in loading and unloading vehicles with necessary equipment and materials.
Support the lead installer during installation processes, ensuring tools are readily available.
Conduct end-of-day site clean-up and inventory checks.
Maintain communication with the Installation Supervisor regarding job progress and any issues.
Participate in daily briefings to align on tasks and safety measures.
Document and report any discrepancies or issues encountered on site.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Job Site Preparation Efficiency: Complete site setup within 30 minutes.
Installation Support Accuracy: Assist in achieving error-free installations ≥ 95% of the time.
Clean-up Effectiveness: Ensure site cleanliness with a CSAT ≥ 4.7/5.0.
Safety Compliance: Zero incidents due to non-compliance with safety protocols.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations: Achieve 80% of KPIs by 30 days, 90% by 60 days, 100% by 90 days.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
Basic knowledge of hand tools and power tools.
Ability to read and interpret basic installation instructions.
Strong communication and teamwork skills.
Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.
Ability to work outdoors in various weather conditions.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in construction or a related field.
Familiarity with gutter installation processes.
Experience using ladders and working at heights.
Basic knowledge of safety standards in construction.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds regularly.
Comfortable working at heights and on ladders.
Ability to work in various weather conditions, including heat and cold.
Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as required.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical hours: Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Occasional overtime may be required during peak seasons.
Work is primarily outdoors and can be physically demanding.
No on-call or after-hours work typically required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive hourly wage with potential for performance-based bonuses.
Payouts contingent on quality safeguards, such as maintaining high CSAT scores and low callbacks.
Benefits include health insurance, paid time off, and opportunities for advancement.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on our commitment to craftsmanship, safety, and customer satisfaction. We value accountability and growth, providing a supportive environment where every team member can excel. Join us to be part of a team that takes pride in delivering exceptional service and quality installations.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Gutter helpers spend most of the day on the ground, where much of the job happens: forming, cutting, building and carrying. What they get right down there decides how fast the installers work up top.
Setting a ladder at the right angle
Helpers often carry and set the ladders. OSHA's ladder rule angles a leaning ladder so the level distance from the top support to the foot is about one quarter of its working length, the distance along the ladder from foot to top support. Show a new helper that check on day one, and have them move the ladder instead of leaning out to reach the next hanger. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.1053, Ladders.
Gloves for sharp edges are on the company
Cut aluminum and snipped downspout edges slice skin. OSHA's construction rule says protective gear needed for the work is provided at no cost to workers, with exceptions such as everyday clothes and gloves worn only against the weather. Hand a new helper cut-resistant gloves and safety glasses on day one, and replace them as they wear out. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.95, Criteria for personal protective equipment.
Downspouts go together facing up
Helpers often build downspouts on the ground while the gutter goes up. Gentek's guide slides the male end of each piece into the female end of the next, with the female ends facing up, and straps the downspout to the wall at the upper elbow and at least every 10 feet. A joint put together backward can leak. Source: Gentek: Aluminum soffit, fascia and rainware installation guide.
Long gutter is carried without a kink
A seamless run can be as long as the house. Carry it with enough people spaced along it, keep it level, and never let it bend over a knee or a sawhorse. A kink or dent shows from the street and means forming a new piece.
Cleanup is part of the score
A homeowner may never look at the hangers, but they'll see every screw left in the driveway. Helpers walk the beds, lawn and driveway for screws, rivet stems and aluminum shavings. A magnet sweeper grabs steel screws and nails but not aluminum, so the scraps still need picking up by hand. Old gutters go on the scrap pile, not in the homeowner's trash.
How much gutter helpers make
The closest BLS group for gutter helpers is helpers, construction trades. Helpers, construction trades who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $19.28 an hour ($40,100 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $42,670 median for helpers, construction trades in all industries. About 3,500 of the 24,770 helpers, construction trades in that survey work for structure and exterior contractors.
Usually hourly. BLS has no helper code just for gutter work, so the pay shown covers helpers in other construction trades. The template's bonus depends on customer scores and low callbacks.
Structure and exterior contractors
$40,100$40,100 median Middle half $35,640–$47,730 10th–90th $32,060–$57,710
All industries
$42,670$42,670 median Middle half $37,030–$48,880 10th–90th $32,900–$60,080
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Structure and exterior contractors
$32,060
$35,640
$40,100
$47,730
$57,710
All industries
$32,900
$37,030
$42,670
$48,880
$60,080
BLS doesn’t publish pay for gutter installers on their own. These figures cover foundation, structure and building exterior contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Arrives on time for a 7 a.m. start, ready to work
Follows directions from the lead installer and asks when unsure
Has used a drill and basic hand tools
Reads a tape measure accurately
Works carefully around ladders, cords and the trailer
Keeps a job site tidy without being told
Teach these on the job
Building downspouts, elbows and outlets
Catching and carrying seamless runs off the machine
Ladder setup and your ladder safety rules
Gutter guard types and how they attach
Part names: hidden hangers, end caps, miters, A and B elbows
Helpers use drills and drivers, tin snips, a hand riveter, a crimper, a caulk gun and a tape, along with extension ladders and a magnet sweeper. Say in the ad which tools the company supplies and which hand tools a helper should bring.
Gutter helper interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Setting a ladder on soft ground
The installer asks you to set a ladder in a flower bed where the soil is soft after rain. What do you do?
A strong answer: Points out the soft ground, uses a leveler or a base board or moves the ladder to firm footing, and checks it before anyone climbs.
Behavioral · Showing up ready
This job usually starts early, with trucks loaded before crews head out. Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when people counted on you to be on time every day. How did you do it?
A strong answer: Specific habits, like preparing the night before and planning the ride in, and a record of showing up on time.
The template's targets show what good looks like. For a helper, judge them crew by crew, since setup and cleanup times depend on the house and the lead installer's pace.
Job Site Preparation Efficiency
Time from parking at the house to ladders set, machine ready and parts laid out, logged by the lead installer on a few jobs each week.
Installation Support Accuracy
Count jobs where the helper's work caused a redo, like a downspout built backward or the wrong elbow, out of jobs worked. The lead installer notes each one.
Clean-up Effectiveness
Read survey scores and comments about cleanup, and have the lead or the supervisor walk the yard before the truck leaves.
Safety Compliance
Track gear use, ladder setup and any safety notes from supervisor visits. Go over each issue with the helper the same week.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations
At each check-in, go through the list with the lead installer and the helper together, and name the next skill to learn.
Career path
Laborer / helperSets up, carries, builds downspouts and cleans up.
Gutter installerHangs gutter, sets outlets and forms runs on the machine.
What does a gutter helper lift and climb on a normal day?
Ladders and boxes of parts from the trailer, cut lengths of downspout and gutter carried with a partner, and a ladder climbed to hand up a piece or hold a run in place. The work goes on outdoors in summer and winter. Show these tasks in the ad so applicants know the work, and consider any accommodation an applicant asks for.
How much does a gutter helper make?
Helpers, construction trades who work for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors earned a median of $19.28 an hour ($40,100 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $35,640 and $47,730 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What does a gutter helper learn in the first month?
Part names, how to build downspouts and elbows, how to set and move ladders, how to catch gutter off the machine without denting it, and how to leave a yard clean. Once those are steady, the lead installer starts handing over short runs and end caps so the helper can work toward installer.
How many helpers does a gutter crew need?
Plan on one helper with each installer to start. Two-story houses, long seamless runs and tear-offs may call for a second helper or a second installer. If a helper stands around waiting on most jobs, the crew mix or the job list probably needs a change.
Should a gutter helper go up on the roof?
Only after fall protection training, and only once the fall protection for that roof is set up. Most of a helper's day stays on the ground or on a ladder. Keep newer helpers off steep and two-story roofs until the lead installer and the field supervisor say they're ready.
