Gutter Cleaning
Debris out, downspouts flushed, and the mess cleaned up.
You can't check your gutters from the ground. Most people find out theirs are full the same way: water sheeting over the front edge in a storm, or a downspout that stays quiet while the whole roof is draining. The work itself is simple. It happens the length of the house, a few feet at a time, all of it out of your reach.
That height is what you're actually buying. Most of it comes down to one judgment call, made halfway up in the wind: whether the far corner behind the garage is worth moving the ladder one more time. It's the difference between a gutter that drains and one that mostly drains.
It is also the one job where the result is invisible from where you stand. You will know it was done properly the next time it rains hard and nothing comes over the front edge.
Gutter Cleaning questions
What's included in a gutter cleaning?
We pull the debris out of the gutter runs by hand, flush every downspout with water to confirm it's actually flowing, and bag the debris and take it with us. We also do a visual check while we're up there — loose hangers, sagging runs, separated seams, cracks — and tell you what we found. Step 6 is Tidy: no piles on the lawn, no muck on the driveway.
How often do gutters need to be cleaned?
Twice a year for most homes — late spring after the seeds and blossoms drop, and late fall once the leaves are down. If you have mature trees over the roof, especially pines, three or four times a year is more realistic. Homes with almost no tree cover can often stretch to once a year. Your local owner will tell you what your specific roof needs after the first visit.
What happens if I just don't clean them?
Water goes where you don't want it. A clogged gutter overflows against the fascia and siding, which rots wood and stains paint. It dumps concentrated water at the foundation, which is how basements get wet and slabs shift. Standing debris holds moisture against the metal and rusts it from the inside, and wet debris is heavy enough to pull the gutter off the house. In winter it feeds ice dams that back water up under the shingles.
Do gutter guards mean I never have to do this again?
No, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling guards. Good guards dramatically cut how much leaf litter gets in, and they're worth it under heavy trees. But shingle grit, pine needles, seed pods, and roof sediment still get through or pile on top, and guarded gutters still need periodic clearing — just less often. Guards also have to come off for a proper cleaning, which is worth knowing before you buy them.
Will you get on my roof?
Only when the job requires it and the roof can take it. Most gutter work is done from ladders. Some layouts — steep pitches, multi-level runs, valleys that dump into a single downspout — need roof access to do properly. We assess that at Step 1 and tell you before we start. We don't walk tile, wet moss, or anything we judge unsafe.
Where does all the debris go?
With us. It gets bagged and hauled off, not blown into your flower beds or left in a heap by the side of the house. Downspout flushing runs water and sediment out the outlet, and we rinse down any driveway or walkway that catches the runoff before we leave.