Our own crew cleans gutters here, every downspout flushed and flow-tested, leftover material hauled away, and photos of every run before we leave. The price comes from stories, size and tree cover, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Most of our customers book in the spring and fall, and we are glad to price your house from a few photos and three questions.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price depends on how many stories the house has, how big it is, and what is sitting in the gutters. We price residential properties over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we quote is the number we charge. Other gutter cleaning services that price by the linear foot land in a similar place per foot of run, but a flat per-foot figure hides the parts that take the most time. Call (866) 435-6328 or text a photo of the roofline and we will give you a written estimate.
On our jobs, a few things change the quote. A third story or a roof too steep to walk takes longer and needs a boom or scissor lift. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot raises the effective height of the back run. Rain gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with compacted leaf mat and twig, and they take the longest to clean, which means more hours at the bottom of the run. Guards we have to lift and reseat add time on both ends. Downspout flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included in the quote and never billed as extras. If we find something that changes the job, we raise it before work starts, never on the invoice.
Here is what we have seen on Alameda homes. On one house with no trees over the roof, the job was a plain two-story run with light leaf fall and the quote came in close to what the owner expected from the front of the house. On another under a heavy canopy, the gutters were full of seeds and fine grit, several runs were clogged at the elbow, and the crew spent most of the visit clearing them. That is the kind of find that moves the number, and we tell you about it while we are still on the ladder. Clogged elbows and compacted leaves are the two things that add the most time and slow the drainage, and a clog left alone is what sends rainwater over the edge and into the fascia, where wood rot and structural damage start. Keep the water flow clear and the water away from your home, and the price stays predictable.
If you want the number before anyone climbs, send us a photo of the front of the house and tell us the stories. That is enough to give you a real figure, and the crew will confirm it when they arrive.
| One story | Two stories | Three stories or steep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,500 sq ft | from $150 | from $225 | from $295 |
| 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft | from $200 | from $260 | from $335 |
| Over 2,500 sq ft | from $235 | from $305 | from $395 |
For context, nationally: Angi 2026, US average $168, most $119 to $234, $0.95 to $2.25 per linear foot.
Downspouts flushed and flow-tested, debris hauled, photos of every run. The quote already has all of it in.
Our crew clears every gutter run by hand, not just the stretch you can see from the driveway. Roof valleys and the area above the gutter line are blown clear first, so the next rain does not refill what was just emptied. Every downspout is flushed with water and watched until it runs clear at the bottom; one that will not clear is worked from the top where it can be reached. Where a downspout feeds an underground drain line, the crew checks that water is leaving at the outlet and tells you if it is not; clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Debris goes into bags and leaves with the truck. It is not blown onto the lawn, the deck or next door. The ground is left as it was found.
Before the crew leaves you get photos of every run and every downspout, before and after, on your phone, whether or not you were home. Anything the crew sees that is not a cleaning problem, a hanger pulled loose, a seam dripping, a run sitting flat, is photographed and reported, not repaired and not sold on the spot.
What can change the number, and you hear it before work starts, never on the invoice: a third story or a roof too steep to walk; gutters that have not been touched in years; guards that have to come off and go back on.
Twice a year for most houses: once after the spring seed and pollen drop, once after the last leaves fall.
Most of our customers book two cleanings a year, once in spring after the seed and pollen drop, and once in fall after the last leaves come down. Across California, our spring visits land in mid to late June and our fall visits in late November to December, and the calendar works the same way for residential and commercial jobs. In spring we clean out the seeds, seed casings and pollen paste packed into the downspout elbows. In fall it is the leaf load, and the wet leaf mat that forms before the rains arrive. Across California, atmospheric rivers deliver most of the year's rain in a handful of days, so heavy rainfall finds any clog fast. A gutter that goes into winter with a full leaf mat is a gutter that starts the rainy season already blocked, and one blockage at the elbow is enough to send water over the edge.
How often you clean your gutters depends mostly on the trees around the house. Under heavy tree cover, we see the gutters fill fast, so those customers are on every three to four months, because needles and grit pack the downspouts between visits. A roofline near a busy road or a construction site collects grit the same way and gets the same schedule. On a lot with few or no trees, once a year in late fall is enough for most houses. Guards cut the frequency, but the surface still needs clearing, and we do that on the same visit. Regular gutter maintenance is the cheapest insurance against a clog that turns into a leak, and a regular gutter cleaning schedule keeps the rainwater moving where it should go.
After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs, and we put it in writing. Call (866) 435-6328 and we will set the first date.
Water over the edge rots the board behind the gutter first. Everything after that is slow, and slow is what a policy excludes.
The three signs. Water pouring over the front edge in rain instead of out of the downspout. A run that sags, sits low or has pulled away from the fascia. Plants growing out of the trough. Any one of them means the gutter is full.
What happens next. Water that cannot drain sits in the trough and spills behind it. The fascia board rots, then the soffit. Water backs up under the first course of shingles and shows up as a ceiling stain. Siding stains and swells. Below, the overflow cuts a channel at the foundation and finds the basement. The wet debris itself weighs enough to pull the gutter off the house. Standing water breeds mosquitoes; dry debris houses wasps. Where winters freeze, the trapped water becomes an ice dam at the eave and lifts the shingles from underneath.
Why your policy will not pay. Homeowners insurance generally does not cover water damage traced to clogged gutters. Carriers class gutter cleaning as routine maintenance, and damage from skipped maintenance as preventable neglect, which a standard policy excludes. A limb that tears a gutter off in a storm is sudden and accidental and is usually covered; a fascia board that rotted over two years is not. This is general information, not insurance advice; read your policy or ask your agent.
Guards stop leaves. They do not stop needles, seeds, grit or the paste they turn into. The job gets shorter, not gone.
Yes, guarded gutters still need cleaning, less often, and it is a different job: clearing what sits on top of the guard and checking that water is actually getting in, rather than scooping out the trough. Mesh and screen guards hold whole leaves off. Pine needles thread through, seed casings and pollen mat on top, roof grit settles underneath, and once that mat is wet, rain runs over it and off the front edge. The gutter is empty and the water never went in.
Guards earn their keep under big leafy trees and on roofs too high to want to climb. They do not end maintenance, whatever the installer said. Our crew lifts the panels, clears underneath, flushes the downspouts and reseats the guards; tell us what is on the house when you get the quote and it is priced as a guarded system, which usually runs shorter than an open one.
Under an hour on most houses. Nobody has to be there, and the photos arrive either way.
The crew calls the day before with an arrival window and again when they are on the way. This Old House puts a professional gutter cleaning at 30 minutes to an hour on a typical home; bigger houses, steep roofs and gutters left for years run longer. Nobody needs to be home for exterior work; the crew does not come inside. Before they arrive: side gate unlocked, cars off the driveway if runs face it, pets inside while ladders are up. Ladder stand-offs keep the ladder off the gutter lip and the siding. After: photos of every run and downspout before the truck leaves, and an invoice that matches the quote.
Send us a photo or a short video in the rain. You hear what it is before anyone talks about money.
Still overflowing. A gutter that is clean and still sheets water over the edge in rain has a slope, capacity or downspout-size problem, not a debris problem. If that happens after a cleaning, send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain and we tell you what it actually is; we do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
The number. The price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. If the crew finds something that changes the job, you hear it and agree to it before they start, never after.
Your house. Stand-offs on every ladder so nothing rests on the gutter lip, and screens and downspout extensions go back where they were.
Payment. The balance is charged when the job is finished and the photos are on your phone. Some dates take a small booking fee to hold the slot, and you hear about it before you book.
The whole city and the towns around it, booked by phone or text from the nearest crew.
Our crew works across Alameda and covers it from the nearest base, and we clean gutters in several neighborhoods. Our gutter services cover gutters and downspouts from end to end, and Alameda gutter cleaning follows the same booking steps in every neighborhood. The gutter cleaning process starts with an estimate by phone or text, from stories, size and tree cover, and a photo of the house front if it is easy to take. Lead time depends on the calendar, and we will give you the date we can actually keep when you call. Our calendar fills fastest in mid to late June and again in late November to December, so the earlier you book, the better your odds of getting the slot you want.
We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit. You do not have to clear the driveway or move the car unless it blocks a run. A homeowner with questions before booking can text a photo of the roofline, and we will tell you what we see from the ground. Homeowners get the photo report from every visit, so the history of the house stays on file. Our crew handles cleaning and maintenance on the same trip, so the one who clears the runs also checks the gutter guards. We also clean commercial properties on the same terms. We want every house in the surrounding areas to stay dry, with the landscape at the foundation clear of overflow. Call us when you are ready and we will help you get your gutters on the calendar. Keep your gutters working and you will not need to chase a leak in the middle of the rain. Our crew is here to clean the runs, flush every downspout, and protect your home from water damage before the next storm.
Our gutter cleaning service prices a two-story house from the stories, the square footage and what is in the gutters. We price it by phone or text, and the figure we give you is the figure you pay. Nothing is added after the crew arrives unless we tell you about it first.
Our customers book in late spring, around mid to late June, and again in late fall, late November to December. If you wait past the fall visit, we find the wet leaf mat packed into the runs, and on houses that skipped it we have seen runs sag by the next rainy season.
Our cleaning services in Alameda usually have a slot within the week, and we confirm the date when you call. We do not promise same-day service because the calendar depends on the day.
No. The gutter cleaning process happens outside: our crew does not come inside, and sends photos of every run and downspout to your phone before the truck leaves. Leave the side gate unlocked and keep pets inside while the ladders are up.
Yes, every downspout is flushed and flow-tested, and we check that water leaves at the outlet. Clearing a buried drain line is a separate job, and we price it before anyone touches it. Flushing is included in the quote.
Yes, guarded gutters still need cleaning, though less often. On our jobs we find needles and seed casings sitting on top of the guard and roof grit underneath, and that buildup is what stops the water from getting in. We clean the surface and check the flow on the same visit.
A gutter that is clean and still overflows in rain has a slope, capacity or downspout-size problem, not a clog problem. Send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain and we will tell you what it is. We will not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
It should not. If the crew finds something that changes the job, such as a clog that goes deeper than expected or guards that need to come off, you hear it and agree to it before work starts. The number on the phone is the number on the invoice.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
