Our own crew runs gutter cleaning services across Alpine CA, with every downspout flushed and flow-tested, debris hauled away, the landscape left as we found it, and photos of every run before we leave, so you can see a clean result on your phone. The price comes from the number of stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover hangs over the roof, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Across California, most of the houses we clean book in the spring and fall, and that is when our crew is busiest. To get a firm number, call (866) 435-6328.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price depends on stories, square footage, the size of your gutter system and what is sitting in the gutters. We give an estimate over the phone or by text from those factors, and the number we quote is the number we charge. For a homeowner, that number is the one to plan around. Another gutter cleaning service might price by linear foot, which lands in a similar place per foot, but on a house the stories and the mess matter more than the length of the run. These figures cover houses only; commercial properties get their own quote on the phone.
Here is what moves the quote on our jobs. 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, so it sits well above the ground. Gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with compacted debris, and that takes time to clear. Clogged downspouts add time too, since the elbow packs solid. Guards we have to lift and reseat add a step to every run, and a run that is already clean takes a fraction of the time. Downspout flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included and never billed as extras. Anything that changes the job gets raised before work starts, never on the invoice.
On Alpine homes the quote usually turns on whether the drainage at each downspout is clear. A house can look fine from the driveway and still have a clog in the elbow where the leaves and debris have packed in. When we open a run we find the buildup, flush it through, and check the water flow to the outlet. Our gutter cleaning process runs the same way on every house, so the check on a rain gutter at the back is the same as on the front. The point is to carry water away from the house, and a blocked downspout sends it over the edge instead. Where a downspout feeds an underground line, we check that water is leaving at the end. Once a downspout runs clean at the outlet, the job is done. If the sag in a run is structural damage rather than dirt, we photograph it and tell you, because clearing the gutter will not fix it.
| 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.
Across California, most of our customers book two cleanings a year: one in mid to late June, after the seed and pollen drop, and one in late November to December, after the last leaves come down. In spring the seeds, seed casings and pollen paste pack the elbows of each downspout. In fall it is the leaf load, and the wet mat it turns into before the rainy season. Plan on cleaning and maintenance for both dates, since regular gutter cleaning is what keeps the clog from forming.
Under heavy tree cover, every three to four months is what we see working, because needles, twig and grit collect along the roofline and pack the downspouts between visits, and the clog builds faster than the gutter itself fills. With few or no trees, once a year in late fall is usually enough. Near a busy road or a construction site, the rainwater carries more grit, and those lots come back sooner. Homes with gutter guards need less frequent visits, but gutter maintenance still means clearing the surface and checking the blockage underneath.
When we open a gutter in mid to late June we find the seeds packed to the elbow; in late November we find the wet mat still sitting in the trough. Missing a fall visit is where the trouble starts, and the first sign is usually a leak at the joint. Runs that sag or pull loose by March are usually the houses that skipped the fall clean and took the winter weight of the wet leaves, and water sitting behind the trough is how the fascia starts to rot. After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs, so the schedule is set by what we found on your roof.
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 covers Alpine and the surrounding areas from the nearest base, and we book cleaning services in alpine in the order the calls come in. To get a quote, call (866) 435-6328 or text us with the number of stories, the rough square footage and whether trees hang over the roof. A photo of the front of the house is easy to send and lets us see the whole front before we arrive. Homeowners who book alpine gutter cleaning get a firm date within a few days, and we call before we come so nobody has to be home.
The calendar fills in two busy windows, mid to late June and late November to December, so if you want a slot in them, book early. Outside them, a date is usually easier to find. A homeowner who wants a fixed slot should say so on the call. When you book, we confirm the window and the address, and we ask whether there are side gates or pets to plan around. To get your gutters on the calendar, text or call us. Keep your gutters clear and the water flow moving away from your home, and a clean run keeps the next visit a simple one.
Clean gutters protect your home from water damage, and the photos are there whether you are home or not. On every visit we flush every downspout as we go, so gutters and downspouts clear on the same stop. We book residential properties, and for residential and commercial jobs alike the first step is the same phone call. Across California, atmospheric rivers deliver most of the year's rain in a handful of days, so heavy rainfall is when a blocked run shows itself.
The price comes from the stories, the square footage and the size of your gutter system, and we give an estimate by phone or text from those. The number you hear is the number on the invoice.
Most of our customers book a visit in mid to late June and another in late November to December. If you wait past the fall visit, the leaves and the wet mat build up, and by the next season the runs can sag.
Lead time depends on the calendar, so most slots come up within the week. Our cleaning services in Alpine get booked in the order the calls come in, and we confirm the exact date when you call.
No. Our crew works outside, does not come inside, and sends photos of every run and downspout to your phone before the truck leaves. Ladder stand-offs keep the ladder off the gutter lip, and the landscape under each downspout is left as it was found, with the beds swept clean. Leave the side gate unlocked and keep pets inside while the ladders are up.
Yes, we flush every downspout and check the water flow at the outlet. A clean outlet tells us the line is open. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Yes, less often. On our jobs the needles and seed casings sit on top of the guard, so the surface still needs a clean and the water flow still needs checking. Guards do not end cleaning and maintenance; they change how often it happens.
A gutter that is clean and still sheets water over the edge is usually a slope problem, not debris. Send us a photo or a short video in the rain and we tell you what it is. Water running over the edge can also reach the fascia and start a leak or rot the fascia, so the photo should show the joint too. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
Only if we find something that changes the job, and you hear it and agree to it before work starts. The number we quote on the phone is the number we charge for the gutter maintenance visit.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
