Our own crew handles gutter cleaning here, flushes every downspout and checks the flow, and hauls away what comes out of the trough. The price comes from your stories, your home's size and how much tree cover hangs over the roof, and the number we give on the phone is the number on your invoice. Across California, many homes book a spring visit in mid to late June and a fall visit in late November to December, and that timing suits the homes we clean. Call (866) 435-6328 for an estimate before you pick a date.
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, its square footage and what is sitting in the gutters. Our gutter cleaning process starts with those three things, whether you call or text, and the number we quote is the number we charge. Some companies price by the linear foot, and that lands in a similar place per foot of gutter, but on our jobs the stories and the buildup do most of the work. A homeowner gets that estimate before booking, and a good estimate is one you can check line by line against the invoice. That is the standard we hold our cleaning and maintenance work to.
What moves a quote is usually what our crew finds once we get on the ladder. A third story or a pitch too steep to walk takes more time and more setup. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot raises the effective height of the back run, so it sits farther up than the front. Gutters nobody has opened in years hold packed-down buildup that takes longer to clear, and gutter guards we have to lift and reseat add a step to every run. Downspout flushing, water flow testing and debris removal are included in the price and never billed as extras, which keeps the invoice clean. Gutter maintenance between cleanings matters too: a leak at a seam or a clog that goes unchecked during heavy rainfall lets water spill over the edge and run toward the foundation instead of away from your home. If anything changes the job, you hear it before work starts, not on the invoice.
Homeowners usually see a clean invoice, because the stories, the size and the buildup were all checked before the crew arrived. When the crew finds a twig wedged in an elbow or a run packed solid, the extra flushing time is raised before work starts, not after. Our cleaning services in Castro Valley follow that pattern on every house: the price we name is the price we charge, and anything that changes it is raised first.
| 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.
On our local jobs, most customers book twice a year, once in spring after the seeds and pollen drop and once in fall after the last leaves come down. In spring we find seeds, seed casings and pollen paste packed into the elbow of each downspout. In fall it is the leaves and debris that fill the trough along the roofline, along with the wet leaf mat that sits in the rain gutter until the first storms, which can rot the fascia behind it. Rain across Castro Valley totals about 21.8 inches a year, and its wettest months are January, February and December, so the fall visit is when we clean the gutter system before the rain picks up.
How often a particular lot needs us depends on its landscape and its trees. Under heavy tree cover, or near a busy road or construction, we see needles and grit leave clogged downspouts between visits, so those houses are on every three to four months. Houses with few or no trees do well with one full clean a year in late fall. Guarded gutters need less frequent cleaning, but we still clean out the buildup that sits on top of the guards each visit, and we flush every run and check for rainwater that spills over during heavy rainfall.
A lot with no trees near the house usually needs only the fall clearing, while a lot with a large tree over the back run goes on the shorter schedule. After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot needs, and you can ask us to clean your gutters on whichever schedule suits the house. Either way the gutter system stays working through the year, and the sooner you get your gutters on the calendar, the easier the first visit goes.
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 Castro Valley homes in CA from the nearest base. Our gutter cleaning services cover residential and commercial properties, and booking starts with a quote by phone or text, using your stories, your home's size and whether trees hang over the house. A photo of the front of the house helps us confirm the estimate, though it is not required. Lead time depends on how full the calendar is, and we confirm the date when you call at (866) 435-6328. Across California the spring visit lands in mid to late June and the fall visit in late November to December, and those are the slots that fill first. We want the estimate as clean as the gutters: one number, confirmed before we book.
We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home. Ask us for the next open window and we will tell you what we have. If your house has a steep pitch, a third story or a back run we cannot reach from the ground, mention it when you call so the crew arrives with the right lift setup. Our gutter cleaning service also covers residential properties in the surrounding areas. Regular gutter cleaning, usually in spring and fall, keeps drainage working and water away from the fascia and foundation before it can cause structural damage. We ask for the least we need to price the job accurately, and we keep the process straightforward from there. Ask about our other gutter services when you call.
The number comes from the house's stories and size, and we quote it by phone or text. Give us those two things and we will tell you the price before we book. That figure is the number on your invoice.
Across California, most of our customers book a spring visit in mid to late June and a fall visit in late November to December. In spring we see seeds and pollen packed in the downspout elbows; in fall the leaf load builds up. Waiting past the fall visit tends to leave runs that sag before the rains set in, so keep your gutters on the calendar before the first storm.
Lead time depends on the calendar, so we confirm a date when you call at (866) 435-6328 and tell you the earliest window we have.
No. Our crew works outside, 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, we clear the gutters and downspouts together, flush every downspout, check that water is leaving at the outlet, and clear any clog we find in an elbow. If a line drains underground and water is not coming out the other end, we tell you, and clearing a buried line is a separate job priced before anyone touches it.
Yes. Guards keep leaves out of gutters and downspouts, but not needles, seed casings or grit, which mat on top and run over the edge. We lift the panels, clean underneath and reseat them so the water actually gets in.
Send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain. A clean gutter that still overflows usually has a slope or downspout-size problem rather than a blockage, and we tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning to fix a slope problem. Catching it early helps protect your home from water damage, which starts where rainwater sits on the roofline and fascia.
It should not. The quote covers flushing, flow testing and haul-off. If the crew finds something that changes the job, you hear it and agree to it before they start work, never after.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
