Our own crew runs gutter services in Chico, every outlet flushed and flow-tested, the waste hauled off, and photos of every run before we leave. The price comes from your stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover hangs over it, and the number we give on the phone is the number on the invoice. Most of our Chico homeowners book in spring and fall, when the gutters have taken the most leaves and seeds.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
For Chico homes, the price depends on stories, square footage and what is in the gutters. We quote it over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we quote is the number we charge. Gutter cleaning services that price by length land in a similar place per linear foot, but on our jobs the stories and how much leaves and debris are packed in do most of the work. The same three questions apply to residential and commercial properties alike.
What moves the quote is what the crew finds when it gets up on the house. A third story or a pitch we cannot walk adds time and equipment. A walk-out basement or sloped lot raises the effective height of the eave at the back, so the back run is further up than it looks from the driveway. A rain gutter nobody has opened in years comes out packed with compacted muck, and getting it back to clean takes longer than a fresh leaf load. Water that sits in a full run for years can cause structural damage to the fascia, and rot in the board behind it. Guards that we have to lift and reseat add a step on every run. Flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included and are never billed as extras. Anything that changes the job is raised with you before work starts, never on the invoice.
On our jobs, the difference between two similar houses usually comes down to how much buildup sits in the gutters and whether a clog past the first elbow is slowing drainage. One homeowner's house had clogged downspouts on the lower side that were not pushing water away from the foundation. The crew cleared them from above before flushing, and the run was clean at the outlet by the time we left. The quote was set by that run, not by the square footage. That is the kind of thing we look for on every job at every price tier, and it is why we ask about tree cover on the phone before we give a number.
| 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 homeowners book two cleanings a year: a spring visit that, across California, lands in mid to late June after the seed and pollen drop, and a fall visit in late November to December after the last leaves are down. A gutter can look clean from the driveway and still hold a clog of seeds, seed casings and pollen paste packed into the elbows. In late fall it is the wet leaf mat along the roofline, and where the first ice has formed at the eave we find ice dams that were not there when the house was cleaned in the spring. On houses that skipped the fall visit, the runs that sag or pull loose by the next wet season are the ones that were holding that ice.
Under heavy tree cover, we are on those houses every three to four months, because needles, grit and the odd twig pack the drains between visits faster than a twice-a-year schedule can keep up with. Regular gutter cleaning on that schedule is what keeps the runs flowing, since a blockage at one outlet backs water over the edge. A house with few or no trees overhead usually needs one visit a year in late fall to stay clean. Gutter guards need less frequent cleaning, but the surface still gets cleared, because what sits on top of a guard turns to a wet mat that runs off the front edge. Across California, atmospheric rivers deliver most of the year's rain in a handful of days, so a heavy rainfall can hit a gutter that looked fine a month ago.
Keep your gutters clear between visits so the water flow stays steady and the rainwater leaves the roof. After the first visit we tell you which gutter maintenance schedule your lot actually needs.
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 has cleaned across Chico CA, on residential properties and in surrounding areas, and we cover the city from the nearest base. The gutter cleaning process starts with an estimate by phone or text from your stories, the size of the house and whether trees hang over it. Call (866) 435-6328 to book a date, or text us a photo of the front of the house, which helps if it is easy to send. We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit. Lead times move with the season, and the two busy windows on the calendar are spring and fall, when most Chico gutter cleaning customers want a slot at the same time. If you are booking for one of those windows, call (866) 435-6328 early.
The crew works outside the house and does not come inside. Before the visit we confirm the date and the arrival window, and when we finish the gutters are clean and every homeowner gets photos of the gutters and downspouts on their phone. Anything else that needs attention up top, like a seam that starts to leak or a loose hanger, goes in the photo report and is not sold to you on the spot. A clear gutter is how you protect your home from water damage.
The number comes from the stories, the square footage and what is in the gutters. We quote it by phone or text, and that quote is the price on the invoice. Flushing and haul-off are in every gutter cleaning service we book.
Most of our homeowners book a spring visit, which across California falls in mid to late June, and a fall visit in late November to December. On the fall visit, cleaning and maintenance keeps the wet leaf mat and first ice off the eave, and on houses that skipped it the sagging runs show up by the next wet season.
Same-day is possible for some of our cleaning services in Chico, but it depends on the calendar, so most slots come up within the week. We confirm the date when you call (866) 435-6328.
No. The crew works outside, does not come inside, and sends photos of every run to your phone before the truck leaves. Leave the side gate unlocked, move any landscape plants away from the walls, and keep pets inside while the ladders are up.
Yes. We flush every downspout and flow-test it, and we check that water leaves at the outlet and carries away from your home. Clearing an underground drain line is a separate job, and we quote it before anyone touches it.
Yes. On our jobs the guards keep out the leaves but not the needles and grit, which mat on top and run off the front edge. A guard is part of the gutter system, so the surface still needs a clean, just less often.
A clean gutter that still overflows in rain usually has a slope or downspout-size problem rather than a blocked run. Send us a photo or short video of it in the rain and we will tell you what it is; we do not sell a second cleaning for it.
It should not. Get your gutters quoted by phone, and anything that changes the job is raised and agreed before work starts, never added on the invoice.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
