Our own crew comes out to clean gutters and downspouts in Portsmouth VA, every outlet flushed and flow-tested, the debris bagged and hauled away, and photos of every run before we leave. Call (866) 435-6328 for a gutter cleaning service quote by phone. The price comes from the number of stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover is overhead, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Most of our Portsmouth homeowners book in the spring and fall, and we have been doing this work on the same streets long enough to know what a clog looks like before we open it.
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 and what is sitting in the gutters, and we quote it over the phone or by text from those three things. Most Portsmouth homes are quoted from those facts alone once we know the stories and the pitch of the house. The number we quote is the number we charge, and a clean run is a faster job. Some companies price their gutter cleaning services by the linear foot, which lands in a similar place once you do the arithmetic, but a per-foot figure hides the things that actually change the time on the ladder.
On our jobs the things that move the quote are the same every time. A third story or a steep roof that cannot be walked means the boom or scissor lift comes out. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot raises the effective height of the roofline, so the back run sits higher than the front one suggests. Gutters that have not been opened in years hold compacted buildup that takes longer to clean out by hand. A rain gutter that has pulled loose from the fascia takes more time to reach and reseat, and guards we have to lift add time before the gutter is even reachable. Clogged downspouts get flushed and flow-tested, and debris removal is included and never billed as an extra. A run that sags or a hanger pulled loose is structural damage, which we photograph and report rather than sell on the spot, and anything that changes the job is raised before work starts, never on the invoice.
Our crew has cleaned runs on the older homes near the water, where the sag shows up first at the back of the house and the rear outlets are full of leaves and debris, and a clog at the elbow is usually the cause. On those jobs the time went into the back run, not the front, and we told the homeowner that before the crew went up. Once the back run is open, we check the water flow and the drainage at each outlet before we move on. Heavy tree cover overhead, rather than a few trees at the edge of the lot, is the other common reason a quote goes up, and we ask about it on the phone. If you text us a photo of the front of the house, we can usually tell from that whether the lift is needed before we give a number.
| One story | Two stories | Three stories or steep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,500 sq ft | from $150 | from $195 | from $255 |
| 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft | from $170 | from $225 | from $295 |
| Over 2,500 sq ft | from $200 | from $265 | from $345 |
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 here book twice a year, once in the spring after the seed and pollen drop and once in the fall after the last leaves come down. Across Virginia, spring visits usually land in mid to late May, and our fall visit lands in late November to December. In spring the elbows are packed with seeds, seed casings and pollen paste. In fall it is the wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we find runs that have sagged or pulled loose by the time winter is over. Portsmouth's wettest months are July through September, and that heavy rainfall tests every run, clean or not. Winter freezing also turns any blockage left behind into ice at the eave.
Under heavy tree cover, with big trees overhanging the eaves, our customers are on a regular gutter cleaning schedule every three to four months, because needles and grit pack the outlets between visits. Near a busy road or a construction site the dust and grit do the same thing. A house with few or no trees and a bare landscape around it can go once a year in late fall, and that is enough for most of them. Guards cut the frequency down, but they do not remove the need for a visit, because the surface still has to be clean before the water can get in.
After the first of these cleanings we tell you which tier your gutter system actually needs, based on what we found in the gutters and under the guards, if there are any, and how clean the runs came out. We give you an estimate for the next visit before you book it.
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 the local streets from the nearest base and works the surrounding areas on the same schedule. Booking is simple. You call (866) 435-6328 or send a text, and we ask about stories, size and tree cover, and if it is easy we ask for a photo of the house front. Lead time depends on the season, and we will tell you the first open date when you call. The two busiest windows are late spring and late fall, when the calendar fills, so if you want a particular week it is worth booking early. Portsmouth gutter cleaning runs the same way on every street. We run the same gutter cleaning service across Portsmouth, so homeowners here get the same process wherever they live.
Our gutter cleaning process starts with a call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit. Our crew works outside and does not come into the house. If a twig has jammed a run, the crew clears it by hand before any flushing. If you have a gate that needs to be open, or a dog that needs to be inside while the ladders are up, tell us when you book. If you are asking about commercial properties, or a building that is residential and commercial, say so on the call and we will tell you whether it is a job we take on. We want to clean your gutters without disturbing your day, and we will keep you informed about where we are and what we have found until the job is done. A leak at a seam gets photographed and reported, not sold on the spot.
Our crew cleans gutters for homeowners who want to keep their gutters working and protect your home from water damage, whether the house is near the water or set back from the road. If you want to flush every downspout and check the flow, or simply keep your gutters clear between seasons, we can set up a schedule of gutter services that fits. Once the gutters are clean, rainwater should leave through the outlet, and we check that it does. Ask us to get your gutters on the schedule early and we will set the visits around your season.
The number comes from stories and size, and we give it to you over the phone or by text. Our quote is built around residential properties, and our cleaning services in Portsmouth start with those two facts, because a two-story house with a steep back roof and one with a walk-out basement are not the same job.
Across Virginia, spring visits usually land in mid to late May, and most of our customers here book the fall visit for late November to December. Regular gutter cleaning twice a year keeps the seed and pollen paste out of the elbows and the runs clean. If you wait past the fall visit, we often find runs that have sagged under the first ice.
Most slots for a gutter cleaning service come up within the week, and we confirm the date when you call. If you need something faster, tell us when you book and we will see what the calendar allows. If you want to get your gutters done before a storm, say so on the call.
No. Our crew works outside, does not come inside, and sends photos of every run and outlet to your phone before the truck leaves, so you see a clean result either way. Leave the side gate unlocked and keep pets inside while the ladders are up.
Yes, we flush each run and check that the water is leaving at the outlet, carrying the water away from your home. Once it runs clean at the outlet, we move on. If a run drains into an underground line, we check that water is coming out the other end and tell you if it is not. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Yes. The gutter guards stop leaves but not the needles, seed casings and grit that sit on top of them, so the runs still need a clean. When we lift the panels on our jobs, that grit and seed husks have turned into a mat that stops the water from getting in at all. Guards still need cleaning and maintenance, so a guard does not replace gutter maintenance.
If a gutter is clean and still spills water over the edge during heavy rainfall, the problem is usually slope or outlet capacity rather than a clog. Send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain and we will tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
Only if something we could not see from the ground, like a loose rain gutter or structural damage, changes the job, and in that case you hear about it before work starts and agree to it first. The number we quote 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.
