Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Altoona, WI

When to clean gutters in Altoona

The first fall frost comes around October 14 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 24 (median dates, NOAA normals). A fall cleaning set for the weeks after that frost, when the branches over the house are bare, gets the year’s leaves in one trip; a spring visit follows once the pollen and catkins have come down.

When to clean gutters explains how the trees over a roof change the schedule.

Gutter and downspout size for Altoona rain

Gutters are sized for the worst few minutes of a storm, not for the year. In Altoona the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 7.56 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 8). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 950 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 1,900, by the rule in the Copper Development Association’s design handbook. Try your own roof in the gutter and downspout calculator, which starts from this figure.

Altoona averages about 54 inches of snow a year (NOAA normals). Snow on a roof brings ice dams: heat escaping from the house melts the snow, and the water refreezes at the cold eave, in the gutter and over it. University of Minnesota Extension puts the cause in the attic, not in the gutter, so a gutter that fills with ice is a symptom; hangers spaced to carry ice and a sound fascia are what the gutter itself needs.

The houses in Altoona

Half the homes in Altoona were built by 1988, 37% before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024). At that age a gutter has seen decades of leaves and storms, and the fascia it hangs from has too.

55% of households own their home, and 44% of homes are detached houses, 8% townhouses. If an association maintains the exterior, the gutters may be its job rather than yours; check before calling.

Hiring in Wisconsin

Before hiring in Altoona, ask which Wisconsin license or registration the contractor holds and for a certificate of liability insurance. Hiring a gutter contractor