San Mateo County, California
Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Atherton, CA
Rain in Atherton adds up to about 19 inches in a normal year, with about 4 days that bring an inch or more. The wettest season is winter (December to February), with about 11.4 inches; the driest is summer (June to August), with 0.2. Off a 1,000-square-foot roof, that comes to about 11,800 gallons a year for the gutters to carry.
Call (866) 228-6229 free call to a gutter contractor serving AthertonAtherton: rain and roofs
NOAA station USC00047339, 2 miBars to one scale; the longest is winter (December to February).
By heavy-rain days, Atherton falls near the middle of the 939 places in California on this site (4.2 a year). By house age it falls 125th oldest by median year built of the 938 places in California on this site (half built by 1960). By first frost it falls among the latest for the first fall frost of the 507 places in California on this site (December 12).
When to clean gutters in Atherton
The first fall frost comes around December 12 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around January 17 (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 Atherton rain
The short, hard downpour is what a gutter is sized for. In Atherton the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 2.64 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 6). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 2,730 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 5,450, 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.
The houses in Atherton
Half the homes in Atherton were built by 1960, 62% before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024). Houses that age have often had their gutters replaced once already; if not, the original runs and the boards behind them deserve a close look. On a house built before 1978, replacing more than 20 square feet of painted fascia or trim falls under the EPA’s lead-safe rule, so ask whether the crew is certified.
87% of households own their home, and 98% of homes are detached houses, 2% townhouses. If an association maintains the exterior, the gutters may be its job rather than yours; check before calling.
Hiring in California
Licensing for gutter work differs from state to state; ask a contractor in Atherton which license or registration they hold in California, and for proof of liability insurance. Hiring a gutter contractor
In California’s fire hazard severity zones, the 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code (in force January 1, 2026) requires gutters and downspouts of noncombustible material, and gutters fitted with an approved means to keep leaves and debris from collecting (section 504.4). (2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Chapter 5 (UpCodes))
Gutter work in Atherton
With half the homes built by 1960, replacement gutters and the fascia behind them come up more often here than in newer suburbs. The line takes all of it: