Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Bolivar, TN

When to clean gutters in Bolivar

The first fall frost comes around October 30 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 3 (median dates, NOAA normals). Plan the fall visit for after the frost, when the trees over the roof have finished dropping, and the spring visit for after the pollen and catkins.

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

Gutter and downspout size for Bolivar rain

Gutters are sized for the worst few minutes of a storm, not for the year. In Bolivar the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 7.28 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 2). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 990 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 1,980, 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 Bolivar

Half the homes in Bolivar were built by 1978, 52% 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. 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.

56% of households own their home, and 79% of homes are detached houses. Where an HOA governs the exterior, its rules on gutter color and style apply before any order is placed.

Hiring in Tennessee

Tennessee requires a home improvement license for residential projects from $3,000 to $24,999 only in the counties that adopted the law: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. From $25,000 a contractor license is required statewide. In those nine counties, ask for the home improvement license number on any job of $3,000 or more and check it.

Source: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Home Improvement. Look-up: Tennessee license verification.