Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Clifton, CO

When to clean gutters in Clifton

The first fall frost comes around October 20 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 23 (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 Clifton rain

Gutters are sized for the worst few minutes of a storm, not for the year. In Clifton the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 2.78 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 8). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 2,590 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 5,180, 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.

Clifton is dry by national standards, about 9 inches in a normal year, but much of the rain that does come can arrive in short, hard storms: the five-minute downpour expected once in ten years still runs at 2.78 inches an hour. Where gutters are used here, the job is moving that burst away from the foundation, and keeping a dry season’s dust and debris from blocking the first storm.

The houses in Clifton

Half the homes in Clifton were built by 1987, 33% 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.

72% of households own their home, and 60% of homes are detached houses, 4% townhouses. Where an HOA governs the exterior, its rules on gutter color and style apply before any order is placed.

Hiring in Colorado

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