Fairfax County, Virginia
Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Great Falls, VA
A normal year in Great Falls brings about 45 inches of rain; on roughly 11 of its days, an inch or more comes down at once. The wettest season is summer (June to August), with about 12.2 inches; the driest is winter (December to February), with 9.1. That is about 27,700 gallons a year off each 1,000 square feet of roof, every drop of it through a gutter and a downspout.
Call (866) 228-6229 free call to a gutter contractor serving Great FallsGreat Falls: rain and roofs
NOAA station USC00187272, 3 miBars to one scale; the longest is summer (June to August).
Counting days with an inch of rain or more, Great Falls sits near the middle of the 375 places in Virginia on this site (10.5 a year). By house age it falls near the middle of the 373 places in Virginia on this site (half built by 1985). By first frost it falls near the middle of the 375 places in Virginia on this site (October 29).
When to clean gutters in Great Falls
The first fall frost comes around October 29 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 14 (median dates, NOAA normals). Booking the fall cleaning after the first frost, once the trees over the roof are bare, catches the season’s drop in one visit; the spring cleaning comes after the pollen and catkins are down.
When to clean gutters explains how the trees over a roof change the schedule.
Gutter and downspout size for Great Falls rain
The short, hard downpour is what a gutter is sized for. In Great Falls the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 6.60 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 2). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 1,090 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 2,180, 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.
The houses in Great Falls
Half the homes in Great Falls were built by 1985, 38% 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.
95% of households own their home, and 99% of homes are detached houses. In a townhouse or HOA community, check who owns the gutters and what colors are allowed before booking.
Hiring in Virginia
Virginia requires a Board for Contractors license for any contract over $1,000; gutter work on a home falls under the home improvement specialty (HIC) or the residential building classification. Ask for the license number and class, and look it up before signing.
Source: Code of Virginia § 54.1-1100. Look-up: Virginia DPOR, license lookup.
Gutter work in Great Falls
With half the homes built by 1985, replacement gutters and the fascia behind them come up more often here than in newer suburbs. The line takes all of it: