Fairfax County, Virginia
Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in McLean, VA
A normal year in McLean brings about 49 inches of rain; on roughly 13 of its days, an inch or more comes down at once. The wettest season is summer (June to August), with about 13.8 inches; the driest is winter (December to February), with 10.4. That is about 30,100 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 McLeanMcLean: rain and roofs
NOAA station USC00182325, 4 miBars to one scale; the longest is summer (June to August).
Counting days with an inch of rain or more, McLean sits 55th for heavy-rain days of the 375 places in Virginia on this site (12.9 a year). By house age it falls near the middle of the 373 places in Virginia on this site (half built by 1976). By first frost it falls near the middle of the 375 places in Virginia on this site (October 31).
When to clean gutters in McLean
The first fall frost comes around October 31 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 9 (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 McLean rain
The short, hard downpour is what a gutter is sized for. In McLean the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 6.78 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 2). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 1,060 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 2,120, 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 McLean
Half the homes in McLean were built by 1976, 58% 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.
86% of households own their home, and 81% of homes are detached houses, 10% townhouses. 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 McLean
With half the homes built by 1976, replacement gutters and the fascia behind them come up more often here than in newer suburbs. The line takes all of it: