Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Somerset, WI

When to clean gutters in Somerset

The first fall frost comes around October 19 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 22 (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 Somerset rain

What overwhelms a gutter is a burst, not a season. In Somerset the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 7.51 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 8). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 960 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 1,920, 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.

With about 50 inches of snow in a normal year here (NOAA normals), gutters carry ice as well as water. Ice dams start with heat from the house melting roof snow that refreezes at the edge (University of Minnesota Extension); the fix for the dam is in the attic, and the gutter’s part is to be hung strongly enough to take the weight.

The houses in Somerset

Half the homes in Somerset were built by 2001, 24% before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024). In a neighborhood that young, many houses still have the gutters the builder put up, and the usual call is a cleaning, a leak or guards rather than a full replacement.

58% of households own their home, and 56% of homes are detached houses, 12% townhouses. Where an HOA governs the exterior, its rules on gutter color and style apply before any order is placed.

Hiring in Wisconsin

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