Essex County, Massachusetts
Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Swampscott, MA
Swampscott gets about 48 inches of rain in a normal year, and on about 13 days a year an inch or more falls in a single day. The wettest season is fall (September to November), with about 12.7 inches; the driest is summer (June to August), with 10.9. That is about 29,800 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 SwampscottSwampscott: rain and roofs
NOAA station USC00194502, 3 miBars to one scale; the longest is fall (September to November).
Counting days with an inch of rain or more, Swampscott sits near the middle of the 216 places in Massachusetts on this site (12.6 a year). By house age it falls near the middle of the 217 places in Massachusetts on this site (half built by 1953). By first frost it falls near the middle of the 216 places in Massachusetts on this site (October 20).
When to clean gutters in Swampscott
The first fall frost comes around October 20 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 25 (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 Swampscott rain
The short, hard downpour is what a gutter is sized for. In Swampscott the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 6.80 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 10). 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.
With about 39 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 Swampscott
Half the homes in Swampscott were built by 1953, 77% 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.
74% of households own their home, and 53% of homes are detached houses, 5% townhouses. If an association maintains the exterior, the gutters may be its job rather than yours; check before calling.
Hiring in Massachusetts
Licensing for gutter work differs from state to state; ask a contractor in Swampscott which license or registration they hold in Massachusetts, and for proof of liability insurance. Hiring a gutter contractor
Gutter work in Swampscott
With half the homes built by 1953, replacement gutters and the fascia behind them come up more often here than in newer suburbs. The line takes all of it: