Gutter guards for Winchester, Virginia homes

How it works

1. Call or send a request

   Tell us the address and what the gutters are doing.

2. We connect you

   We send your request to an independent gutter guard installer that serves Winchester and Frederick County.

3. They call you back

   The installer looks at the house and quotes you directly.

Who is this for?

Homeowners in the City of Winchester and across Frederick County, Virginia, including Stephens City, Middletown, Kernstown, Clear Brook and the mountain communities west of town like Shawneeland. This is the top of the Shenandoah Valley, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies, and the shade trees, wooded ridges and orchards here put a lot of leaves, twigs and seed on roofs. If someone in your house climbs a ladder more than twice a year to clear the gutters, guards are worth pricing.

Do gutter guards actually keep gutters clear?

A solid guard fastened to a sound gutter stops the leaves and sticks that cause most clogs. That keeps the trough and the downspouts open, which is the part that's slow and risky to clean by hand. Guards don't end all upkeep, though. Maple seeds, pine needles and grit off asphalt shingles can sit on top, so plan to brush or hose the surface now and then, especially near roof valleys.

What kinds of gutter guards are there?

• Stainless micro-mesh. A very fine mesh on a stiff aluminum frame. It stops the smallest debris, including most needles, and is the usual choice on heavily wooded lots.
• Perforated aluminum. Rows of punched holes. Costs less and handles big oak and maple leaves well, but seeds and needles can slip through.
• Reverse-curve hoods. Water follows a rounded nose down into the gutter while leaves slide off the front. They show from the street, and in a hard downpour water can shoot past them.
• Foam and brush inserts. Sit down inside the gutter. Inexpensive, but they collect debris and generally wear out well before metal guards.

See our gutter guard installation page for how to match a guard to the trees around your house.

Can guards go on my existing gutters?

In most cases, yes, as long as the gutters are tight to the fascia board, pitched toward the downspouts and not leaking at the joints. A run that sags, holds water or is pulling away from soft wood should be fixed first. If the gutters are close to worn out, putting up new seamless gutters with guards in one job is usually the better plan.

How much rain and snow do Winchester gutters handle?

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Winchester station show just under 40 inches of precipitation a year, fairly evenly spread. September is the wettest month on average at about 4.4 inches, and February the driest at a little over 2 inches. Winters are cold enough to matter: the average January low is about 21 degrees. Frederick County's building inspections office lists a design ground snow load of 35 pounds per square foot, and 40 in the higher country in the northwest of the county. Snow that slides off a roof, and ice that forms in a clogged gutter, are what bend hangers and pull runs off the fascia.

Why do Frederick County gutters fill up so fast?

Trees, mostly. Older Winchester neighborhoods have big street and yard trees, newer subdivisions often back up to woods, and the western half of the county climbs into forested ridges along Great North Mountain. Frederick County is also Virginia's leading apple county. Virginia Cooperative Extension, citing the 2017 Census of Agriculture, reports that the county harvested 4,400 of the state's 10,879 acres of apples, about 40 percent. Houses near orchards and hedgerows deal with blossom petals in spring and leaf drop in fall, on top of whatever grows in their own yards.

What signs mean your gutters can't keep up?

• Water spilling over the front edge in a normal rain
• Peeling paint, dark stains or soft wood on fascia and soffits
• Mulch or soil washed out of the beds under the eaves
• Damp basement walls or a wet crawl space after storms
• Weeds or tree seedlings sprouting in the gutter
• Long icicles along the gutter line in January
• Runs that dip between hangers or lean away from the house

Does a gutter installer need a Virginia license?

For most paid jobs, yes. Virginia requires a contractor license from DPOR's Board for Contractors for work valued at more than $1,000. A Class C license covers single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000, which takes in nearly every gutter or guard project on a house. Ask for the license number and check it on DPOR's License Lookup before you sign. The Winchester and Frederick County gutter guide covers licensing, permits, Winchester's historic district and hiring tips with sources.

Are you a gutter company?

No. Winchester Gutter Guards is a referral service. We connect you with an independent installer that serves your address, and that company measures, quotes, installs and stands behind its own work. Before you hire anyone, read our tips for checking out a gutter installer.

Areas we cover

• Winchester
• Stephens City
• Middletown
• Shawneeland

Planning ahead? Read our Winchester and Frederick County gutter guide.