Seasonal

Storm-Season Gutter Checklist for Sacramento Homes

By Sacramento Gutter Repair & Install · September 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Sacramento's rain season starts in November, and the first real storm usually shows up in the first half of the month. That gives you about eight weeks from today to find the things that will fail in it. This is the walk-around we do on every estimate, arranged so you can do most of it from the ground on a Saturday morning, with one ladder trip at the end if you're comfortable on one.

Why now, and not October

The fall schedule for every licensed gutter crew in the region fills by mid-October. If the walk-around turns up a run that needs re-hanging or a system that needs replacing, a September call gets it done before the rain. An October call often doesn't. And the cleaning, which most people think of as the fall job, is better done in late November after the leaves have actually dropped — see fall leaf season. September is for the structural stuff.

From the ground

1. Sight down every run. Stand at the corner and look along the gutter. It should fall very slightly toward the downspout in a straight line. A dip in the middle means the hangers have backed out and the run holds water; a section that's visibly lower at one end than its neighbor means a hanger has let go. Note which runs.

2. Look for the gap. Between the back of the gutter and the fascia, there shouldn't be daylight. A dark gap along the top means the gutter has pulled forward. It will get worse with the first load of wet leaves.

3. Check the corners for stains. A drip at a mitered corner leaves a dark streak down the fascia or a white mineral line on the stucco below. That corner has been leaking since last February and the sealant is done.

4. Read the fascia. Paint bubbling or peeling in a band along the roof edge, worst at corners and under downspouts, means the board is wet inside. Fascia rot is the thing most likely to turn a small fall repair into a bigger one, because a new hanger can't hold in soft wood.

5. Follow every downspout to the ground. Where does it end? A splash block or extension pointing away from the house, or the wall, or a hole in the lawn? A scoured dip in the dirt under a downspout says the water hit the foundation all last winter. Downspouts and your foundation covers what to do about it.

6. Check the downspout straps. Each downspout should be strapped to the wall every 8 feet or so. A strap missing at the top is why a downspout rattles in wind and eventually separates at the elbow.

7. On tile roofs, look at the gutter height. In Roseville, Folsom, Rocklin and Elk Grove, look at where the front edge of the gutter sits relative to the tile overhang. If the gutter is tucked up behind the tile lip, water will shoot past it in a heavy storm regardless of everything else on this list. The tile roof page explains the fix.

The hose test

This is the one ladder job worth doing, and it's the only rain test you'll get before November. Put a hose in the far end of each run and let it run for five minutes.

• Water should reach the downspout and come out the bottom in about the same volume it went in.
• If it pools in the middle, that's the pitch.
• If it comes out slowly or not at all, the downspout or the buried line it feeds is plugged.
• If it drips at a corner or an end cap, that's the sealant.
• If it runs down the fascia behind the gutter, the roof has no drip edge — a roofing fix, not a gutter one.

Write down what each run did. That list is the estimate.

The roof edge, without walking on the roof

From the ladder, look at the first course of shingles or tile. Shingles should extend about half an inch to an inch past the fascia into the gutter. Shorter than that, and water can run back behind the gutter in a slow rain. On tile, look for cracked tiles along the eave from someone walking there — a cracked tile is a roof leak by February. Don't step onto tile to check; that's how they crack.

What to do with the list

If more than two or three lines on that list say "us," call for a gutter repair estimate this month. If the last line is yours, the replacement page explains what's included and why the September date matters. Either way, the walk-around takes half an hour, and it's the difference between a dry February and the phone call we get every year the morning after the first storm.