Gutter Installation in San Anselmo

San Anselmo knows what a hard winter can do. San Anselmo Creek runs right through the middle of town, and it has jumped its banks into downtown more than once, most recently on New Year's Eve 2005, when the local historical society puts the damage at around $30 million. A gutter can't stop a creek from flooding, but it does decide where the water from your own roof goes during the same storms, and in a town with this much water moving through it, that matters. Add the oaks that cover the hillsides, the older homes along the valley floor and the steeper lots up toward Sleepy Hollow, and San Anselmo gutters work hard every winter.

We size the gutters to the roof and the trees, then plan the downspouts around the lot. That often means metal mesh gutter guards on homes under oaks and a careful downspouts and drainage plan on lower ground, where roof water has fewer places to soak in. You'll get the estimate in writing, at no charge.

Oak Cover and Older Rooflines

Coast live oaks shade a large part of San Anselmo, and they drop leaves through most of the year, with the heaviest fall coming in spring as the old leaves let go. That surprises people who expect a single autumn cleanup. Oak leaves are small and stiff, and they slide down a roof and into a gutter easily, then pack into the outlets. Many homes here also date from the first half of the 1900s, with steep gables, dormers and valleys where two roof planes meet and send a concentrated stream of water into one short stretch of gutter. Those valley spots overflow first. On these houses we often go a size up on the gutter at the valleys, add a downspout where the water collects, and recommend guards that handle small, hard leaves. Our seamless gutter installation page covers sizing in more detail. Homes in Fairfax, a little farther up the valley, deal with the same oaks.

Low Ground Along the Creek

Closer to the creek and along the flat streets of the valley floor, the ground can stay soaked for long stretches in a wet winter. Roof water left at the foot of the walls adds to it, pooling against foundations and seeping into crawl spaces and basements that already take on groundwater. On these lots we focus on getting downspout water well away from the house and onto ground that can still absorb some of it, using extensions, underground lines or more downspouts so no single outlet carries too much. We also check that gutters are clear and properly pitched before the rainy season, since an overflowing gutter on low ground puts water right where it hurts most. It won't change what the creek does, but it keeps your own roof from making things worse. Homeowners near the creek in Kentfield face the same problem a little downstream.