Professional gutter cleaning and maintenance for Decatur and DeKalb County
Decatur is one of metro Atlanta's oldest and most architecturally distinctive suburbs, and that history shows in the size and density of its tree canopy. Streets like Sycamore Drive, Ponce de Leon Avenue, and the neighborhoods radiating from the downtown square are shaded by oaks, sycamores, pecans, and tulip poplars that have been growing for sixty, seventy, and eighty years. These legacy trees are enormous — their canopies often span the full width of a residential lot — and they deposit proportionally enormous volumes of debris into gutters below. A single large water oak dropping its leaves in November can fill a residential gutter system to capacity within days.
Thrare Contracting has been serving DeKalb County homeowners for years, and Decatur is one of our core service areas. We understand the specific gutter maintenance challenges that come with this city's older housing stock — original wooden fascia boards that are more vulnerable to rot than modern fiber cement, gutters mounted on older homes that may be spike-and-ferrule fastened rather than hidden-hanger mounted, and drainage systems that may discharge to side lots or French drains rather than the curb. Our crews are thorough, professional, and careful with older homes. We clean gutters by hand, flush every downspout, and provide a written condition assessment with every job.
Much of Decatur's housing was built between 1920 and 1970, and many of these homes still have their original gutters or early replacement systems installed decades ago. Spike-and-ferrule fastened gutters — the older style where a long spike drives through the gutter face into the fascia — are common in Decatur. Over time, these spikes work loose under the weight of debris and standing water, causing gutters to pull away from the fascia and create gaps where water runs directly down the wall. We check every spike and hanger during our cleaning visits and note any that are pulling free. We also inspect for the galvanic corrosion that occurs where dissimilar metals contact each other in older gutter systems, a problem that causes unexpected leaks in seams and end caps.
Decatur's pecan trees present a unique challenge: pecan husks — the thick, woody outer shells of pecans — are heavy, absorb water, and physically block downspout inlets in a way that lighter leaf debris does not. A single heavy drop of pecans can put a half-dozen downspout inlets out of service overnight. If your property has large pecan trees, we recommend scheduling a cleaning for late October, before or immediately after the pecan drop, to prevent this blockage scenario.
DeKalb County averages approximately 50 to 52 inches of rain per year, with the wettest months being March through May (spring thunderstorm season) and July through August (summer convective storms). Decatur's urban and near-urban development means that stormwater infrastructure — storm drains, curbs, and gutters — is already working at or near capacity during heavy events. Your home's gutter system is the first line of defense in that drainage chain. When gutters are clogged, water does not simply overflow gently — it cascades off rooflines in sheets, erodes mulch and soil, splashes dirty water onto siding, and directs high volumes of water directly at the foundation perimeter where it saturates soil and creates hydrostatic pressure against foundation walls.
We offer complete exterior cleaning packages for Decatur homeowners. Roof cleaning pairs naturally with gutter cleaning — we clean the roof surface first, which directs moss, algae, and debris into the gutters, then clean the gutters as the final step. We also provide house washing for the mold and mildew that DeKalb County's humidity promotes on siding and brick exteriors, and driveway cleaning to address the oil stains, algae, and oxidation common on older concrete driveways. View all Decatur exterior cleaning services.
Serving all Decatur neighborhoods and DeKalb County. Estimates within 24 hours.