Atmospheric River Ready: Gutter Prep for Tacoma and the South Sound

What it did around our service area

The flooding was mostly a river story, and some of it landed right next door. CW3E’s summary, citing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, shows a flood wall failure on the White River in Pacific, between Auburn and Sumner. Upstream of Auburn on the Green River, the reservoir behind Howard A. Hanson Dam reached a record elevation on December 12. The Cedar River at Renton crested at a record 18.22 feet, and the governor’s office reported more than 250 emergency rescues across the state.

Most South Sound homes were never near a river. What they dealt with was four days of rain on ground that was already full. That is the part your gutters control: whether the water coming off your roof goes somewhere useful, or lands at your foundation, in your crawlspace, or on a slope that was already soaked.

How much water your roof sheds in a storm like that

Every inch of rain on a square foot of roof is about 0.623 gallons of water. A 2,000 square foot roof under the 3.44 inches Sea-Tac logged from December 8 to 11 shed roughly 4,290 gallons in four days (2,000 x 3.44 x 0.623). All of it went through the gutters and downspouts, or over the edge.

What we look at on a pre-season visit

• Every trough cleared by hand, with needles, maple seed and moss bagged and hauled off.
• Every downspout flushed and tested, so we know water is leaving the system.
• Seams, end caps and outlets checked for drips behind the gutter.
• Hangers and pitch checked on every run, especially the long ones.
• Where each downspout lets out, and whether that water ends up at the foundation.
• Whether each downspout is carrying more roof than it can handle in a long storm.

That last check matters more here than people expect. If one downspout is draining a big section of roof, it can be the weak link even when everything is clean. Our post on 5-inch vs 6-inch gutters for Tacoma rain walks through how we look at it.

1. September or OctoberBook the full cleaning, downspout flush and any repairs before the wet season starts. This is the visit that matters most.
2. When a river shows up in the forecastCheck the category on CW3E’s AR Scale page and work the 48-hour checklist above from the ground.
3. The day beforeMake sure every extension is attached, every outlet is clear and nothing is stored where a downspout lets out.
4. During the stormStay off the ladder. Watch from a window and note where water comes over the edge or pools by the house. A photo on your phone is perfect.
5. The first dry dayLook for runs that sag, seams that drip, and soft or washed-out ground under the downspouts.
6. Call with your notesSend us what you saw. Those photos tell our crew exactly where to start, and the estimate is free.

After a windstorm: a quick gutter check

Our wet season brings wind along with the rain, and big gusts drop fir limbs, cedar fronds and maple branches right onto the roofline. Once the wind settles and it is safe to be outside, walk around the house from the ground and look for these:

• Branches or fir limbs lying in the gutter or across the roof edge, damming the trough
• A run pulled away from the fascia, a gap behind the gutter or a section that now dips
• Hangers bent or pulled loose, so the gutter sags between brackets
• Downspouts knocked loose at the elbows or separated from the gutter outlet
• Dents or a cracked seam where a falling branch hit
• Water spilling over the front of the gutter in the next rain instead of running down the downspout

Skip the ladder after a storm. Take photos from the ground and call us at (253) 777-1572. A pulled run, a sagging section or a loose downspout is a gutter repair our crew can look at, and the estimate is free.

Keeping it clear between storms

Under Douglas fir and western red cedar, a trough can refill in a single winter. If you are cleaning more than twice a year, BroGuard fine metal mesh keeps needles out while the rain goes through, and our gutter maintenance program puts you on a schedule timed to the wet season. Our fir needle and moss calendar shows what lands in your gutters each month, depending on the trees over your roof.

A clean gutter that dumps 4,000 gallons at one corner of the house has only moved the problem. In the South Sound that usually shows up three ways: a buried line that backs up and spills at the top elbow, a damp crawlspace on the side of the house under the busiest downspout, or soggy, washed-out ground on a slope below the house.

The first two are about the line under your yard, and our guide to downspout drainage in Tacoma explains how to hose-test one. The third is the one to take seriously. If your house sits near a bluff, a ravine or a steep bank, read how Tacoma homes on slopes should drain their gutters before the next river arrives.

Where we can help, and where we hand off

Everything from the roof edge to the point where water leaves your downspout is ours: troughs, outlets, downspouts, extensions and underground gutter drainage lines. If we see signs that the ground itself is moving, like new cracks in the soil or a slope that has slumped, we will tell you plainly that it is a job for a geotechnical engineer first. We serve homes across Tacoma, Puyallup, University Place, Federal Way, Auburn and the rest of the South Sound, and our moss and needle season guide covers the whole wet season.