Gutters and Roofing in Alameda County
From Albany in the north to Fremont in the south, and east to Livermore. Family-owned since 2002.
Alameda County, in short
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Alameda County?
Yes. Inside most cities, the city’s building department issues it. In the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo and Sunol, the County’s building division does. If you wish, we can also pull the permit for you.
The story of Alameda County
A “grove of poplars”, the County says, from the bay shore to the Livermore Valley.
Alameda County was established in 1853, made from parts of two counties created in 1850, Contra Costa and Santa Clara. The County says the name, the region’s local name, translates loosely as “a grove of poplars.”
County government began in a store building in what is now Union City, and the State’s marker says the seat moved to San Leandro in 1856. Today Oakland is the seat and the largest city.
Before the county, there were ranchos. The State says the Peralta grant of 1820, 43,000 acres, took in the sites of San Leandro, Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, Berkeley and Albany.
In the south, Mission San Jose was founded in 1797, and in the Livermore Valley Robert Livermore settled in 1835. In 1870 the Alvarado district, now part of Union City, built a beet sugar factory the State calls the nation’s first successful one.
Fire safety
Which fire agency is yours
Alameda County Fire for the unincorporated communities (except Fairview) and for San Leandro, Dublin, Newark, Union City and Emeryville; Hayward Fire for Fairview, by contract; Livermore-Pleasanton Fire for those two cities; Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, Piedmont, Hayward and Fremont each have their own department. Around Sunol, the service is under contract with CAL FIRE.
Read Oct 7, 2026
Roofs kept clear, in the unincorporated area
“Maintain five feet of vertical clearance between roof surface and portions of trees overhanging any building or structure. Maintain roof of building or structure free of leaves, needles, twigs, or other combustible litter.”
County code 6.65.030, read Oct 7, 2026
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The County’s fire hazard zone map
For the unincorporated area, the County adopts by ordinance the State Fire Marshal’s local-area zone map dated February 24, 2025 (Ordinance 2025-37, June 17, 2025). The fire department’s page has a viewer where you can search an address.
Read Oct 7, 2026
Selling in a High or Very High zone
The fire department’s FAQ says a seller in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone needs documentation of a compliant defensible space inspection.
Read Oct 7, 2026
Need a hand with this? Gutter guards
Culture and history
A grove of poplars
The County says Alameda, the region’s local name, translates loosely as “a grove of poplars.” The county was established in 1853 from parts of Contra Costa and Santa Clara.
Mission San Jose, 1797
Founded in 1797, in what is now Fremont; the State’s marker says the earthquake of 1868 destroyed all of it except part of the padre’s quarters.
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The Peralta rancho, 1820
The State says the 43,000-acre grant took in the sites of San Leandro, Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, Berkeley and Albany.
The park district, voted in 1934
East Bay voters approved the park initiative on November 6, 1934, by 2 1/2 to 1; the first parklands opened on October 18, 1936.
Community
Chipping, from the fire department
The Alameda County Fire Department runs a free community wood chipping program for residents reducing vegetation and fire fuels; you enter your address and make a reservation, with a photo of your green waste. The sign-up page still names the 2025 season, so check it for this year.
Sign-up page read Nov 5, 2026
Defensible space inspections
The Alameda County Fire Department is conducting defensible space inspections for residents who live in its Very High Fire Severity Zones.
Read Oct 7, 2026
See 1 more
A county coordinator for wildfire groups
The County received a grant for a County Coordinator, based within Berkeley Fire, to coordinate wildfire mitigation groups across the county.
Read Oct 7, 2026
County rules
A permit to replace your roof
Your city’s building department, or the County’s Building Inspection Division in the unincorporated communities, through the Alameda County Permit Portal.
Building codes
The County adopted the 2025 California Building Code and the 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code, with its own changes, by Ordinance 2025-72 on December 16, 2025.
Read Oct 7, 2026
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Private trees and street trees
The County has no countywide ordinance on private trees in the unincorporated area, and owners can generally plant, prune and remove their own trees without a County permit. Trees in the public right-of-way need a County encroachment permit.
Read Oct 7, 2026
Need a hand with this? Roof installation
Storms, flood and drainage
Rain from 14 to 26 inches
NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals for the nine weather stations named for places in the county run from about 14 inches a year at Newark to about 26 at Berkeley.
Most of it November to April
About 90 percent of the year’s rain falls in those six months, by NOAA’s normals (89 to 91 percent at the nine stations).
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El Nino years
The County’s hazard plan says floods are most common with winter storms packed with subtropical moisture, and that severe flooding is most likely in strong El Nino events, which generally occur every 2 to 7 years.
Storms the county has seen
The plan counts 15 federal and 14 State disaster declarations from heavy rain, storms and floods between 1950 and 2018.
Need a hand with this? Gutter cleaning
Programs, loans and insurance
Flood insurance, unincorporated county
The County’s Class 7 rating takes up to 15% off National Flood Insurance Program policies in its unincorporated area.
FEMA's report of Oct 7, 2026
Weatherization help for income-qualified households
Spectrum Community Services, a federally funded program, offers heater and water heater replacement, attic and floor insulation, and window and door repair to Alameda County households under its income limits. The list names no roof or gutter work.
Page read Nov 3, 2026
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Home repairs, roofs included
Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley’s home repair program lists roof repairs, in select Alameda County cities.
Page read Nov 3, 2026
Where we work
Towns in Alameda County
Cities
Unincorporated communities
The County’s own pages also name these communities of the unincorporated area: Castlewood, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls and Hayward Acres.
Where we work
Alameda County and the 20 towns we serve
The story of Alameda County
Alameda County was established in 1853, made from the territory of two counties created in 1850: Contra Costa and Santa Clara. The County says it was given the local name for the region, Alameda, which translates loosely as “a grove of poplars.”
County government began on June 6, 1853, in a two-story wooden building that had been a merchandise store, in what is now the Alvarado district of Union City. The State’s landmark marker says the seat of government moved to San Leandro in 1856. Today Oakland is the seat of County government and the largest city, and the County describes its land as ranging “from urban marinas to rolling open spaces to hillside lakes and streams.”
The State says Governor Pablo de Sola awarded Don Luís María Peralta the 43,000-acre San Antonio Grant in 1820, and that it took in the sites of San Leandro, Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, Berkeley and Albany. Another grant, Rancho San Leandro, belonged to the Estudillo family, who founded San Leandro. In the Livermore Valley, the State’s marker says Robert Livermore, born in England in 1799, settled on his Rancho las Positas in 1835 and was among the first to grow grapes, fruit and grain there.
Mission San Jose, in what is now Fremont, was founded in 1797; the State’s marker says the earthquake of 1868 destroyed all of it except part of the padre’s quarters. In 1856 Jose de Jesus Vallejo built a flour mill at Niles, on his Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda; the stone aqueduct that carried its water parallels Niles Canyon Road. In 1870 E. H. Dyer built a beet sugar factory at Alvarado, which the State’s marker calls the nation’s first successful one.
East Bay voters approved the park initiative that created the East Bay Regional Park District on November 6, 1934, by 2 1/2 to 1; its first parklands were bought in June 1936 and opened on October 18, 1936. The district serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The State Assembly established the State College for Alameda County in 1957, now Cal State East Bay; its first year, 1959, was held at Sunset High School in Cherryland. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory began operations on September 2, 1952.
Why homeowners call us
- Family-owned since 2002.
- Licensed, bonded and insured: CSLB #1053780.
- Gutters and roofs, from cleaning and repairs to new installations.
- Serving the Bay Area for 24 years.
- We cover all nine Bay Area counties.
Our services: gutter services (cleaning · installation · gutter guards) · roofing (roof installation)
What our customers say
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