Gutta Clean - Recent Jobs and Updates
Gutter hedgehogs, or gutter brushes, look a bit like a huge pipe cleaner. The are placed into the guttering with the aim of stopping the gutters from getting blocked with moss, leaves etc. Do they work? The simple answer is "no". The muck washes down and accumulates underneath the brushes, making blockages even more likely than not having the brushes installed! The photos show two lengths of guttering AFTER the brushes were removed.
I often get called out to houses, bungalows etc. where the owner has reported the guttering as needing cleaning out as it's blocked and leaking. On some occasions, the cause of the leak can indeed be due to the gutters being blocked with moss and debris, or the top of a downpipe being clogged. But that's only half of the story. Quite often the problem lies with the guttering itself, usually where two lengths of guttering is joined. This join is called a union and comprised a plastic joiner with two rubber gaskets. Over time, the gaskets perish and become hard, losing their rubber properties. This lets water through the join when it rains. If the union leaks even when the rain has stopped for some time, then this is caused by water sitting in the gutter as it has not flowed away correctly. Repairing gutters is something I do. Changing unions is a frequent job. They are inexpensive and will last for years. If rainwater pools in the gutter, then the fall of the gutter needs correcting. This is more tricky as when one section of gutter is altered, it can affect the fall further along the run. Another cause of leaks is guttering that has pulled away from the fascia boards. This is most often caused by rotting wooden fascias, and although a repair can usually be carried out, the fascias should really be replaced with platcic.
Have you ever wondered what is in your gutters? Well, in many areas the answer is moss. In heavy rain, a lot of the moss on your roof washed into the gutters. Also, birds tend to pick at the moss and throw it into the gutters. I'm not sure this is intentional, but I'd guess they are looking for bugs or larvae to eat. Anyway, the moss, once vacuumed out, looks like the photo - a load of muck!! So next time you look at your roof, if you see moss on it, it's very likely you have moss in your gutters.
This job was particularly awkward as the property at the rear was an L shape due to having an extension, and a conservatory had been built in the gap. This made it difficult to reach the conservatory gutters, and not wishing to climb onto a roof with quite loose tiles and ridge caps, the only solution was to use the vac and poles. The vac coped well cleaning out two wide gutters / gulleys full of moss with a thick covering of leaves.
Most guttering these days is plastic, either black or white, half round, box section or profiled. Old guttering used to be made of asbestos based material or cast iron. The below set up is quite different, tiles on to a felt flat roof and gulley.
This is a recent clean of gutters, soffits and fascias in Worthing. The gutters were full of moss and muck, and the soffits and fascias were filthy!
The weather has been truly awful of late, after a not so great summer. All the rain has highlighted problems that were un-noticed before - blocked downpipes, overflowing gutters and damp inside properties, to name but a few.
Blocked downpipes have been a more frequent occurrence lately, probably due to the amount of rain we've had, and the intensity of it. I have been finding lots of moss build up in downpipes, often cause by bits of roof debris (bits of broken tile, mortar etc) wedged inside the downpipe causing an obstruction. The moss quickly piles up behind it, and, before you know it, you have a waterfall cascading down the side of your house!