Gutter and roof maintenance

What this covers

Annual or six-monthly gutter cleaning — clearing leaves, sediment, and debris so the gutters move water to the downpipes rather than overflowing. Gutter guard installation for properties with heavy leaf load from neighbouring trees. Downpipe clearing where blockages are slowing the system.

Routine roof maintenance — moss and lichen removal on tiles (soft-wash, not high-pressure, which damages tile finishes), ridge cap inspection, identifying loose tiles or visible flashing issues before they become leaks.

What this is NOT: an active roof leak fix. A leak that's already showing inside is licensed plumbing work — see roof leak repair. We triage on the call and route the job to the right trade.

Preventative vs reactive

Most of what gets called a 'roof leak' is actually a gutter overflow. The gutter is blocked, water builds up, overflows over the inside edge, runs down the wall cavity, and shows up as a stain on the ceiling. From inside it looks like the roof; from outside it's obvious that the water never reached the roofing itself.

Clearing gutters annually before winter prevents most of these. For properties under heavy leaf load (deciduous trees overhanging the roof line), gutter guard typically pays back in a year or two of avoided callouts.

Where prevention has missed the window and water is already inside, route to roof leak repair instead — that's licensed roof plumbing scope and needs the documentation trail that work generates.

Storm season scheduling

Most preventative gutter and roof work makes sense in autumn — leaves have come down, winter rains haven't yet started, and the work has its longest preventative value. We schedule routine cleans September to November where possible.

Where a property has been missed for two or three seasons, the gutter clean turns into a heavier job: compacted leaf mulch holds water against the gutter and degrades it faster. Getting back onto an annual cycle is usually one bigger clean plus annuals from then on.

Common scenarios

• Annual gutter clean booked before May. Heavy leaf load from the neighbour's deciduous trees clogged the downpipes last winter.
• Owner wants gutter guard installed to reduce the annual gutter-clean callout. We assess fit and quote both the guard and the install.
• Tenant reports water overflowing the gutter in heavy rain. Most likely a blockage in the downpipe; standard scope. If the gutter itself is failing, we refer to a leak-repair quote (licensed plumbing).
• Pre-sale presentation: moss on the front-facing roof tiles is showing in listing photos. Soft-wash treatment, no high-pressure on the tiles.
• Routine inspection between tenancies finds a sagging gutter at the back of the property. Re-pitch and re-secure rather than replace.