In more detail
Blocked gutters and downpipes do more than overflow at the front. They can push water back under the eaves into the roof space.
Most checks can be done from the ground: watch the gutters in rain, look for rust streaks, sagging and spills at the downpipe joints.
Hand-clearing is for single-storey gutters only, from a ladder set on solid, flat ground with a second person holding it. Never walk on the roof.
Downpipes and tank overflows go to the stormwater, never the sewer, and their feet should sit clear of soil and mulch.
Rust streaks, water sitting in the gutter and stains on the ceiling are signs for a roof plumber, not another clean.
Checks 1 to 3: from the ground
Only safe steps a homeowner can take. If any of the stop signs apply, stop and call.
1 Watch the gutters in the rain. In the next decent shower, walk around the house with an umbrella. Note any gutter spilling over the front or back edge, any downpipe spraying at a joint, and anywhere water is landing against the walls.
2 Look for rust and sagging. From the ground, look along each gutter for orange streaks on the fascia, dips between brackets and places where the gutter has pulled away. Binoculars help on a two-storey house.
3 Clear low gutters only if you can do it safely. On a single-storey house, scoop the leaf out by hand with the ladder on solid, flat ground and a helper steadying it. Shift the ladder along rather than stretching sideways. Never stand on the roof or the gutter, and skip it entirely in wet or windy weather.
Checks 4 to 7: downpipes, pits and valleys
4 Check the downpipe tops and leaf diverters. Brush off any leaf diverter or rain head screen you can reach from the ground. Tap the side of a downpipe after rain: a dull, full sound can mean it is blocked and holding water.
5 Check the feet of the downpipes. Each downpipe needs to finish inside a riser or pit, not on the lawn. Pull back mulch and soil so the foot sits clear, and note any that stop above the ground or are loose in their riser.
6 Clear the pits and the kerb outlet. Wearing gloves, pull leaf off stormwater grates and scoop out light pits you can reach from above. Check the kerb outlet in the street gutter is not buried in leaves.
7 Look at valleys and box gutters from a window. From an upstairs window or the ground, check the valleys between roof slopes and any box gutter rain heads for built-up leaf. Leave clearing them to a roof plumber.
Check 8 and the signs to call a roof plumber
8 Check the ceilings after the first big storm. Look for new stains on the ceilings, especially near external walls, chimneys and under box gutters. Photograph anything new so it can be traced.
Call a roof plumber if:
A gutter holds water a day after rain, or sags between brackets.
Rust streaks run down the fascia or the gutter base flakes when pressed.
Water overflows at the back of the gutter into the eaves.
A new or growing stain appears on a ceiling.
A downpipe is split, rusted at the foot or overflowing at the top.
The gutters are on a second storey or the roof is steep.
A plumber answers 24/7. We quote a fixed price before we start, and booked jobs get a $0 call-out.
Why storm season is the time
Sydney's big storms tend to arrive after long dry spells, when gutters have had weeks to fill with leaf, bark and flowers. Regular clearing of gutters, downpipes and drains is on the NSW SES storm preparation list for a reason: trapped water spills in under the eaves and into the ceiling space. The SES also wants roofs checked for leaks ahead of the season, with loose tiles, sheets and screws dealt with before the wind finds them. A gutter that coped with drizzle all winter can put water into the ceiling in the first real downpour.
Trees make the schedule
How often gutters need clearing depends mostly on what is growing over them. Under gums, jacarandas, liquidambars or the big canopy of the North Shore, twice a year is often not enough. On a house with no overhanging trees, a check before storm season may be all it needs. Mesh guard cuts down the work under heavy leaf droppers, although the smaller debris still collects on top and wants a brush now and then. Trimming branches back from the roof line helps everything, and anything large is a job for an arborist.
Downpipes are half the system
A clean gutter is no use if its downpipe is blocked. Leaf lodges at the first bend, the downpipe fills, and the gutter backs up and overflows above it. At ground level, every downpipe should connect into the stormwater. Roof water is banned from the sewer under Sydney Water's customer policy, and the overflow from a rainwater tank likewise runs to the stormwater. If a downpipe ends above a garden bed or runs into the gully by the outside tap, that is worth fixing before the rain arrives.
What a roof plumber checks
When we do a pre-storm check, we look at the gutters and brackets, the fall towards each outlet, downpipe joints and connections, valley irons, box gutters and their rain heads, flashings where the roof meets walls and chimneys, and the collars around vent pipes. Anything near the end of its life is photographed for you and priced in writing, and you choose what happens now and what waits.
