A call we get every spring: the gutter at the back of the house pours over like a waterfall in heavy rain, and the front is fine. People assume it is leaves. Sometimes it is. Often cleaning makes no difference at all, and here is why.
The back gutter does more work
On many post-war weatherboards and bungalows in Coburg and Pascoe Vale, a lean-to or extension was added at the rear. Its roof is low-pitched and often catches the run-off from the main roof above as well. So one length of gutter is collecting water from two roofs, and it may have a single downpipe at the far end. In a summer downpour it cannot carry the volume.
Fall, rust and sagging brackets
A gutter has to slope gently towards its downpipe. Old galvanised gutters sag as the brackets rust or the fascia board behind them rots, and the low point ends up in the middle. Water pools there and the steel rusts through from the inside. In rain it spills over the front edge or, worse, over the back edge and into the eaves.
You can check this from the ground. A day after rain, look along the gutter line from one end. Water still sitting in it, a visible dip, rust stains underneath or green streaks down the fascia all point to fall, not leaves.
What cleaning fixes and what it does not
- Cleaning fixes leaves and silt in the gutter, a blocked outlet, or a nest in the downpipe.
- Cleaning does not fix the wrong fall, too few downpipes or rusted-through steel.
- If water backs up out of the top of the downpipe, the blockage is below ground. That is a drain job.
We would rather you did not clean gutters from a ladder yourself. Falls from ladders at home put a lot of people in hospital. Keep your checks to the ground.
What the fix usually is
Often it is an extra downpipe, a larger outlet, or rehanging the gutter on new brackets to restore the fall. Where the steel has rusted through, that length is replaced, from $60 a metre installed. Gutter and downpipe work is roof plumbing in Victoria, so it should be done by a licensed roof plumber. Work valued at $750 or more comes with a compliance certificate.
If the back gutter spills every time it pours, send us a photo and we will tell you what we think before anyone visits.