Exterior cleaning, explained properly

All articles (7)

• Gutter cleaning cost, 3-bed semi (Coventry & Warwickshire)

  On average, professional gutter cleaning for a 3-bedroom semi-detached house in Coventry and Warwickshire costs between £80 and £160. Prices vary depending on total gutter meterage, the presence of rear conservatories or extensions, debris density, and downpipe blockages. Most professional services use high-reach vacuum systems operated from ground level, complete with live camera inspections and downpipe flushing.

  Gutter Cleaning

• Gutters overflowing with no visible leaves

  Gutters overflow without visible leaves because the real blockage sits below your line of sight or inside the pipework. The most common causes are a compacted mat of roof moss and silt lying flat along the floor of the gutter, granular grit shed by ageing concrete roof tiles, a jam in the swan-neck bend at the top of the downpipe, sludge trapped underneath gutter guards, or a silted-up gully at ground level backing water up the system. None of these are visible from the ground, they only show on a camera inspection or once the trough is vacuumed out.

  Gutter Cleaning

• How often should gutters be cleaned?

  Clean gutters once a year as standard, ideally in late autumn after the leaves have fallen. Increase to twice a year if you have overhanging trees, an older concrete tile roof that sheds moss, three or more storeys, or a history of overflowing.

  Gutter Cleaning

• Why are my gutters overflowing?

  Because the water still has nowhere to go. The four usual causes are a blocked downpipe, a blocked underground drainage gully at the base of the downpipe, a sagging gutter run with the wrong fall, or a failed joint or bracket letting water out before it reaches the outlet.

  Gutter Repairs

• Gutter vacuum vs ladder cleaning

  For most domestic properties, yes. A gutter vacuum works from the ground, reaches over conservatories and extensions, captures all debris, and lets the operator film each run before and after. Ladder cleaning is only preferable where a physical hand-clear of heavy compacted material is unavoidable.

  Gutter Cleaning

• Blocked gutters and damp damage

  Blocked gutters are one of the most common causes of penetrating damp in UK homes. Overflowing water saturates the external wall repeatedly, and once the masonry cannot dry out, moisture reaches internal plaster. Damp repair typically costs £1,000, £3,500 against £80, £160 for an annual clean.

  Gutter Cleaning

• Repair, replace or clean?

  Clean if the guttering is sound and simply blocked. Repair if joints leak, brackets have dropped, or the fall is wrong on an otherwise good run. Replace if the plastic has gone brittle and cracked, the run has permanently sagged, or old cast iron is corroded through.

  Gutter Repairs