Gutter Cleaning in Blackheath

Overflow down porous render and pebbledash on B65 semis

Where a Blackheath gutter overflows matters more than what filled it. On the rendered and pebbledashed council semis the water runs down a porous finish, soaks into it, and reappears as a damp patch inside the room a season or two later, which is a repair rather than a clean. On the 1990s town-centre houses the run usually sits above the drive, so an overflow quietly greens the block paving you paid to have cleaned. And on the terraces the frontage stands on the kerb, so the downpipe discharges onto a pavement people are walking along. As for the cause, these streets carry very few trees. It is roof moss, road grit and litter, packed down into silt.

• Rendered and pebbledashed semis, where an overflow soaks a porous wall and surfaces indoors months afterwards
• Gutter runs sitting above the drives on the 1990s town-centre houses, so an overflow greens the block paving
• Frontages hard against the kerb, with downpipes discharging onto the footway and no garden to take it
• Very few street trees around the market, so what fills a run is roof moss, road grit and litter all year
• No off-street parking on the terraces, so how much of a run we clear per set-up depends on where the van stands

Pavement-level vacuum, nothing against the render

A pole-mounted vacuum clears the whole run from the pavement, up to three storeys, so nothing rests on the guttering, the fascia or the render. That last point matters on the estate semis, where a ladder head chips pebbledash and a pressure washer would do far worse. We lift the packed silt as well as the loose material, because silt is what holds standing water against a fascia. Downpipes are then flushed and we check where they genuinely discharge, since a clear pipe emptying onto a footway or against a rendered wall base has only relocated the problem.

• Vacuumed from ground level with a camera on the pole, so nothing is leaned against render or pebbledash
• The packed silt lifted out along with the loose material sitting on top of it
• Downpipes flushed and their discharge point checked, including the ones emptying onto the footway
• Photographs of any cracked, sagging or parted sections, sent to you with the job

More detail on the equipment and the order of work: our gutter cleaning method.

Whole runs, and what the overflow lands on

On the estate semis and the terraced streets behind the market, the usual prompt is a stain down the render or a damp patch on a bedroom wall. On the terraces the guttering is often one length carried across several roofs, so neighbouring houses can be quoted and cleared together. The 1990s town-centre houses are the straightforward ones, with a drive to stand on and a clear run. Nobody needs to be in, though we do need the rear gate unlocked.

A short visit at a fixed price, and the three things that change it

A standard two-storey Blackheath house, front and back, is a short visit, quoted per property. Three things move it: the height, whether the run has been left long enough to grow a rooted moss bed, and whether the rear can be reached without going through the house. Neighbours on a shared run can book the same visit. Booking ahead onto one of the set days is the simplest way to get a date.

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Late autumn once a year, twice where trees stand over the run

Once a year clears most Blackheath houses, and late autumn is the sensible slot, after what little tree cover there is has finished and before sustained winter rain arrives. Twice is worth it where a roof sheds a lot of moss, or where there is a rendered wall directly under the run, since that is the expensive thing being protected. If a gutter is visibly spilling now, do not wait for the season. Standing water finds its way into the fascia and that turns into a joinery bill.