exterior
Gutter clearing and cleaning
Gutter clearing costs £60 to £150 for a terraced or semi-detached house and £100 to £220 for a detached one, and takes under an hour on most properties. It is the cheapest preventative job on a house: a blocked gutter puts water down a wall, and a wet wall is a damp problem that costs a hundred times the clearance.
What this covers
What it costs. Gutter clearing costs £60 to £150 for a terraced or semi-detached house and £100 to £220 for a detached one. Full cost breakdown.
What the job covers
- Clearing gutters, hoppers and downpipes of moss, leaves and silt
- Vacuum clearing from the ground, with a camera to show the result
- Flushing through to check the fall and find blockages further down
- Cleaning fascias, soffits and the outside of the gutter
- Fitting guards or brushes, which help and are not a cure
What is involved
Most of it is now done by vacuum from the ground, with a carbon pole and a camera on the end so you can see what was there and what is left. That is faster and considerably safer than a ladder, and it means a two-storey house does not need scaffolding. Ladders are still used for the corners a pole cannot reach and for anything that needs a hand in it.
Twice a year is the standard rhythm where there are trees: once in late autumn after the leaves have finished, once in spring for the blossom and the seed. Away from trees, once a year is usually enough. Moss from the roof is the other half of the problem and arrives regardless of what is planted nearby.
Guards and brushes reduce the frequency and do not remove it. They stop the leaves and pass the silt, and a gutter with a guard still needs a look at every couple of years, which is worth knowing before paying to have them fitted along the whole run.
Choosing someone for the job
Ask for before and after photographs. Every vacuum system has a camera on it, taking pictures costs nothing, and it is the only way to know whether a job on a roof you cannot see was done.
Ask whether downpipes are included. A cleared gutter running into a blocked downpipe is not a cleared gutter, and it is the commonest gap between two quotes.
If ladders will be used above the ground floor, ask about insurance before the work. Working at height is where this trade's accidents happen.
Common questions
How often do gutters need clearing?
Twice a year with trees nearby, once a year without. Moss washing down off the roof fills a gutter whether or not there is a tree in sight.
Do I need to be home?
Usually not, as long as there is access to the back and side. Most firms text the photographs afterwards.