What a blocked gutter actually does
Gutter cleaning is the cheapest job on the house and the one most often skipped. What overflow actually does to eaves, fascia, foundations and your insurance position.
The assumption we're testing
“Leave-it-another-year”
Water goes backwards, not over
Most people think a full gutter just spills over the front. In heavy rain it does something worse. Water backs up under the bottom edge of the roof and runs inwards along the timber.
That puts water into the eaves, the fascia board and sometimes the ceiling. You do not see any of it until a stain shows up, and by then the timber has been wet for a while.
The foundation problem
When a gutter overflows, all the roof water lands in one spot at the base of the wall. It should be going down the downpipe and away.
A lot of Sydney sits on clay. Clay swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries. That movement under the footings is what cracks brickwork and makes doors stick.
Where it stops being maintenance
If your place backs onto bush, a gutter full of dry leaves is an ember trap. Around the Upper North Shore, the Hills and the Hawkesbury, clearing them before summer is not optional.
Insurers see gutter cleaning as basic upkeep too. A water damage claim gets much harder to make if the gutters have been left for years.
This is The Gutter Clean Brigade territory.
See the brigade