Why Nowra gutters matter
A dry spring and warm winds
HMAS Albatross averages just 43.1 mm of rain in September, and the foehn effect brings warm, dry air down off the range, mostly in late winter and spring. Leaf litter sitting in a gutter through those months is primed to burn.
The fire record
Black Christmas in 2001 to 2002 burnt 97,000 hectares around Huskisson, Vincentia and Sussex Inlet. The Currowan fire had passed 258,000 hectares by 2 January 2020.
Embers travel
Ember attack can happen more than 100 metres from the fire front, so a house set well back from the trees can still catch from a gutter full of dry leaves.
Summer storms too
February (138.7 mm) and March (138.2 mm) are the wettest months, and a severe storm on 16 December 2015 damaged roofs in South Nowra. Clear outlets matter as much for a downpour as for an ember.
Empty houses
Almost a quarter of Shoalhaven dwellings (23.1%) were unoccupied on census night 2021. If your place sits empty for weeks at a time, book cleans on a schedule rather than waiting to notice a problem.
Before fire season in the Shoalhaven
- Gutters, valleys and the roof itself cleared of leaves, bark and twigs
- Every downpipe running freely
- Gaps over 3 mm along the roof edge sealed or meshed, using mesh no coarser than 2 mm in corrosion resistant steel, bronze or aluminium (from the RFS's older upgrading guide)
- Any leaf guards made of non-combustible material and installed to AS 3959
- Box gutters flagged for a roofer, since RFS guidance says to avoid them in bushfire areas
- Your address checked on the RFS bush fire prone land map
Your part, and the roofer's part
You can
- Check from the ground after rain that water comes out of every downpipe
- Rake and bag leaf litter around the house, under the gutter line
- Clear a low gutter from a ladder only if you're steady and someone's holding it
- Look up your address on the RFS online tool
Leave to a roofer
- Two-storey roofs, valleys and anything steep
- Fitting non-combustible ember guard
- Sealing gaps along ridges, eaves and fascias
- Anything on an older fibro roof, which may contain asbestos
What to ask a Shoalhaven gutter cleaner
- Is your ember guard non-combustible and fitted to AS 3959?
- Will you seal gaps under the ridge and along the fascia while you're there?
- Do you clear the valleys and the roof surface, or only the eaves gutters?
- Can you put me on a regular clean before each summer?
Our advice before fire season
Check your block on the RFS map first. If it's mapped, we'd book a clean every spring, after the dry September winds and before summer, and price non-combustible ember guard if the gutters fill again within months. Upgrading an existing home isn't compulsory, but the RFS strongly recommends it, and gutters are the cheap place to start. See gutter cleaning for the basics.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.