Why Wollongong gutters fill and overflow
Rain forced up the escarpment
Moist easterly winds rise against the escarpment and drop their rain on the strip below. The University station averages 1,320.9 mm a year, with March (160.4 mm) and February (156.4 mm) the wettest months.
The 1998 flood
On 18 August 1998, 316 mm fell on Wollongong, most of it in about three hours. Even clean gutters struggle in rain like that. Blocked ones send it straight into the eaves and down the walls.
Leaf litter on the bush edge
Helensburgh, Otford and Stanwell Tops have burned before, in 1994 and again in the Black Christmas fires of 2001 to 2002. The RFS asks people near bush to clear roofs, valleys and gutters before each bush fire season, because embers can travel more than 100 metres ahead of a fire.
Summer storms
Warm-season thunderstorms bring heavy rain and sometimes hail. It's worth a look at the gutters after a big one as well as before the wet.
How often, and how safely
Monier's rule of thumb is a yearly clean, doubled where trees overhang the roof. In Wollongong that works out as one clean before the bush fire season and another in January, ahead of the February and March rain.
Safe Work Australia points out that quick jobs like cleaning gutters carry the same fall risk as bigger roof work. If you do it yourself, keep to a single-storey house, a sturdy ladder on firm, level ground with someone holding it, and a dry, still day. Never step off the ladder onto the roof.
Under an old asbestos cement roof, leave the gutters to a professional. ASSEA warns that heavy rain washes asbestos fibres into the gutters below those roofs, and the debris should be treated as friable.
Your gutters, or a pro's?
You can
- A single-storey house on level ground, from a sturdy ladder with someone footing it, on a dry, calm day
- Watching the gutters from a window during a downpour to see where they spill
- Keeping downpipe outlets and stormwater grates at ground level clear
Leave to a roofer
- Two-storey homes, and sloping blocks where the ladder can't stand level
- Valleys and box gutters, which can only be reached from the roof
- Gutters under an old roof that could be asbestos cement
- Anything rusted through or sagging, which needs a roof plumber
Ask before you book
- Is clearing the downpipes included, or only the gutters?
- Will you flush each downpipe and show me it runs freely?
- Can you tell me whether my gutters have enough fall and enough outlets for heavy rain?
- Will you send before and after photos?
- If my roof might be asbestos cement, how do you deal with the debris?
If it were our gutters
We'd book a clean in January, ahead of the February and March rain, and another before the fire season if there's bush nearby. If a clean gutter still overflows in an ordinary downpour, we'd stop paying for cleans and get a roof plumber to check the gutter size and the number of downpipes.
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.