Roofs, gutters and downpipes
Gutter Cleaning
Gutter cleaning for commercial and residential properties is carried out by our specialist roof and gutter team, which has its own website and works on roofs every day. This page is for owners and property managers who want to know how that team fits with our general cleaning and where to book. Gutters are one of the specialist services we coordinate for clients.
Gutter cleaning
Why is gutter cleaning done by a separate team?
Gutter cleaning is done by a separate team because it is roof work. It needs safe roof access, edge protection or fall-arrest systems, knowledge of how to walk different roof materials without damage, and a way to clear downpipes and box gutters. Those skills and that equipment sit with the specialist roof crew.
Commercial roofs bring their own problems. Large box gutters on warehouses and shopping centres collect leaves, litter, sediment and even tennis balls, and when a single outlet blocks, water can back up and overflow inside the building. Flat roofs on offices and apartment blocks hold debris around drains. Older buildings may have fragile roof sheeting or skylights that are unsafe to step near. The roof team inspects first and plans the work around those risks.
Our general crews never go onto roofs. What we can do is notice the signs from the ground, such as water stains on walls, overflowing downpipes after rain or plants growing out of gutters, and flag them to you so the roof team can take a look before the damage spreads.
Overflowing gutters also create cleaning work at ground level: stained render, muddy paths, algae on paving and water marks inside. Clearing the roof first and then washing below it, in that order, avoids paying twice for the same problem.
Timing
When should gutters be cleared?
For most Melbourne buildings, one clear-out a year is the minimum, timed for the weeks after the autumn leaf drop and before the wet winter months set in. Buildings under large trees, with box gutters, or in bushfire-prone areas on the city's fringe often need a second clean in spring or early summer.
Autumn is when the problem builds. Plane trees, gums and ornamental trees shed heavily from March to May, and a single storm can fill a gutter in an afternoon. If that material is still there when the heavy winter rain arrives, water overflows the gutter, runs down walls and can find its way into ceilings and walls.
On the outer edges of Melbourne, dry leaves in gutters are also a fire concern over summer, so a clean before the warmer months is common there. The specialist site covers the local timing and roof types in more detail.
Downpipes deserve a mention of their own. A gutter can look clear from the ground while the downpipe below it is packed with leaves and silt. The roof team flushes each downpipe after clearing the gutter above it, so water actually has somewhere to go when the next storm arrives.
Quote
How do you book a gutter clean?
Book through the gutter team's own site, or send the address and roof type through our contact form and we will hand it over. Note the number of storeys, whether there are box gutters and any known leaks. The roof team quotes after checking access and safety.
Our own service prices are on the commercial cleaning costs page, and the Golden Star home page covers how we look after Melbourne sites day to day.
Question
What do owners ask about gutters?
The first thing most owners want to know is whether gutters are part of what Golden Star does. The answer is below.