Gutter Cleaning in Annandale

Annandale is a ridge with a creek on either side, and every gutter on it is part of how that ridge sheds rain. Water from roofs along Johnston Street heads west toward Whites Creek or east toward Johnstons Creek. Whites Creek was concreted into a channel between 1898 and 1935 to carry runoff from a growing area of hard surfaces, and Johnstons Creek is now a canal. When an outlet blocks anywhere on that slope, the overflow finds its own path, usually down a wall or into a ceiling.

The roofs gather water in awkward places. A Victorian terrace here may have decorative fire walls rising between it and its neighbours, a chimney or two and sometimes an iron roof over the verandah with a gutter of its own. Water collects in valleys, against parapets and in short runs rather than along one clean eave, and stiff brush box leaf packs into those tight corners instead of washing through.

The housing also varies more than a quick drive suggests. The biggest buildings sit on the highest land, boom-period villas line the southern end of Johnston Street, small workers' houses fill the resubdivided lots on the creek slopes, and pre-war flats of up to three storeys are scattered through the conservation area, with gutters well beyond ladder comfort.

Our vacuums pull the packed leaf out rather than flushing it toward the downpipe, and we check box gutters, internal valleys, outlets and downpipes as we go. No ladder has to be footed in a narrow side passage or leant against original render.

With no back lane behind many Annandale houses, the rear gutters are seen by almost nobody, neighbours included. An overflow there can carry on through several storms before anyone notices, and the first sign is often a stain on an inside wall or a damp patch in a back room.

The front of the house has its own exposure. Plaster mouldings above doors and windows are one of the details council lists as characteristic of the suburb, and they sit directly in the path of water spilling from a blocked gutter above. Repeated soaking loosens old plaster, and matching original mouldings is a job for a specialist.

Every gutter clean includes a roof inspection report along with before-and-after photos. On a roof of terracotta, ridge capping and finials, that report is an easy way to hear about a slipped tile or cracked capping while it is still a small repair.

For landlords the photos double as a record. More than four in ten Annandale homes were rented at the 2021 Census, and a dated set of images shows the gutters were maintained.

If you would rather not deal with the leaf afterwards, green waste removal is available as a paid add-on.