Gutter Cleaning in East Maitland: Fig Leaves in the Valleys and Weeds in the Gutters ($360)

Oct 27

2 min read

Jack's single-storey home in East Maitland sits under a big fig tree, and the roof showed it. The valleys were overflowing with fig leaves, and the gutters had been full long enough to grow weeds on a heavy build-up of soil.

The job at a glance

Customer: Jack
Location: East Maitland
Property: Single-storey home with a brick chimney
Roof type: Corrugated metal
Problem: Valleys overflowing with fig tree leaves; weeds growing in the gutters on a heavy build-up of soil
Service: Gutter and valley vacuum cleaning
Price: $360
Result: Valleys and gutters cleared of leaves, weeds and soil

The problem

From the ground you could see grass and seed heads standing up along the gutter line.

Weeds and grass growing along a gutter on a metal roof beside a brick chimney in East Maitland before cleaning — Before: weeds growing along the gutter

Up close, the weeds were rooted in a layer of soil made from old leaves breaking down in the gutter.

Close-up of grass, seed heads and fig leaves rooted in soil inside an East Maitland gutter — Before: grass and fig leaves rooted in the gutter

A gutter beside a chimney packed with fig leaves and a weed growing out of it, East Maitland — Before: the gutter beside the chimney packed with leaves

The valleys were the worst of it. Fig leaves were piled high on top of a layer of soil, right where the water from two roof faces meets.

A roof valley in East Maitland piled high with fig tree leaves on top of a layer of soil — Before: a roof valley overflowing with fig leaves

Fig leaves lining a gutter under an overhanging fig tree on an East Maitland roof — Before: fig leaves along the gutter under the tree

When a valley or gutter is this full, rain can't reach the downpipe. It spills over the edge, and in a valley it can back up under the roof sheets.

What Turbovac did

Mark vacuumed out the valleys and the gutters, taking out the fig leaves, the weeds and the soil underneath them. Turbovac works from the ground wherever possible, with ladders and harness where access needs it.