Gutter Cleaning in Millers Forest: A Fig Tree Growing in a Double-Storey Gutter ($440)

Oct 28

2 min read

Liz's two-storey home in Millers Forest sits right beside a big fig tree. The gutters were so full of fig debris that young fig plants were growing out of the top gutter, visible from the ground.

The job at a glance

Customer: Liz
Location: Millers Forest (Port Stephens)
Property: Double-storey home with a balcony
Roof type: Corrugated metal
Problem: Gutters full from a fig tree, with fig plants growing in them
Service: Gutter vacuum cleaning plus downpipes flushed with a hose
Price: $440
Result: Gutters cleared and downpipes flowing

The problem

Standing in the yard and looking up, you could see green fig leaves poking up along the top gutter line.

Fig seedlings growing out of the upper gutter of a two-storey brick home with a balcony in Millers Forest — Before: fig seedlings growing out of the upper gutter

Fig tree leaves sprouting from the top gutter line of a double-storey Millers Forest home — Before: fig leaves sprouting along the gutter line

The cause wasn't hard to find. A large fig tree grows right up against the house.

A large fig tree overhanging a two-storey home with a wraparound balcony in Millers Forest — The fig tree beside the house

Up at gutter level, plants and fig leaves had taken root in the gutter next to the tree, and the gutters held a layer of sediment.

Plants and fig leaves growing in a gutter on a metal roof right beside a fig tree — Before: plants growing in the gutter next to the fig tree

On a two-storey home, full gutters are easy to miss until something starts growing in them. By then the water has nowhere to go but over the edge.

What Turbovac did

Mark vacuumed the gutters clean, plants and all, then flushed the downpipes with a hose to make sure the water could get away. Turbovac works from the ground wherever possible, with ladders and harness where access needs it.

The result

A cleaned gutter on a metal roof with the gutter vacuum pole alongside, Millers Forest — After: gutter cleared, with the vacuum pole alongside

An open gutter channel after vacuum cleaning, looking out over paddocks in Millers Forest — After: gutter channel open

What it cost

This double-storey job was $440, quoted up front. Standard homes start from $250.

Got a fig tree next to the house?

Fig trees drop leaves and fruit all year, and they will happily grow in a gutter. Call Mark on 0431 103 323 or visit turbovac.com.au for a fixed-price quote.

Related: see our Port Stephens gutter cleaning page for more local jobs.