Are there any robots for cleaning gutters? I have some very high blocked gutters that cannot be accessed by cherry-pickers, and the cost of scaffolding is excessive.
Is there any clever way of tackling this?
Not a lot to go on, on what your access problems are. But you might like to consider rope-access maintenance - basically professional rock- climbers with tools.
I use a scraper on the end of a pole poked through a window. It works but it does depend on where you can poke the pole from. Lidl had a scraper on a pole that they were selling as a gutter cleaner, I have no idea how well the lidl one works though.
Have you tried ladders?
You can hire 60ft extenders that are operated by a series of ropes and pulleys, but they weigh a ton and you'll need two people to carry and extend them.
Loojs don't appear as a product on the iRobot Web site now.
Jonathan
What causes gutters to become blocked? I've never had a problem with blocked gutters. Not that I've had a place that had a tree over hanging the roof, but even then if the gutters have the correct fall the rain water should carry the dead leaves away.
In the grand scheme of things scaffolding is surprisingly cheap. I've got a 30m run of scaffolding in a sort of ? shape along 3 gables and a wall with 2 risers all the way, 3 shorter risers on each gable and platforms around two chimneys it also has to negociate 2 porches. Not quite =A31700 for 5 weeks and =A372/week thereafter.
I had my doubts about it to start with but it makes things so much easier, rainy day, I can carry on presssure washing where I left off. Nice day I can work on the chimneys or make good the pointing over any bit of the walls that I've washed. All without having to faff about wasting time movinga a small access tower or perching on a ladder. Money very well spent I feel.
Timothy Murphy formulated on Wednesday :
There was a remote control gadget which worked its way along the gutters pushing the dirt out, I do think they were rather expensive though.
critcher said.......................... our remotes are called crows and magpies, and they do a fair job of removing moss and such things looking for food
critcher said.......................... our remotes are called crows and magpies, and they do a fair job of removing moss and such things looking for food
IME, mainly sand from concrete roof tiles, mixed with moss washed off the roof.
Interestingly, none of the gutters I've replaced have blocked, so it might be the above, combined with wrong fall. After having done chimney repointing and gutter replacement, I went up to have a look at how well they were operating in the pouring rain. The rain was washing some splats of dropped mortar off the roof into the gutter, and grains of sand were slowly trundling along with the flow, so I think if you get the fall right and even, they are reasonably self-washing.
Agree completely. I had some earlier this year to do gutter and facia replacement, upstairs window frame painting, and chimney repointing. Makes the job _so_ much easier and safer. My only worry was getting them to take it down before any travelers decided to use it to remove the nice new leadwork.
Well it's only flowing water in a channel, just like flowing water in a pipe. Drains and sewers carry far bigger lumps without blocking, I guess most builders know about getting the fall right on drains or maybe the building regs enforce it and it's checked. Were as gutters aren't under building regs with regarding fall.
Take away the ladders? You could still scramble up but it wouldn't be so easy.
It's a bit difficult to describe the position, but part of the gutter extends over another building (not mine). I did ask a builder, and he said it was impossible to do the job with ladders or cherry-pickers.
It is easy to get at the roof through a sky-light, but there is no parapet at the edge of the roof, with a very big drop (4 storeys in places). My impression is that roofers used to be happy to use roof-ladders to do work on roofs, but they don't seem so keen on this nowadays.
That sounds a very sensible idea - it would be perfectly feasible - but I never hear of rock-climbers doing anything practical like this.
We have a lot of trees nearby, if not actually overhanging. Depending on the weather, dry leaves can get blown onto the roof and totally fill the gutters, and then a light shower will damp them down more compactly without actually carrying much away. Rinse, repeat. (And sometimes the downpipes block at bends, so more fall isn't enough.)
It's nothing like as bad as it was before I replaced the gutters which had buckled where the previous owners hadn't cleared them often enough. But they are all within reach of a tool like this:
Timothy Murphy :
Have you considered securing yourself with a climbing harness and a rope, going up through the skylight and down the roof? Secure the rope to a stout bar across a door or window opening. You aren't going to fall anyway, but you'll be much happier with a safety rope. If there's a climbing club in your area I'm sure someone will be pleased to help you out.
With a decent pressure washer you'll have a pretty good reach from directly below the skylight, so you shouldn't need to stray too far.
Another possibility is to contact a window cleaner, who might have (or know someone who has) the relevant skills and equipment.
Might you be able to flush it using a hosepipe on a long stick from the skylight? Obviously there might be issues if you splash rubbish down on someone else's property, but maybe they wouldn't mind if you promised to clean it up?
Lots of things! Leaves are the obvious one, but more common IME is moss coming of the roof. Concrete roof tiles also shed an incredible amount of sand like debris which builds up.
Even a slight restriction in the downpipe causes moss, sand, leaves to build up. I've come across twigs, tennis balls & even the arrow from a kids bow & arrow set.
I reckon guttering is a last minute job on most houses & are given to the site idiot to put up. I've found many that actually run uphill towards the downpipe & even more that are perfectly level!
Getting the fall right is important. Too steep & heavy rain will cause a flow so fast it will overflow at the end - missing the downpipe almost completely.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.