Common gutter mistake costing Aussie homeowners thousands: 'People might not know'
But, some "people might not know" they can actually create more harm the good, and may even end up costing homeowners more in the long run. This week, a business owner spotted thousands of leaves built up on an Aussie roof with gutter guards.
Sydney gardener and landscaper Nathan Stafford has often urged homeowners to think twice before having them installed. Speaking to Yahoo News, he said because gutter guards are commonly bolted down with "hundreds of nails", it's extremely difficult to remove the build-up from beneath them, which he said still occurs despite the whole point of the gutter guard being to prevent just that.
Since they make it harder to see inside the gutter, problems like blockages, rust, or mould can go unnoticed until there's an overflow or damage. And when it's finally time to clean them, they can make the job trickier and more time-consuming than if the gutter had been left open.
Nathan said he's simply not a fan. "I've been maintaining homes for over 15 years and I've done thousands of gutter cleaning jobs," he earlier told Yahoo.
"What happens is, you get them installed and a lot of people think 'well, that's it'. But things fall on top of them, and they have little holes, so over time, the matter breaks down and falls in."
"Then it turns into a soil-like substance, and it's very hard. Add a bit of rain to it and it becomes mud, and it starts pulling on the gutters, which impacts the fascia of the roof."
Nathan said in recent times he's noticed gutter guards appearing "more and more". He said often, in his experience, homeowners are having to call in professionals to clean their gutters, which become even more clogged with the guards in place than if they weren't.
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Marc Plowman is the business owner of an alternative guttering product, Flowmate. He's one of the professionals who often gets the call to address gutters that can fill with leaves. While installing his product for a client, he noticed a neighbour's property with gutter guards and highlighted the leaves building up on the roof in a video.
"Unfortunately, a lot of the time, consumers aren't told that they still need to maintain their gutters," he said. "Gutter guards are very costly; for example, gutter cleaning on a standard house would generally be about $350 even after a gutter guard is installed.
"This debris that's left on top decomposes and goes down into the gaps themselves. It creates a little ecosystem in there to grow. A lot of this is not always told to clients when they're sold, and people invest thousands into getting them put on and then wonder why they've got a problem."
While gutter guards are certainly not a "set-and-forget" product, they might still reduce the frequency and severity of cleaning somewhat, especially for homes with dense leaf coverage.
But Marc who sells the Flowmate gutter system said, around 25 to 30 per cent of his weekly jobs involve issues with gutter guards, with many requiring them to be removed or cleaned out. Once removed, he added, any product warranty is usually voided.
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