For those of you who do gutters, how do you access gutters like the high ones in this pic. We’ve always done gutters as an add-on for existing customers, but this year we officially added gutter cleaning to our services and we’ve gotten a lot of these gutters over steep roofs that cannot be accessed by ladders. Any suggestions? I’m starting to think we need to remove it from our services before somebody has a fall.
Say Rob,
Your picture has dropped off…
If your talking about gutter whitening, I did one the other day and the top flour gutter was a good 30’above the ground with lower roves below it (Extended house) I used a long pole to scrub the gutter with an auto scrub brush that screws on the pole…, rinse it off with a hose and nozzle 1
The soap I used is the best that I’ve tried…a cup of Oxy-Clean a 1/2 cup of TSP and just for fun a gob of Ecover, all in hot water ! Cleaned in a quick scrubb and they were pretty dirty and mossy !
Re-up the picture !
Dange-Ster
I’m talking gutter cleaning. Hopefully I was able to fix the pic so you can see it.
Rob, There was a guy on here earlier who used a vaccum to suck gutters cleaned. We are really thinking of using that for some of our more dangerous streches of gutters.
Put the ladder just to the left of center and walk up. Dangerous yes and we are not doing anything over 2 story anymore. By the way I fell last year and yes it hurts.
Clean Gutters Fast, Easy, and Safely with GutterKeeper
StreakFree on Vancouver Island in Canada uses a machine like this, but I can’t see where you can to tight spot like in your photo unless you ladder up as Pool-man pointed out and then with longer gutters in tight spots over steep roves may be even harder !
But Streakfree has said he makes a couple thousand a day with a tool like this ! Costly yes but a big revenue generator !!!
Dange/ Pushing the Range
this doesnt look that complicated…
How about a suggestion?
Do what you can, tell the HO there would be a safety issue & you are not comfortable doing dangerous work & amend your $.
I clan gutters on a similar house myself. No Employees. I have to walk the roof in front and ladder the rest. Here is the house. [video]We Clean Gutters On Steep Roofed Homes - YouTube
Buy a gutter scoop. They sell them here. Attach it to your pole. Set your ladder up on the middle peak and use the scoop to scoop out the debris. Just fling it out on to the roof below. When you get it clean, rinse it from the ladder. Then rinse off the roof below. It works for me.
We use gutter scoops but you can’t reach all these gutters from ladders with poles. You’re going to have to walk the roof at some point.
do you have a teloscopic ladder? and does that part of the house on the left that comes out touch the house or is there a space? i have guys that used to roof that do my gutter cleaning and they would take a teloscopic up with them to the 2nd story and set up again on the roof. Have another guy hold the teloscopic if hes nervous. that roof pitch isint great, but looks like you could get up in the peak and brace yourself, or put a scoop on a pole and just pull the stuff.
I would suggest setting up a ladder at the peak and walk the roof, but by the sounds of it he’s not crazy about walking that roof. I would.
I’m not comfortable walking a 10/12 roof, myself. And I certainly wouldn’t send an employee up there. I can’t afford the insurance premiums for that and I certainly can’t afford the payout for a fall.
Like I said, I may just remove it from our official services and only offer it on a case by case basis.
Here’s another one we did where I placed a sectional piece up there. The other side was ok, but coming down this side between the ladders was pretty awkward. It was kind of like trying to jump the creek with my non-dominant foot.
Unfortunately, yes, you will have to get on the roof at some point. Although, on this particular house, My biggest queston is: Was anything even up there? The highest ones that are the hardest to get to don’t have a downspout, so maybe just get a leaf blower for that part. As others have mentioned, if you were to get a pole on your scoop, maybe you could monkey up to the top, straddle, and then do what you need to do… Also, I have found this nozzle to be vital when it comes to those types of gutters, or just gutter cleaning in general. With decent pressure, it shoots water out at least 15 feet with good force .That nozzle pretty much stays on the hose, until we come across a really clogged downspout we need our homemade hose extension for.
I’m not comfortable walking a 10/12 roof, myself. And I certainly wouldn’t send an employee up there. I can’t afford the insurance premiums for that and I certainly can’t afford the payout for a fall.
Like I said, I may just remove it from our official services and only offer it on a case by case basis.
If you are not comforable doing some gutter cleaning jobs and feel it is unsafe don’t!
Nothing is worth breaking your back.
As you said offer the service on a case to case basis.
I would also consider this as a solution. Do the clean-out once in those difficult spots and put in GutterStuff foam inserts. You won’t have to do the hard parts again, just the portions that are ladder only.
Right? Gutter cleaning is an art. first rule: know what does/ does not need to be done
I’ve been playing around with the idea of a camera at the end of a 20-30 ft pole. Spool of wire connected to a monitor built into a holster/base by the Handel of the pole… See where I’m going?
As far as this roof goes, I’d say walk it. If you don’t want to, some one in your area probably will, for peAnuts. on the upside, that house looks like its in a nice area, and if your getting wc jobs out there, try and addon pressure washing or roof cleaning. Gutter cleaning should always be an easy120-200$. If its not easy, or your not comfortable, move on to an easier, more profitable add on.
I’m starting to hate typing on my I pad, anyone else having that problem?
