Our new house has a roof with what they call Decramastic tiles - these
are steel tiles coated with tar then fine gravel. By now most of the
gravel is in the gutters, along with assorted organic matter. I'm
tossing up the idea of trying to clean the gutters (rather than pay
someone to do it). There is about an inch and a half of sediment,
amounting to a large volume, since these are big square gutters. Is
there any alternative to scooping the stuff out with a trowel? The
house is two-story, making any method rather uncomfortable.

Bwaabout half of all accidents DIYing are falls
I'm not sure of the safest way to do gutters up a ladder
which is why I'm leaving mine alone ....

Is there a fixing I can buy to attach to the chimneys
to attach a rope to?

[g]

On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:22:23 UTC, Emil Tiades
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:09:25 +1200, Gib Bogle
wrote:

Our new house has a roof with what they call Decramastic tiles - these
are steel tiles coated with tar then fine gravel. By now most of the
gravel is in the gutters, along with assorted organic matter. I'm
tossing up the idea of trying to clean the gutters (rather than pay
someone to do it). There is about an inch and a half of sediment,
amounting to a large volume, since these are big square gutters. Is
there any alternative to scooping the stuff out with a trowel? The
house is two-story, making any method rather uncomfortable.

Ground level, remove last bit of gutter drain pipe
Sieve under drain pipe
2nd floor level, clamp hose pipe on gutter opposite end of drain pipe.
Starting from top of drain pipe and going towards hope pipe, brush off
sediment.
Rubbish is collected in sieve.

I do my gutters every year.
Dead easy.

Could use this (mentioned in the IET magazine, which is where I saw it):

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

George (dicegeorge) wrote:
Bwaabout half of all accidents DIYing are falls
I'm not sure of the safest way to do gutters up a ladder
which is why I'm leaving mine alone ....

Is there a fixing I can buy to attach to the chimneys
to attach a rope to?

[g]


?Use a ladder stand off - it means you don't have to lean backwards and
because it is at least twice the width of the ladder it is much more stable

Malcolm

Malcolm Race wrote:
George (dicegeorge) wrote:
Bwaabout half of all accidents DIYing are falls
I'm not sure of the safest way to do gutters up a ladder
which is why I'm leaving mine alone ....

Is there a fixing I can buy to attach to the chimneys
to attach a rope to?

[g]


?Use a ladder stand off - it means you don't have to lean backwards
and because it is at least twice the width of the ladder it is much
more stable
Spot on Malcolm, I never go up a ladder without one. I also use a Ladder
Mat http://www.soapnational.co.uk/acatal...cessories.html (halfway
down the page) which makes things a whole lot safer.

Best way of cleaning gutters is a set of drain rods with a drop scraper
http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/420003. Means you can stay in one place &
scrape the muck to you. Then use a bucket on a rope.



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Bob Eager wrote:

Could use this (mentioned in the IET magazine, which is where I saw it):

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

Looks like you need to have the right kind of gutter :-(

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

Gib Bogle wrote:
Our new house has a roof with what they call Decramastic tiles - these
are steel tiles coated with tar then fine gravel. By now most of the
gravel is in the gutters, along with assorted organic matter. I'm
tossing up the idea of trying to clean the gutters (rather than pay
someone to do it). There is about an inch and a half of sediment,
amounting to a large volume, since these are big square gutters. Is
there any alternative to scooping the stuff out with a trowel? The
house is two-story, making any method rather uncomfortable.

I've contracted a guy with a suction machine. His fee seems a very
reasonable price to avoid risking death or disablement - NZ $170.

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:43:56 UTC, Chris J Dixon
wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:

Could use this (mentioned in the IET magazine, which is where I saw it):

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

Looks like you need to have the right kind of gutter :-(

And wallet!

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Emil Tiades wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:10:27 +1200, Gib Bogle
wrote:


I've contracted a guy with a suction machine. His fee seems a very
reasonable price to avoid risking death or disablement - NZ $170.

Does the NZ $ 170 fee includes his expenses to come to UK?

Yep.

Gib Bogle wrote:

Emil Tiades wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:10:27 +1200, Gib Bogle
wrote:


I've contracted a guy with a suction machine. His fee seems a very
reasonable price to avoid risking death or disablement - NZ $170.

Does the NZ $ 170 fee includes his expenses to come to UK?

Yep.

Is he walking?

theres a secret tunnel from a hobbit hole in nz to glastonbury,
he'll probably stick his sucker tube down/up it.

Steve Firth wrote:
Gib Bogle wrote:

Emil Tiades wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:10:27 +1200, Gib Bogle
wrote:


I've contracted a guy with a suction machine. His fee seems a very
reasonable price to avoid risking death or disablement - NZ $170.
Does the NZ $ 170 fee includes his expenses to come to UK?
Yep.

Is he walking?

Swimming

In article ,
Gib Bogle writes:
Our new house has a roof with what they call Decramastic tiles - these
are steel tiles coated with tar then fine gravel. By now most of the
gravel is in the gutters, along with assorted organic matter. I'm
tossing up the idea of trying to clean the gutters (rather than pay
someone to do it). There is about an inch and a half of sediment,
amounting to a large volume, since these are big square gutters. Is
there any alternative to scooping the stuff out with a trowel? The
house is two-story, making any method rather uncomfortable.

I made a 20' long shepard's crook copper pipe with the end
hammered flat to make a fan shaped jet. This hooks over the edge
of the gutter with the hosepipe connected to the other end, and
you drag it along from the ground. That length of copper pipe is
very unstable -- you have to carry it carefully holding it vertical
without water in it or the pipe will bend. Iron pipe would be
better.

It worked well. A good deal of the dirt gets washed over the
edge of the gutter, so you have to hose down the front of the
house afterwards, and you need to wear waterproofs and most
importantly goggles, or you end up with your eyes full of the
sandy silt.

It also provided much entertainment for the neighbours, who
came outside to watch me covering myself with silt.

First time I did it, it blew some loose rubber seals out of
the guttering, but having put it back together properly, that
didn't happen again. I replaced most of the guttering about
3 years ago, and the new guttering has remained clear and not
needed cleaning, possibly because the water channel is still
smooth and shiney.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]