What Coffs Harbour throws at a gutter
Hail weight, Toormina 2021
Mostly golf ball to marble sized hail lay about 40 cm deep on Toormina Road, and many roofs were damaged by its sheer weight. Hail that packs a gutter blocks the outlets, and the meltwater has to go somewhere, often back under the roof edge.
Rain in volume
The MO station logs 108.0 rain days a year, and November (179.5 mm) is wet too, not just February and March. A gutter cleaned in spring has a big season ahead of it.
Forest behind the city
The hills behind Coffs are forested, with banana and blueberry plantations among the trees. If tall trees hang over your roof up there, Monier's advice is to clean gutters twice a year rather than once.
Embers from the bush
The Liberation Trail fire destroyed 169 homes in 2019, 85 of them at Nymboida. On bush fire prone land, the RFS wants gutters and valleys cleared before the fire season, and any leaf guards non-combustible and fitted to AS 3959.
Salt on the coastal strip
For gutters, downpipes and fascia, BlueScope doesn't recommend standard COLORBOND or ZINCALUME within 200 m of salt marine influence, and suggests COLORBOND Ultra beyond 100 m. Rusting gutters near the beach may simply be the wrong steel for the spot.
After a hailstorm in Coffs Harbour
Look from the ground
Check for gutters bowed under the weight, brackets pulled loose, or hail still sitting there hours later.
Look at the ceilings
Damp patches near the edges of rooms can mean a packed gutter is pushing water back inside. Keep out of any room where the ceiling sags.
Photograph it
Take photos before anything is cleared, then call your insurer. Moneysmart says to talk to them before paying for temporary repairs.
Have it cleared safely
Hail and wet leaves are heavy and slippery. A gutter full of either is a job for someone with the right gear, not a ladder in the rain.
Worth asking before you book
- Will you check for dents and loose brackets after hail?
- Do you clear valleys and box gutters, or only the eaves?
- Under the NCC each downpipe should serve no more than 12 m of gutter. Will you tell me if mine don't measure up?
- Are the leaf guards you fit non-combustible?
Our suggestion
We'd have gutters, valleys and downpipes cleared in spring, ahead of the November storms and the February to March wet. Up in the hills under trees, we'd make it twice a year. After hail, photograph first, then get the gutters emptied quickly, because packed hail is how water ends up inside. The national gutter cleaning page has the safety basics.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.