Why gutter guards matter around Perth
Embers fly a long way
The Wooroloo fire in February 2021 started spot fires several kilometres ahead of the main front. It destroyed 86 homes, mostly around Wooroloo, Gidgegannup and Tilden Park, with warnings across the Shire of Mundaring and the City of Swan.
How WA's bushfire map works
In WA, a bushfire prone area covers the bushland itself plus a 100 m buffer around it. As the Shire of Capel explains, if the map touches any part of your block, the whole property counts as bushfire prone.
Ember attack is the big risk
The NSW Rural Fire Service says 85% of houses lost in bushfires go to ember attack, and that embers can travel more than 100 m ahead of a fire. A gutter full of dry leaves is exactly where they settle.
Leaves on the plain
Away from the bush, guards are mostly about keeping gutters flowing through the wet months. That matters most in the run-up to July, Perth's wettest month.
What to look for in a guard
For bushfire areas, NSW RFS guidance says gutter and valley leaf guards should be non-combustible and installed to AS 3959. Its guide to upgrading older homes says gaps over 3 mm should be sealed or covered with mesh of no more than 2 mm aperture, in corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium. Either way, that rules out plastic guards.
Most guards are a metal mesh fixed over the gutter and tucked under the bottom row of tiles, or clipped to metal sheeting. Ask how the edge is fixed, because a guard that lifts in wind lets leaves straight back in.
Guards cut down on cleaning; they don't end it. Fine debris still builds up on top and in the gutter, so they still need checking.
What to ask before you choose a guard
- Is the mesh metal, and is it sold for bushfire prone areas?
- What's the aperture size of the mesh?
- How is it fixed at the roof edge, and will it lift in strong wind?
- Will you clean the gutters before fitting it?
- Does it cover the valleys too, or just the eaves gutters?
What you can do, and what to leave to a roofer
You can
- Look your address up on the WA Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas
- Keep branches trimmed back from the roofline where you can reach from the ground
- Rake up leaf litter around the house before summer
Leave to a roofer
- Fitting guards on any roof, especially tiles and two storeys
- Sealing gaps at the ridge, eaves and valleys where embers get in
- Any work on a roof or gutters that might be asbestos cement
If we lived in the hills
We'd fit metal ember mesh to every gutter and valley, and we'd still clear the gutters before each fire season, because dry leaves under the mesh are still fuel. Down on the plain, we'd only bother if trees drop enough leaves to block the gutters every winter.
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.
Tell us your postcode, and mention it if there's bushland nearby. If we have a licence-checked roofer who fits guards in your area, your contact details are passed to that roofer alone, and if we don't, we'll say so straight away. See gutter guards for the basics, or go back to Perth.