What Perth throws at gutters
Hail by the bucketload
On 22 March 2010, hail packed gutters and drains so fast that it made the flooding worse, especially from Osborne Park to Crawley. A gutter that has bent or pulled away under that kind of load usually needs replacing, not cleaning.
Stricter rules for gutters near salt
BlueScope's gutter bulletin is tougher than its roofing advice: it recommends standard Colorbond and Zincalume eave gutters more than 200 m from salt marine influence. So a riverside home may be fine for a standard roof but need Ultra gutters. Our Perth roof plumbing page has more.
Heritage homes
Fremantle's Victorian and Edwardian streetscapes, and older homes across Perth, often suit a traditional profile. Lysaght says its Ogee gutter, with its scalloped front, suits heritage homes.
Asbestos on older houses
ASSEA lists asbestos cement gutters among old roofing products, and Perth's Inter-War and post-war homes used asbestos cement on roofs. If your gutters are grey and heavy rather than metal, have them tested before removal.
Repair or replace?
A single leaking joint or a short rusted section can be fixed on its own. Replace the whole run when rust has spread along it, when it has lost its fall (the gentle slope toward the downpipe), or when brackets have rusted and the gutter sags. The National Construction Code allows brackets no more than 1.2 m apart.
Check the fascia boards behind the gutter too. Timber fascia rots where gutters have overflowed for years, and it has to be fixed before new gutters go on. See fascia and eaves.
If your roof is Colorbond, Zincalume or glazed terracotta, don't replace like for like with galvanised gutters. BlueScope says those can corrode early under those roofs.
Questions for a Perth gutter quote
- What steel are the new gutters, and does it suit my distance from the ocean or river?
- Which profile are you quoting: quad, half-round, ogee or something else?
- Are downpipes, brackets and any rotten fascia in the price?
- Will you set the fall and test it with water before you leave?
- How will you dispose of the old gutters?
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Note where gutters sag, drip or overflow, from the ground
- Take photos during heavy rain from under cover
- Get two or three quotes for a whole-house replacement
Leave to a roofer
- Removing and fitting gutters, especially on two storeys
- Replacing rotten fascia behind the gutter
- Anything involving old gutters that might be asbestos cement
What we'd book
If your gutters are rusting through in more than a couple of places, we'd replace the run rather than patch it, and get it done before the winter rain. On an older house, we'd confirm the old gutters aren't asbestos first. Near the beach or river, we'd want the gutter steel named on the quote.
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.
Give us your postcode and a rough idea of the house. Where we have a licence-checked roofer for gutters in your part of Perth, we'll pass your contact details to them alone; if we don't, we'll tell you straight away. The main gutter replacement page and the Perth hub have more.