I`ve done too many and most where a guttervac would have been useless.Last year i spent 3 hours on a stretch about 40ft long.Backside sat on the roof,boot heels on the outer lip of the gutter and hacksaw in hand removing a tree root system from a commercial building.Most of the work i`ve done has seemed to involve some dubious ladder placement/angles and often required ingenuity and a contraption of varying tools.I know all about dislodging end caps,downpipe connections unable to be de-coupled and other ones that tumble apart on the first touch.Often its only the downpipe thats causing a problem,the one i did last week was compacted over a period of many years probably starting with the first few lumps of dislodged ridge tile cement but it was so solidly compacted it nearly needed hammering out.The recent monsoons have left a lot of gutters showing their weaknesses but has often left the channels nearly totally clear.
My interest in the guttervacs stems from a request for gutter clearing on 3 storey apartment blocks,guttering in good condition and there is a decent gap between the bottom tile and the edge of the gutter.So the guttervac could be an ideal solution apart from my downpipe concerns.Thanks to the forum these concerns are diminishing.
I`ve made my mind up though,the guttervac is just another tool that can be used but falls well short of being a total solution.I now see them primarily as a maintenance tool and/or a solution to awkward access gutter runs.
Using them for 3 storey work has the potential to unleash a nightmare scenario where only a cherry picker could access some pipes/gutter etc. dislodged by the gutter vac and the property owner bringing in someone else at your expense to remedy the situation.
I`ll only go further into this market if i can provide the total solution including worst case scenario`s so i have a bit of adding up to do and a bit more research into which or how many IPAF qualifications are required.
