[007 or what]

Did one today  NEVER again not when every gutter was frozen solid didnt think about it bit p....d off with myself really took twice as long and i'm now covered in dirt, i'm cold and wet and out of pocket. sorry i know its xmas but what a crap day arrgh!!!!!!

[mogy]

Yep i was up there as well , slimy  cold  freezin  yuk
  Mogy

[captain lard]

Hard lines mate, I was doing someones windows this week and they asked me to check the guttering, it was full of moss and frozen water, didnt have a chance to clear the downpipe. I have been asked to do some guttering cleans but have avoided them cos I dont think I could get a price that would make the effort worthwhile up here.

[macc]

Same here. Did a big one yesterday. Was not happy, frozen solid, 2 outlets were blocked up,  , frozen again,  .

What was a 3hr job ended up been 5hrs,  :, but i got a good rate for it.  

But i wont be doing another on a day like that again.

Macc

[Richy L]

sometimes when they are frozen it is a bit easier.
I have found sometimes all the much comes out in one section you can take it out about a foot or two at the time.

Its not so easy if it goes even colder and the water and muck is frozen TO the gutters.

Last job i did when it was all frozen to the gutters, the old lady gave me some boiling kettle water. Losened it up quite a bit, made it much easier to do.

[Chris - CBWC]

I've only done a couple of gutter jobs, which were pretty easy, but how do you clear the downpipe?  I can only reach so far (obviously!) plus it didn't go straight down, it had a couple of bends towards the house, then ran straight down.  The gutters were rammed with what I can only describe as turf!  Had pretty much it's on eco-system, and it went down the downpipe too.

Any thoughts or advice?

[jeff1]

I've only done a couple of gutter jobs, which were pretty easy, but how do you clear the downpipe?  I can only reach so far (obviously!) plus it didn't go straight down, it had a couple of bends towards the house, then ran straight down.  The gutters were rammed with what I can only describe as turf!  Had pretty much it's on eco-system, and it went down the downpipe too.

Any thoughts or advice?

I use a mouse (not a real one  ) but a steel one on a reel jam it up and down a few times and this normally clears it, follow it with some water just to wash it down the downpipe, and look to make sure it comes out the bottom.

If you don't have anything like that at hand look for a flexable small branch and don,t let the customer catch you ripping it off there bush 
if you go to your local DIY store you can normally buy a steel drain rod, but not on a reel, if you have a mate who works for BT ask him to get you one, they are excellent and long enough to go right to the bottom of the drainpipe if you need to.

[Richy L]

wire coat hangers are helpful, they can bend around the awkard parts. Just move it up and down when its in the drain pipe. that should losen it up.

But obviously, if the blockage is at the top of the downpipe, its best to take it apart and empty it that way.

[Cleaner Windows]

really, i find it much easier when its frozen!! just give the gutter itself a squeeze and it realeaes a whole section of crap, then just lift it out.
much easier than in the summer when its all liquid and mush!
downpipes are the only prob, but just flush with warm water etc...i always find the job much,much quicker due to it being frozen!

[Perry Ashlington]

Noone has asked me to clean gutters out yet can anyone say how to price this work? Is it safe? I am a bit wobbly up ladders and dream of getting one of those pole setups some have - that would make cleaning gutters difficult I guess!

[paul saunders]

I did my own yeterday and I charged myself £10 a side 
easy £30. 

[Cleaner Windows]

its a dirty job and no one wants to do it! so i charge £20 per side depending on the size and how many levels etc!

[pjulk]

I charge £1 a foot and get loads of gutter cleaning jobs.

The down pipes i take a section out if blocked and push some drain rods up it works every time.

Paul

[Steve Tate]

I charge £5 bracket to Bracket (about a metre) Gable ends are £25  that includes soffit/facia/gutter polish up. I tell everybody we should be on scaffold and add another £100 on top because I'm saving them a pile doing it without scaffold. Average 3 Bed semi earns me £200,and takes about 4/5 hours. To be honest I only get about one third take up after quote but it's fraught with danger wet and dirty.