[michael papworth]

I wanted to have a look inside my own gutters today - I'd noticed a roof tile that had slipped down an inch or two. A trip to Halford's for a bicycle mirror (£4.99) and five minutes back home with a 6 mm drill gave me this.





Stuck it on the end of a 12 foot pole.

It works.

And even my wife (who is VERY non-technical) could use it to have a look in the gutters.

And this is what you can see. The picture isn't clear, but it gives you the idea. It's a little fiddly to use at first, but you'll very quickly get used to using it - a bit like a dentist, I suppose.

[d s windowcleaning]

like it a really simple way to inspect the gutters 

[Kevin R]

Its an  idea if your really close (12 ft as you said) but it wouldn't work on a two storey house as the mirror would be too far away to see any detail and it would be difficult to hold the mirror still enough to see a clear image. Also when the gutters are dark (brown or black) or deep, the resolution would not be good enough as not enough light could be transmitted at that distance.

Keep trying you'll come up with a high resolution camera and monitor eventually 

[elite mike]

hi wally
looks like another brilliant invention,
keep up the good work

regards mike

[jeff1]

Wally I thought you were going to make one of these??

[michael papworth]

Its an  idea if your really close (12 ft as you said) but it wouldn't work on a two storey house as the mirror would be too far away to see any detail and it would be difficult to hold the mirror still enough to see a clear image. Also when the gutters are dark (brown or black) or deep, the resolution would not be good enough as not enough light could be transmitted at that distance.

Keep trying you'll come up with a high resolution camera and monitor eventually 

You're doing it again, Kev. You ALWAYS do this. It's a pattern that you run as regular as clockwork. You're criticising donkeys for not being horses.

I wanted to inspect the gutter of a regular 2-storey house and I've come up with a way of doing it. So why are you criticising it for not being suitable for inspecting the gutters on a multi-storey building?

It can be held perfectly still simply by resting the pole against the gutter - and the level of detail is quite sufficient. We are talking gutters here, NOT laser surgery.

Why not get a handle on this?...  Your solution is suitable for your problem. My solution is suitable for mine.

[jouk45]

nice idea wally,
here is another way of inspecting gutters using either an old mobile or camera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_bueA4S4uI

[jeff1]

I agree with wally on this one, the pole can be held against the guttering for a steady image.
If you look at my picture you will see it held against the guttering, trying to get a clear digital image by not holding it steady will be nigh on impossible.

Wally I'm just about to add a small wheel to my system the wheel has a small groove all the way around it, I will sit the groove onto the guttering lip and just roll the camera along, you could do the same for your mirror system.

[elite mike]

nice idea wally,
here is another way of inspecting gutters using either an old mobile or camera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_bueA4S4uI

looks like marley classic,the best to clean

sad i know

[michael papworth]

nice idea wally,
here is another way of inspecting gutters using either an old mobile or camera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_bueA4S4uI

I spent the first 20 seconds wondering why Billy Connolly was inspecting his gutters!!!

Nice one, and works VERY well.

[Kevin R]

Its an  idea if your really close (12 ft as you said) but it wouldn't work on a two storey house as the mirror would be too far away to see any detail and it would be difficult to hold the mirror still enough to see a clear image. Also when the gutters are dark (brown or black) or deep, the resolution would not be good enough as not enough light could be transmitted at that distance.

Keep trying you'll come up with a high resolution camera and monitor eventually 

You're doing it again, Kev. You ALWAYS do this. It's a pattern that you run as regular as clockwork. You're criticising donkeys for not being horses.

I wanted to inspect the gutter of a regular 2-storey house and I've come up with a way of doing it. So why are you criticising it for not being suitable for inspecting the gutters on a multi-storey building?

It can be held perfectly still simply by resting the pole against the gutter - and the level of detail is quite sufficient. We are talking gutters here, NOT laser surgery.

Why not get a handle on this?...  Your solution is suitable for your problem. My solution is suitable for mine.

Try it on an overcast day on a normal domestic house, it doesn't work - been there done that, got the tee shirt.

Im not criticising at all, Forums are spreading ideas, advise etc. Im just letting you know this does not work

[Kevin R]

Why not get a handle on this?...  Your solution is suitable for your problem. My solution is suitable for mine.

Amateur  vs Professional approach - maybe I'll not offer any advise about gutter cleaning anymore, you seem to have it sorted. How are you going to empty them with a spade from the garden centre tied to a bamboo cane? good luck 

[jeff1]

Kev I see your point regarding ambient light conditions, if you notice on the video on UTube the guy with the camera had the same issue in the odd spots.

The way I combat this issue is to turn the camera around and work in the opposite direction this often cures the problem.

[Kevin R]

Kev I see your point regarding ambient light conditions, if you notice on the video on UTube the guy with the camera had the same issue in the odd spots.

The way I combat this issue is to turn the camera around and work in the opposite direction this often cures the problem.

Not on dark or deep guttering is the quality sufficient in my opinion. I have tried all sorts including a camera very similar to the one you have in the picture. We gave up on that type of wireless cameras just because of electrical interference from our generator, Omnivac or from within the building. We now use a wired camera. However I am considering a camera with a ring light as some of our gutter have been to dark to inspect properly.

[Alex Gardiner]

I like the mirror, a gadget that I might actually use myself (I generally have a low threshold for gadgets in my work vehicle!).

[jeff1]

Kev I see your point regarding ambient light conditions, if you notice on the video on UTube the guy with the camera had the same issue in the odd spots.

The way I combat this issue is to turn the camera around and work in the opposite direction this often cures the problem.

Not on dark or deep guttering is the quality sufficient in my opinion. I have tried all sorts including a camera very similar to the one you have in the picture. We gave up on that type of wireless cameras just because of electrical interference from our generator, Omnivac or from within the building. We now use a wired camera. However I am considering a camera with a ring light as some of our gutter have been to dark to inspect properly.

The one in the picture is a night cam and more than capable of seeing in the dark, I have to wait about a minute for the infra red to switch on, thats why I just face the other way.

I must say I have never suffered from electrical interference (yet), if you do then you can buy capacitors to fit across it to reduce it.

[Kevin R]

I have to admit I do like a true to life image, I have thought about infrared but I think a led ring light would make the recordings I do for my clients a little more understandable.

We had quite a problem with electrical interferance, thats when we gave up on the diy and went for the Omnicam system. Im not too good at capacitors etc.

Just out of interest a thing I never tried was a magnifying mirror. I wonder if that would work better or worse. One for wally to experiment with I guess 

[michael papworth]

Concave (magnifying ) mirror wouldn't be much use IMHO. I can see that a convex mirror might be a good idea. A concave mirror is fine for shaving when you want to see fine detail on your face. But as you know, when you move back from it, the image becomes very distorted and then actually inverts. This wouldn't be useful for guttering inspection.

(If you don't shave, or use your mirror for putting on make up, the same is true.)

My reasons for saying that are that you don't really need to be seeing much detail. You want to know that there is a certain depth of muck in a gutter, you don't need to do a chemical or colormetrical analysis of the soil type.

A bit of physics here: the image that you see in a plane (flat) mirror depends on two things: the size of the mirror and the distance you are away from it. They both change at the same rate when you move towards or away from a mirror. Therefore moving the mirror back and forth doesn't alter how much you can see. (I know that this is non-intuitive, but it's true.)

You can test this the next time you go into a clothes shop with a full-length mirror. No matter where you stand, you can always see the same amount. So stand closer and you'll see better! Incidentally, a full-length mirror for you is one which is exactly half as tall as you are. Anything more than this is more than full length.



With a convex mirror, you'd see more as you moved the mirror back, but it would appear smaller.

I agree with Kev that it might be worth experimenting with at some time. If I do, I'll report back.

[Kevin R]

Wally you have given me a brain wave. 

When using the omnivac its difficult to look at a monitor at the same time as you have your hands full. If someone else holds the monitor because of the light (especially on a sunny day) you cant see the image. so mostly I record a section of guttering blind and then review the recording. Also I dont like fitting my camera to the omnivac nozzle as it gets knocked about and wires are everywhere.

Occasionally something blocks the path of the omnivac nozzle. A mirror of the correct size / type for a quick look (not a full survey) would be ideal.

[michael papworth]

Wally you have given me a brain wave.

When using the omnivac its difficult to look at a monitor at the same time as you have your hands full. If someone else holds the monitor because of the light (especially on a sunny day) you cant see the image. so mostly I record a section of guttering blind and then review the recording. Also I dont like fitting my camera to the omnivac nozzle as it gets knocked about and wires are everywhere.

Occasionally something blocks the path of the omnivac nozzle. A mirror of the correct size / type for a quick look (not a full survey) would be ideal.

Delighted to be of help.

You've come round to the way of thinking that created the solution in the first place. All you want to know is whether there is a brick in the way or something like that. And for that purpose, the solution is more than adequate.

I'd humbly suggest that you go for a motorcycle rear view mirror. It will be bigger and more substantial and hence better able to take the inevitable knocks.