Tarrant Monkton gutter cleaning, valleys and all
On an old range the water that does the damage is rarely in the gutter. We clear the valleys as well, and prove every outlet takes what the roof sends it.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
Clear the valley before you worry about the eaves. On the long low ranges through the Tarrant valley the channel between two pitches carries more water than any gutter on the building, and when it packs it goes under the tiles rather than over a front edge.
That is why the call so often starts indoors. A brown ring appears on a bedroom ceiling, or a beam end goes dark, and everybody looks at the roof covering. The covering is fine. The valley behind it has been full of leaf litter and moss since the autumn before last.
So the visit covers the whole rainwater route, not the front elevation. Every eaves run emptied by hand, every valley and back gutter cleared, the outlets picked out, and water put through each downpipe until it comes out at the shoe. You get told what was in each one and shown a photograph of anything that has already started to rot. The site visit and the written itemised quote are free.
The work
Eaves, valleys and the water you cannot see
An old range has more places for water to collect than a modern house does, and only one of them is visible from the lane.
The eaves runs. Debris comes out by hand into a bag rather than being flushed along, because a flush through a full gutter simply packs the outlet harder. Leaf litter, moss washed down off the tiles and the fine silt beneath it all come out. Where a run is cast iron the joints are treated gently, because the sockets are brittle and the bolts through them are usually seized.
Valleys, and why they matter more here. Wherever two pitches meet, or a rear outshut joins the main roof, the valley takes the water off both slopes at once. It is narrow, it is usually lead, and it sits below the level of the tiles either side, so anything that lands in it stays. A blocked valley does not overflow neatly. It rises until it is above the tile lap and then runs backwards under the covering, which is how a clear roof produces a stained ceiling. Valleys are cleared by hand, then flushed, and the lead checked for splits while we are there.
Outlets, hoppers and downpipes. Older buildings often send two or three runs into one hopper head and one pipe. That pipe is doing the work of several, and the hopper collects everything above it. Both get emptied, then water goes in at the top and we watch where it comes out. If it does not arrive at the shoe, the blockage is in the pipe rather than the gutter and we say so.
Falls, brackets and joints. A run that has held wet debris for several winters drops in the middle and then drips over the front edge even when empty. It gets re-hung: brackets off, the line realigned to a fall towards the outlet, the run refixed. A weeping joint gets a new union seal or a re-bedded socket rather than sealant over the outside.
What the water has already done. Fascia and soffit first, then brickwork, flint or render below, then damp on the inside face. Green staining down a wall under one joint dates the problem better than anybody's memory, and we photograph it so you can see what you are paying to stop.
How it runs
From your call to a written price
Same team from first visit to last, one person to ring, and no sub-contracting your work out to somebody you have never met. The quote is itemised, not a figure on the back of a card: access, the length of run, the number of outlets and downpipes, any repair, and where the debris goes on separate lines, so you can compare it properly against anyone else's.
Nothing is left open or unusable overnight. The site is swept at the end of each day rather than the end of the job, and what comes out leaves with us. If something turns up once we start that nobody could have seen, you get a photograph and a price before we carry on.
Clearing and like for like repair are maintenance, so there is no planning application and nothing for building control to sign off. Only new or altered rainwater drainage sits under Approved Document H. Appearance is the part that is controlled. The Tarrant Valley Conservation Area covers the village and there are twenty-seven listed entries in and around the parish, some closer to neighbouring settlements than to the street, and on a listed building changing cast iron for plastic needs listed building consent first. We check an address with Dorset Council before anything is altered.
Cost
What decides the price of a gutter clean
No rate per square metre, because a metre of gutter behind a conifer and a metre on an open gable are not the same metre.
Getting to it. A thatched or tiled cottage with a low eaves run you can nearly touch, a long farm range with a valley down the middle, and a converted outbuilding with a single pipe serving both slopes are three different set-ups before anybody starts. A bungalow run comes off a ladder or a pole, a three storey gable wants a tower, and a valley gutter between two roofs wants a proper platform. The work at height rules are why the access is a priced line rather than something absorbed into a rate.
What is in it, and how far it has travelled. Leaf litter lifts out in minutes. Moss washed off the tiles sets into a wet mat that has to be dug out, and silt in a long run behind a hedge is heavier and slower than anything a photograph shows. The number of outlets matters more than the length, because that is where it packs.
Whether it is a clean or a repair. A joint that drips once it is running again, a downpipe blocked at the shoe, a length of plastic that has sagged between brackets: none of that is clearing, and it is the part that decides whether you are booking an hour or half a day.
Comparing quotes? Ask whether the downpipes are being run through or just the gutter cleared, whether the outlets and hoppers are checked, whether it is a clear or a clear and a check for leaks, and who takes the debris away. Two quotes for the same job are usually two different jobs.
If it is overflowing now
Water coming over the gutter in heavy rain
Ring rather than use the form. Water running down a wall in a downpour soaks the brickwork and finds its way to a ceiling faster than most people expect, so a blocked outlet in a wet week goes to the front of the queue. We clear it, run water through to prove it, and tell you honestly if what you actually have is a broken joint rather than a blockage. If the sign of it is a stain on a ceiling rather than water outside, say so, because that points straight at a valley and it moves you up the list. The phone is answered 24 hours for emergencies; scheduled work runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Worth knowing
A valley gives you no warning at all
The thing that catches people out in this valley is that a gutter tells you it is blocked and a valley does not. An eaves gutter that has stopped working puts water over the front edge in the first heavy shower, in full view, and somebody rings. A valley fills quietly, holds a wet mat of leaf and moss all winter, and gives no sign whatever from the ground. By the time it shows, it is showing on a ceiling or in a beam end, and the repair is a great deal more than a clean.
So on any building here with more than one pitch, ask specifically whether the valleys are included and whether they will be cleared by hand rather than blown through from below. A pole and a vacuum are the right tool for an eaves run and the wrong tool for a valley, because you cannot see into one from the ground and pushing debris up a valley only moves it under the tiles. Book it in autumn once the leaves are down, and get the valleys and the eaves done in the same visit while the access is already paid for.
Who you are dealing with
A local firm you can check
We cover Tarrant Monkton, Tarrant Keyneston, Tarrant Hinton, Pimperne and into Blandford Forum, broadly DT11, under Dorset Council. You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.
Questions
Tarrant Monkton questions we get asked
Is the valley included when you clear the gutters?
On this sort of building it has to be, and we price it as its own line so you can see it. A valley takes water off two slopes at once and it is the thing most likely to be causing a mark on a ceiling. It is cleared by hand and then flushed.
Why is there a stain on the ceiling when the roof looks sound?
Because water backing up in a valley or a hidden gutter rises above the tile lap and runs backwards under the covering. Nothing shows outside. That is the failure mode people spend money chasing on the roof itself before anybody looks in the valley.
Can everything be done from the ground with a pole?
The eaves runs, often yes. A valley, no. You cannot see into a valley from below and blowing debris up one pushes it under the tiles. Anything that needs looking into properly gets a ladder or a tower, and that is priced honestly rather than pretended away.
How often does a long old range need doing?
Once a year in autumn as a minimum, after the leaves are down. If there are mature trees over the roof the valleys are worth checking again in spring, because a valley that packs in February has the whole wet half of the year to do damage.
Will you look at the lead while you are in the valley?
Yes, and we will tell you what we see. Old lead splits along the fold and lifts at the ends, and a valley that has been full of wet debris for years is the likeliest place to find it. We photograph anything doubtful rather than quietly cover it over.
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Get the valleys cleared with the gutters
Thomas comes out, clears every run and valley by hand, proves each downpipe and sends a written itemised quote with the valley shown on its own line. Free.