Pro Gutter Cleaner answers the question… How do you clean gutters on a two story house?
If you want to know “How do you clean gutters on a two story house?”…
Then this guide will show you everything you need to know…
Let’s get to it…
Rule number 1…
Don’t fall dagnamit!
Like I say to everyone who works with me, if at any point you don’t feel safe up there, don’t be up there…
Listen to those instincts…
If it doesn’t feel right, 9 times out of 10, it isn’t right for you…
Got it?
With that said, there are 2 main ways that us “Professional Gutter Cleaners” go about cleaning the gutters on a double story home…
And lucky you…
I’m going to reveal them to you right now…
The smart ones clean gutters on a double story with their feet planted firmly on the ground…
We use a gutter vacuum and a pole kit to suck the gutter debris out from the ground…
Like this…
You might be thinking that this isn’t an option for you but check this out…
You can get something like this from SkyVac and it will set you back about $4000…
Probably a little spicy for most, but if you like collecting tools, this could be a great addition to your kit…
For most, this is not an option…
If the Skyvac isn’t an option for you, this is how I recommend you clean the gutters on your two story house…
The best way is to call a professional gutter cleaner to do it for you…
I don’t recommend you do this yourself so what follows is the way I would do it if you were to call me out to clean your gutters…
I’d work out the safest way to get up and clean from the roof…
Here’s what I use…
- A harness
- A long extension ladder
- A short “A” frame ladder
- Tie off cables
- Anchor points
And most importantly…
15 years of experience working on roofs…
I’ve found that it’s safer to get up on the top story by setting an “A” Frame ladder or an extension ladder up on the first story rather than trying to set a ladder from the ground all the way up to the top story…
In my experience, climbing a shorter ladder to a lower height is the safest way…
So I look to see if there is a balcony on the top story that I can set my ladder up on…
Or if there is a roof at single story height that I can set my “A” Frame on…
I set my extension ladder from the ground to the first story and then I set my “A” Frame ladder over the pitch of the roof…
And then I tie it off to the roof above…
You can use an anchor point like the one below or slide the tiles back and tie it to the timber frame…
A couple of things to look out for…
If you set your ladder on a metal roof and then the roof gets wet, that ladder is going to slide out from under you…
So make sure you have something to foot the ladder in place…
I use something like a sandbag resting on the foot of my ladder or a roof anchor to stop it from sliding…
You might think this sounds like a dangerous way to reach your gutters on the second story, and quite frankly it is…
But climb up and down an extension ladder reaching 2 stories up then tell me which option feels safer…
Once you have a safe place to set your ladder up from the first story to the second story, you’ll reduce your risk significantly.
The thing is, you have to make sure you set your ladder up on a safe and sturdy footing…
I do this every day of the week, so I know what is safe and what isn’t but it’s not possible for me to pass that experience and knowledge to you in this blog post…
Before you climb up there, you should also check out my guide on ladder safety to make sure you’re up to speed setting up your ladder…
You know what?
Just call me if I’m in your area or call a local gutter cleaner to do this for you…
It’s not that expensive when you compare it to the expense of hospital bills…
You could buy all the ladders and safety equipment, then once you’re walking around on the top story of your home, suddenly realise that this isn’t for you…
I’ve had qualified roof plumbers and roofers start working with my company then freak out being that close to the edge of a two story roof…
They lasted one day then never came back…
This is not for the faint of heart…
If you need gutter cleaning on the Mornington Peninsula then you can call me on 0466183548…
We’ll let you know exactly how much this will cost for us to do it for you…
If you’re not on the Peninsula then Google search for your local gutter cleaner and let them help you out…
That’s about all from me…
If you’re a brave one, good luck…
Now you know how to clean gutters on a two story house, you should be fine…
Or if you choose the safe and easy route, good luck with your local gutter cleaner…
Sincerely,
Jason – The Two Story Gutter Cleaning Expert
