Notice to Landlords - How to avoid the 'F' words.

[Sez]

I thought that would get you to look, I'm not talking about the four lettered word you are all thinking of though, more Fire and Floods!!

I just thought I would take the opportunity to remind you all about the gutters on your IP's, often these get neglected and if they are not cleaned regularly not only do you risk fire and flood it will go a long way toward making your gutters rust early, cause pooling in your gutters resulting in mould and other lovely things.

The amount of large trees which are close to your property will determine how often you should have your gutters cleaned but once every 6 - 12 months is needed for most properties. Ask your PM if they have a reliable trade who can book this in on a re-occuring basis.

If you don't get them done and you end up with flooding you could be up for new flooring, plaster work, painting, window furnishings all for the sake of saving a few $$ on a gutter clean.

I hope this prompts a few people to check on their gutters!!!

 

[josko]

Thanks Sez,

Where were you one week ago?

Got a call from one agent on Wednesday, the back yard is flooded..one of the down pipes is blocked and to top it off the dishwasher has stopped working.

If I used the F word often, it was def a time to do it.

Regards JO

 

[Belbo]

I thought that would get you to look, I'm not talking about the four lettered word you are all thinking of though, more Fire and Floods!!

I just thought I would take the opportunity to remind you all about the gutters on your IP's, often these get neglected and if they are not cleaned regularly not only do you risk fire and flood it will go a long way toward making your gutters rust early, cause pooling in your gutters resulting in mould and other lovely things.

The amount of large trees which are close to your property will determine how often you should have your gutters cleaned but once every 6 - 12 months is needed for most properties. Ask your PM if they have a reliable trade who can book this in on a re-occuring basis.

If you don't get them done and you end up with flooding you could be up for new flooring, plaster work, painting, window furnishings all for the sake of saving a few $$ on a gutter clean.

I hope this prompts a few people to check on their gutters!!!

That goes for businesses too! Our 1500m2 factory roof managed to blow a gutter in the recent downpours and dump many thousands of litres of water directly over our inground marble-dust filtering water-recycling system. Result: White mud in the local drainage canal streching 1200m, requiring a $10K professional 'toxic spill' clean-up to prevent it reaching the ocean. (And now we have to spend another $10K to guarantee it never happens again by building in a backup overflow tank to siphon off re-filtered excess into the sewer system). And it's just calcium carbonate dust originating from the ocean floor! A not-fun, very expensive lesson in basic gutter maintenance.

 

[jaycee]

Damn it, something I need to do

 

[Dazz]

if they are not cleaned regularly not only do you risk fire and flood it will go a long way toward making your gutters rust early, cause pooling in your gutters resulting in mould and other lovely things.

I hope this prompts a few people to check on their gutters!!!

Yep, checked the gutters....no leaves, but oodles of water.

Fundamental problem - the ******* roof plumbers, bar none, without fail, always put the downpipes at the highest point of the gutter, therefore ensuring that the gutter is full of water permanently.

There isn't one property we have where the downpipes are at the lowpoint and therefore flow properly. You simply cannot fight gravity.

They know it, and I'm sure they do it on purpose. With our extension on our PPoR, I specifically went up to the tradie and said "Out of every tradie on-site we'll have, and there are about 15 in total - you are the guy I'll be watching the closest - cos your work, if done incorrectly, causes me the largest aount fo grief." Sure enough, the downpipes are in the high points and the gutters just sit full. I subsequently went around and drilled big drain holes at the low points so we don't have drainage problems anymore, but they know what they are doing and stuff it up every time.

Show me a downpipe - of the correct size at at the low point of the gutter run - and I'll show you a nice clean dry gutter, free of leaf matter and rust.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

I thought that would get you to look, I'm not talking about the four lettered word you are all thinking of though, more Fire

That's the exact four letter word I was thinking of. What kind of uncouth heathen do you think I am?

 

[weg]

cause pooling in your gutters resulting in mould and other lovely things.

I noticed only today that we were growing lush green grass in our PPOR gutter. My husband actually told the older boy to get up there and mow the lawn .

If you don't get them done and you end up with flooding you could be up for new flooring, plaster work, painting, window furnishings all for the sake of saving a few $$ on a gutter clean.

Demolishing that part of the house any day now.

Yep agree about the gutters though (even if I do have lawn growing in mine ).

 

[wylie]

With our extension on our PPoR, I specifically went up to the tradie and said "Out of every tradie on-site we'll have, and there are about 15 in total - you are the guy I'll be watching the closest - cos your work, if done incorrectly, causes me the largest aount fo grief." Sure enough, the downpipes are in the high points and the gutters just sit full. I subsequently went around and drilled big drain holes at the low points so we don't have drainage problems anymore, but they know what they are doing and stuff it up every time.

We must have a good plumber . Out gutters drain (but probably still are full of leaves). Last two little jobs he didn't charge us so we dropped off a slab of beer. We've given him a lot of work over the years.

That's why I'm peeved that our block fence man and our kitchen man have retired. Who do we trust now?

I'm surprised Dazz that that chap got off the property with his skin intact. I thought you were watching him closely?

 

[Dazz]

You'd be surprised at how hard it is to double check the tradie's work in the tiny amount of time he gives you between finishing the job and him leaving.

In summer, the only way to check if he's done it right, is to clamber onto the roof with a hose running full bore and literally water the entire roof for about 10 minutes and see what you have at the end of it.

Obviously, whilst you are doing that, he's madly packing up his tools and heading down the road. Accountability in the trades is very low indeed....just the way they like it.

_________


Bix box gutters the answer ?? Nope, some on our shopping centre are over 2 feet wide....but it doesn't matter.....if the downpipe is at the top end, the whole thing just sits there and festers.

Without fail, everytime I am out there, I jump up on the roof with a wee thin broom and give the 'troughs' a quick skim. Where the downpipes are at the bottom, everything is clear, everything is clean and no rust to be seen. Where the downpipes are in the middle or at the top of the run, there is fetid water, plenty of rust and plenty of rust / moss / leaves / dirt / muck.

Trying to get a roof plumber out that understands gravity and which way water will flow has been a personal Landlord bugbear of mine for years now.

It's the one thing the Tenants can stand there and have a bleat about and the Landlord has to fix. Roof plumbers - uurrgghhhhh.

 

[wobbycarly]

Two things a plumber needs to know:

1. Water runs downhill
2. It's not all water

Doesn't seem to hard to me!

 

[Don K]

Obviously, whilst you are doing that, he's madly packing up his tools and heading down the road. Accountability in the trades is very low indeed....just the way they like it.

LOL theoretically it is their job to check but maybe too much to ask if they do not understand gravity.

 

[Sez]

If nothing else at least I've got you all thinking about your gutters now! Hopefully you'll get in before any other expensive lessons are learned the hard way!!!