Would you walk up?

[Cozzer]

OK - here's my problem.
The gutter marked in yellow is forever getting silted up with leaves courtesy of nearby trees.
When it gets blocked, rain flies down the (white) gully, overshoots the yellow gutter and hammers on to the roof below.
This is an old photo - the extension roof shown has been replaced by "man made fibre cement slates".
Bottom left on photo shows the end of a conservatory, which protrudes far enough to stop a ladder getting to the (light blue) window, just below the main problem end of the gutter.
My bog-standard double ladder isn't long enough to reach "A", and even if it was possible, it's still circa 14 feet away from the problem. (In other words, yellow gutter is about 14' long)

I could just about get out through the window and reach up, but it doesn't fully open, and my back and legs aren't what they were!
I could lay a short ladder top-to-bottom on the extension, but there's only a plastic gutter at the bottom, and nothing to anchor it to at the top.
So the question is...if I use a (red) ladder, dare I walk up the afore-mentioned fibre cement slates?!

 

[Sachakins]

Lay a sheet of ply across them to spread the load when you walk up, just make sure it's secure from sliding about.

 

[Sideways]

No one'll thank you if you fall through the roof or fall off the ladder and cripple yourself.
Prudence first !

How about aluminium scaffold tower rented and assembled where the red line is right up to gutter level.
Ladder or planks or whatever on the slates from the top of the red line to below the right hand window.
Cord from the end of that through the bottom of that right hand window so the planks can't take off and ski down the roof.
A fall protection harness too (they're not expensive) tethered through that window so you can't slide down the roof and fall to the ground. Keep the tether short enough to keep you on the roof and phone in your pocket for when you have to call the fire brigade to rescue you !!!

 

[johna.clements]

Gutter cleaning hose from the ground.

 

[Stigmorgan]

Or pay someone with insurance to do the job for you

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Get someone in to do it. It will cost no more than buying kit or renting scaffolding. Many window cleaners will have the gear to jet the gutters from ground level.

That way you stay fit and healthy.

 

[Jacob]

Did a similar thing working over a lean-to roof with a tower scaffold. One end reached the ground the other end sat on a sheet of ply sitting on an old bed mattress on the lean to roof. These were loosely tied in so they couldn't slip out of place and the tower had stabiliser struts too.
Old bed mattresses are two a penny - there's always someone glad to be rid of one to save them carrying it to the tip.
Or get a longer ladder to reach point A and also get a 14' bamboo pole with some sort of scraper on the end.

 

[Dave Moore]

Hi,
if you have access to the area hire a mewp(mobile elevated work platform)and while you are up there fit some gutter guard to stop the gutters filling up again with leaves. Clips in place and is not expensive.
Regards,
Dave

 

[clogs]

bigger gutters with more pitch.....?
if you try to swill/clean it with water BUT not remove the dross.....it'll block the down pipe....
at least a gutter guard will keep out the big stuff.......

 

[Seascaper]

Get someone in to do it. It will cost no more than buying kit or renting scaffolding. Many window cleaners will have the gear to jet the gutters from ground level.

That way you stay fit and healthy.

Hello,
Trouble with that these days is the first thing they will say is “because of health & safety scaffold is needed” and there you go.......
Use the ladder you have and then make up some roofing ladders, these are simply made from roofing batten but you can make them up from wood you might have. In this case fix them to something attached to the eaves and lay them flat on the tiles to spread the load. The difficult part will be getting from your ladder onto your roofing ladder and this is where a scaffold tower makes it 10 times easier. You can hire all this from your local hire shop, but you might have to book the tower due to popularity. Fibre cement are cheap and easy to replace should you break any, just make sure you use the right copper fixings. If you have to remove any to replace them use a roof slaters tool that you slip up under the slate, find the fixing and use this tool to cut it, it saves breaking the slates.
Regards

 

[imageel]

I feel for you, tbh the only safe way to get access to that is with scaffolding and boards laid to spread the roof load and protect the tiles, any other route is likely to be sketchy or down-right dangerous.
I recently had a similar problem where a short section of a roof valley seems to trap moss and debris and after the dry summer and now torrential rains has resulted in the bend in the gutter adjacent to the valley getting completely blocked. Access to this via conventional 3-tier ladder and stand-offs is hampered by the fact my eaves are quite deep and the usual standoff is inadequate to clear them, and also a bathroom window below limits the wall area one can safely bear the stand-off.
After mulling this over for a while, literally earlier this week, I realised that I could almost but not quite reach the gutter and offending blockage by leaning out the bathroom window.....
I did some vague calcs as to the length, angles and required offset and knocked up this Heath Robinson holder into which I could mount a small border trowel, and hook that over the gutter edge and scoop up the detritus.
It worked remarkably well, albeit a wooden clamp I'd fabbed broke in use, however a small cramp fixed that and I managed to clear it out all from the comfort of my bathroom. Here's a picture of the contraption screwed onto an old broom handle-

 

[Blackswanwood]

I would hire a ladder to get to point A and then use a set of drain rods with one of these …

https://www.screwfix.com/p/half-round-gutter-clearing-tool/6381p

 

[clogs]

if u want to scrape it out....
I used a bean tin screwed on the eng of a 40x40mm wood latt....
laying the gutter and just pull it towards u....
I had a load of corrugated cement roofing sheets to clean on a chicken shed....

 

[Spectric]

Could you not approach from the other side, ladder upto roof and then roofers ladder to ridge and then turn that round and descend to the gutter with something on a pole to push out anything in gutter. The best and safest method is to maybe hire a cherry picker or use scaffolding.

 

[Pedronicus]

I would hire a ladder to get to point A and then use a set of drain rods with one of these …

https://www.screwfix.com/p/half-round-gutter-clearing-tool/6381p

Many thanks for the link. Now ordered one as I have lost count of the number of times that I have tried to fabricate a suitable scraper!

 

[bourbon]

I'd be getting someone in. As you say yourself your back and legs aren't what they used to be. That's young man's game!

 

[Fergie 307]

Once you have cleaned it out definitely worth installing a guard, or one of the bustle type ones that lays in the gutter. The latter is easier when access is awkward as you can just feed them along. I have both types and any big stuff lays on top then blows away once you get a bit of wind.

 

[Richard_C]

Years ago a friend lived in a house on a steep hill, access to gutters and upstairs windows all but impossible. He was a climber/mountain rescue leader so would exit his bedroom window and climb or rappel to various bits using eyebolts he had fixed in the wall. Sadly most of us don't have those skills.

Back to your problem, my advice is get someone in to do it. We all hate to do that if it's something we are technically capable of.. Access to my gutters is easy, ladder with stand off, (but I am nervous working on a ladder). This spring I replaced the plastic gutters on one side of the house, technically dead easy but getting all the old stuff off was a real pain. A few scary moments as things that wouldn't budge suddenly did, there you are at the top of a ladder with a long chunk of broken plastic in your hand. It took all day, very hard on leg and shoulder muscles, and I have decided that even though I can do it, at 70 I don't want to do it any more. Resolved to pay someone to do the back of the house next year. Just not worth the risk.

Looking at your pictures, I wouldn't be going up there.

 

[Pedronicus]

Once you have cleaned it out definitely worth installing a guard, or one of the bustle type ones that lays in the gutter. The latter is easier when access is awkward as you can just feed them along. I have both types and any big stuff lays on top then blows away once you get a bit of wind.

Unless you have a moss problem and then the bloody stuff starts attaching itself to the bristles on the 'gutter hedgehogs'!

 

[dzj]

Perhaps something like this?