how gutter guards can save you money - blue mountain...

How gutter guards can save you money

bluemountainmesh.com.au 1

HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS + A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide + + 2013

CALCULATING THE REAL COST OF (NOT) CLEANING YOUR GUTTERS

Aussies are a house proud bunch. After decades of chasing the great Australian dream, we’ve now adopted renovation and DIY as our new property regime.

Building approvals for home renovations totalled $6.35 billion in 2012, or around $500 million every month, and figures suggest the renovating bug shows no signs of abating, with homeowners keen to increase the value of their home or upgrade to a better standard of living (realestate.com.au 2013).

While we tend to spend a lot of time and money choosing internal fixtures and fittings, many people overlook the importance of maintaining the roof and gutters to protect all that hard work and money spent on our homes.

When it comes to gutter cleaning, we tend to fall into two camps – adopting either an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ no maintenance program; or the ‘she’ll be right’ approach of climbing the ladder and doing it ourselves. Both camps have inherent risks.

Blocked gutters can lead to flooding, causing extensive damage to roof and ceiling areas, walls and floors, and destroying precious home contents. They can also lead to pest infestation and pose a fire risk due to a build up of debris in the gutters. However, gutter cleaning (like any home maintenance job that involves ladders) can be very dangerous, with almost 20 Australians dying each year after falls from ladders.

This paper will look at:

+ The importance of keeping gutters clean

+ How gutter guards can save you money – and possibly your life – by removing a range of household risks

+ An economic model which calculates the actual, tangible cost benefits of installing gutter guards

+ Why Blue Mountain Mesh provides superior protection to other gutter guard systems.

+ One of the key areas of maintenance on a home is the roof and gutters.

+ Blocked gutters can lead to flooding, causing extensive damage to roof and ceiling areas, walls and floors, and destroying precious home contents.

+ A recognised way to prevent blocked gutters is to invest in a gutter guard.

+ Gutter mesh can save you money in maintenance bills and protect your home when things go wrong. It can also reduce the need to undertake risky DIY cleaning jobs up ladders.

+ It only takes one leaf too many to clog a gutter and cause you serious problems; don’t let one leaf end up costing you thousands in damage to your most important assets – your health and your home.

Photo : GUTTER KNIGHT, Aug 2013



WHY WE HAVE GUTTERS

Gutters may not be very glamorous – but they are actually one of the unsung heroes of your home. Their main function is to transport water away from the roof, either into a drainpipe or water collection and storage system. Without gutters, water can flow toward the walls, seep into cracks and get inside, causing extensive flood and moisture damage. Water can collect next to the foundations of your home, which can cause serious structural damage.

A gutter does a good job of removing this water, so long as it is properly maintained. Blockages are common and gutters require ongoing maintenance to ensure they can function properly.

What’s lurking in your gutter? + Grass and plants growing in gutters and stopping water

flow

+ Moss build up

+ Gutter blocked with leaves and debris

+ Pests including possums and birds making nests

Sometimes you can’t see the problem from the ground; and you won’t always notice the overflow until damage is done.

PLANTS AND OTHER PESTS COMMONLY FOUND IN GUTTERS

Photo : 1. NEIL CHAMPION, Nov 2010; 2. BRIAN SNELSON, Jul 2006; 3. 500PX, Nov 2011; 4. JAMES GATHANY, CDC, Feb 2006; 5. TED GARVIN, Dec 2007; 6. TEMPORALATA, Nov 2010

1 4

6

5

2

3

A gutter collects the storm water that lands on your roof; and directs it away from your house into a drainage or storage system.

WHAT CAUSES A BLOCKED GUTTER?

Fallen leaves, dirt and debris get washed or blown off the roof into our gutters every day. Even without rain, condensation will mix with this dirt to form a sludge in your gutters, which can build up at an alarming rate and cause corrosion damage to the guttering itself over time. The wetter the climate, the more likely it is that moss and other build up will occur. Guttering also tends to be a haven for pests, including birds, possums and insects who use your gutter as their home and breeding ground.



WHY IS IT A PROBLEM IF YOUR GUTTERS BECOME BLOCKED?

Blocked gutters and downpipes mean the water can’t drain properly, causing the gutters to back up and overflow over the back of the gutter during and after heavy rain and storms. This can lead to water entering the house via the roof, eaves and ceiling cavities, overflowing onto verandas, terraces and stair slabs and flowing into the downstairs rooms; flooding internally or causing drainage problems around the foundations.

The big issue is that you probably won’t know you’ve got a blockage until it’s too late, as the signs can be hard to spot from the ground. Typically, flooding occurs in the middle of a storm or heavy rain, so you might find yourself struggling to clear blocked gutters in wet and dangerous conditions. Flooding also has the potential to be very expensive and extremely inconvenient to fix.

Heavy rain and storms can block gutters and lead to water damage inside the home. Photo : KEITH WATSON, Nov 2004; JOE MANLEY, Nov 2009

FLOODING CAUSED BY BLOCKED GUTTERS

In 2008, NRMA Insurance received 48,000 storm-related claims, with overflowing gutters cited as one of the four most common reasons for water entering homes (SMH 2009).

It’s a problem experienced roofer, Geoff Finnegan, owner of Queensland roofing company Hats4Houses has seen many times.

“I come across various homes where either leaf litter or hail damage has caused water to back up into the valleys of the roof and cause flooding.

“The gutters are blocked so the water has nowhere to go. It gets under the roof sheets and into the ceiling cavity. It’s a real headache for people and can be very expensive if you have to replace everything.”

According to Geoff, installing a gutter guard would stop a large percentage of this problem occurring.

“You can’t say it will never happen, but it would certainly stop the problem in most cases and alleviate the stress and expense for a lot of people.”

Overflowing gutters are

one of the four most

common reasons for

water entering homes

during storms - NRMA

Insurance (SMH 2009)

HOW GUTTER PROTECTION WORKS

A gutter guard (also known as gutter mesh) provides a long term solution to solve this problem by preventing the majority of debris from entering the gutter in the first place. There are various types of gutter protection systems on the market today.

Over-the-gutter systems that form a physical barrier to prevent leaves and debris from entering gutters offer a long term solution to minimise the risk of gutters flooding. Typically constructed using either steel or aluminium mesh, this form of gutter protection ensures year round low-maintenance protection that keeps gutters from getting blocked, preventing flooding of eaves, ceiling and wall cavities; and extra protection from hail and flooding rains during storms.



The ski-slope design of over-the-gutter gutter protection systems ensures that leaves and debris are blown off the roof through wind action whilst water is drawn through the mesh into the gutter. This form of gutter protection is highly superior to other in-gutter systems (e.g. gutter coils, foam or brushes) which don’t stop debris from entering the gutter and can lead to a myriad of other problems (clogging, dislodging and risk of falls from DIY installation and need for more regular cleaning and maintenance).

WAYS TO SAVE BY INVESTING IN A GUTTER GUARD

The costs of leaving your gutters to fend for themselves can really add up, depending on a range of circumstances. While they may be difficult to predict, many of the following issues may be more common that you think.

When you compare the one-off costs of installing a gutter protection system versus how much you spend annually on cleaning and maintenance, and the potential costs of what could go wrong with your gutters, it definitely pays to invest to protect the value of your home. Prevention is better than the cure – in more ways than one.

(Service Central 2012)

Gutters without gutter guards

Gutters with gutter guards

How often you need to clean

Every 3 months

Every 12 months

Average annual cost ($250/clean)

$1,000

$250

REGULAR GUTTER CLEANING COSTS

(Archicentre 2013)

GUTTER & DOWNPIPES REPLACEMENT COSTS(Average house with 70m guttering and four

downpipes, supplied and fitted)

Zincalume

Colorbond

Per linear metre

Whole house

Per linear metre

Whole house

$30 – $48

$2,540 – $3,400

$36 – $56

$3,000 – $4,020

SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE ANNUAL CLEANING COSTSHow often should you clean your gutters? It really depends on your property.

Do you live in a leafy suburb? Is your home surrounded by trees? If the answer is yes, you may find yourself needing to clean your gutters every three months to prevent them getting clogged with leaves and debris. However, even regular cleaning has inherent risks and can fail.

A significant storm event or even a few days of windy weather can deposit significant debris onto the roof and into your gutters, causing blockages. If followed by heavy rain, enormous amounts of water can back up onto the roof, run down behind sidings and flashings, and penetrate to interior walls.

No gutter protection system is completely maintenance free; you will still need to check your gutters every year and flush out the sludge that can damage your gutters if left. However, installing a gutter guard greatly reduces the number of times you’ll need to clean your gutters, saving you money and reducing the risk of falls.

SAVE ON REPLACING RUSTED GUTTERS

All environments are corrosive to some degree, although certain environments create more intense breeding conditions for rust than others. Cleaning your gutters regularly can help prevent gutter rust. Without proper cleaning, debris left in gutters breaks down and forms a destructive sludge. Over time, this sludge causes rust to form. Your gutters will eventually stop working properly and will need to be replaced – which can set you back thousands. This can occur in as little as 10 years. A gutter that has been cleaned regularly and protected with a gutter guard will at least double this life expectancy – protecting your home for 20 years plus.

Diagram of ski-slope / Over the gutter design



SAVE ON HOME INSURANCE PREMIUMS

We’re paying a lot more for our home and contents insurance than ever before. Premium costs for home and contents insurance have significantly increased across all of Australia as a direct result of the natural disasters that have been experienced in recent years. If you have to claim on a policy due to an issue with your gutter, the premiums will almost certainly go up in the future and you may not recover all of your costs.

AVOID THE COST OF REMOVING PESTS FROM YOUR ROOF SPACE

Unprotected gutters are a haven for pests seeking food and shelter. Rotting gutter debris provides a perfect breeding ground for mice, snakes, spiders, cockroaches, beetles and mosquitoes - all of which spread disease – including nasties like salmonella, staphylococcus, streptococcus, polio, allergies and encephalitis.

Possums can also often enter roofs through damaged gutters looking for a place to nest when their natural nesting sites have been removed. While not pests, they can certainly be very annoying by keeping you awake at night, and cause considerable damage to your insulation and roof cavity.

Under the Wildlife Act 1975 possums are protected, meaning they must not be harmed or kept in cages; something to remember if you’re thinking of removing a possum from your roof.

If a possum is causing damage in your roof cavity, they can be removed but need to be released within 50 metres of the capture site that day. People who breach the law with regard to possums - baiting possums with poison, for example - can face fines of up to $5000.

Noise aside, they can cause considerable damage to weatherboards, plasterboard and even wiring. The safest and more effective option would be to hire a professional. All pest control and removal comes at a cost, and these costs will vary depending on your house and pest problem. But the cost that can be incurred by their unchecked damage can be even greater.

AVOID THE COST OF REPLACING PEST-AFFECTED INSULATION

Possums often urinate and defecate on ceiling plaster, causing stains and foul smells. They can also tear insulation to shreds, meaning it won’t retain heat properly. If you have rats or mice in your ceiling space, they may build nests as well, making the issue worse. The damage and contamination can pose a serious health hazard for you and your family.

Insulation removal is a messy and potentially dangerous job unless undertaken by experienced professionals. As it’s such an unpleasant job, it can cost up to $4,000 depending on the size of your roof and the difficulty of access into your roof.

Brushtail possum showing its head through a hole it has clawed through the plaster of a ceiling in an Australian home. Photo : ROSSRS, May 2009

Australia’s native brushtail possum.Photo : JIMEE, JACKIE, TOM & ASH

(Canstar 2012)

AVERAGE HOME INSURANCE COSTS

INSURED COVER

Low

High

COVERAGE $ AMOUNT

$375,000

$650,000

COVERAGE

Home & Contents

Home & Contents

NATIONAL AVERAGE COST 2012

$1,324

$1,740

(DSE Victoria 2013, Whirlpool forums 2013)

COST OF PESTS IN YOUR ROOF SPACE

Possum removal

Insulation removal and replacement

Fines if you get caught trying to relocate a possum yourself

$250 to $400

$2,500 to $4,000 depending roof size and access

Up to $5000 under the Wildlife Act 1975(DSE Victoria)



PROTECT THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME

Damage from overflowing gutters can be expensive to fix, there can also be significant impact on the value of your home if yours or any of the houses in your street has overflowing gutters.

A study by the UK’s Churchill home insurance found that 98% of estate agents said that an unsightly or poorly maintained neighbouring property has a negative impact on the price potential buyers will pay for a home (Churchill 2013). So it pays to keep an eye on your own gutters – as well as those on your neighbours’ homes – to protect the value of your home.

By comparison, the investment required to protect your home with a more long term option like steel gutter mesh (on the average Australian home) is between $1500-$2,000 fully installed. This could pay for itself several times over when the time comes to sell your house through improved valuations and by eliminating potential issues with building and pest inspections.

Top 5 eyesores affecting property values are:1. Broken or boarded up windows

2. Rubbish or junk in the front garden or drive

3. Overflowing gutters

4. Unsightly or imposing extensions and DIY

5. Run down vehicles in the front drive

(Churchill Insurance 2013)

WHAT WOULD YOU PAY TO PROTECT YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET?The cost to protect the average Australian home with gutter guards:

Gutter Protection Solution installed – reducing the risks

• Cost to get gutter guards installed $2,000

Gutter Protection Solution installed – maintenance costs

• Cost to get gutters cleaned $ 250 annually

Compare this with the costs of what could go wrong if you leave yourself, and your home, unprotected:

No Gutter Protection – adding up the risks

• Cost to replace rusted gutters $3,500

• Cost to remove pests from your roof space $ 400

• Cost to remove & replace pest affected insulation $3,200

$8,100 TOTAL

No Gutter Protection – maintenance costs

• Cost to have open/gutters without gutter protection cleaned every three months $1,000 annually

(all figures based on average and approximate costs)

A new study by the UK’s Churchill home insurance found that 98% of estate agents said that an unsightly or poorly maintained neighbouring property has a negative impact on the price potential buyers will pay for a home



PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE RISK OF INJURY

To clean or not to clean? The risks of DIY gutter cleaning

While it’s very important to look after your roof and gutters, this advice comes with conditions attached. Every day homeowners are climbing ladders to wash the exterior of their homes, examine gutters, paint walls or make repairs. Unfortunately, people are also falling from ladders and sustaining serious injuries.

You don’t have to fall from too high off a ladder to sustain a serious injury, with only 1-2 metres being enough to risk fractured limbs, spinal cord damage, severe brain injury or even death as a result.

Men at or nearing retirement age are at the greatest risk of being injured or killed from falling from a ladder when doing maintenance around the home.

Minimising the risks of ladder falls

On average, 19.4 Australians — mainly men — die each year after falling from a ladder. According to the Australian National Coroners Information System:

+ Most people who died after falling from ladders were over 50 years old

+ 32 per cent of deaths were in the 70-79 year age group

+ 96 per cent of fatalities were male

+ Over 85 per cent of deaths occur in non-occupational activities (ie not at work)

+ 34 per cent of these deaths occur during home maintenance activities

A study on the relationship between slips, trips and falls and the design and construction of buildings (Monash University 2008) made a number of recommendations to reduce the risks of a fall from heights injury, including providing features such as hinged gutters and gutter guards.

Installing gutter guards is a long term solution that will reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do to keep your roof and gutters in good shape. It could literally save your life.

The ACCC makes it clear that using ladders is a dangerous pastime (ACCC 2009)

You don’t have to fall far off a ladder to be seriously injured: 1-2 metres can be enough. Fractured limbs, spinal cord damage, severe brain injury or even death can result.

At least 83 Australians, mainly mean, have died after falling from a ladder over the past five years. Thousands more have been seriously injured while using a ladder for home repairs and renovations, as well as gardening tasks.

Men at or nearing retirement age are in the highest risk category for this type of

accident.

DEATH AND INJURY RISKWORKING ON A LADDER

19.4 Australians - mainly men - die every year after falling from a ladder

Think twice before you get up a ladder to clean your gutters

Man falls while cleaning guttersCareFlight Trauma team flies to fall injury 11 November 2012

“A man’s weekend effort to clean up around his Oyster Bay home, on the

Georges River in Sydney’s south, left him in hospital with multiple fractures.

A CareFlight trauma team flew to the man’s aid following a request from ambulance paramedics treating him shortly before midday.

The helicopter landed in a nearby park so the crew doctor could team with paramedics treating the man at his home.

The CareFlight doctor said the 45-year-old man fell an estimated five metres from the roof of his house onto pavers when he slipped while cleaning leaves from gutters.

CareFlight doctors work to stabilise a man after a ladder fall.Photo : CAREFLIGHT, Nov 2012

The fall left the man with multiple fractures to his arms, wrists and face. After stabilisation the man was taken ... to St George Hospital where he remained in a serious but stable condition on arrival.”

(CareFlight 2012)

What value do you put on your health – or your life - or that of your partner?Think twice before you get up a ladder to clean your gutters. Consider your other options like installing gutter guards.



Photo : EMKNOWLEDGE HUB, Oct 2008

SOME OTHER GOOD REASONS TO KEEP YOUR GUTTERS CLEANReduce the risk of fires spreading

A gutter filled with leaves and debris is a dangerous source of

fuel for bushfires. Research has shown that the main cause of

house fire during bushfire is from ember attack, where burning

parts of trees (e.g. twigs, branches, leaves) are carried by winds

and lodge in gutters, under doorways, roof spaces or windows

and start internal fires (CFA n.d.). Over 85% of fires that destroy

homes are started this way. Ember guards form part of strict new

construction standards for properties built in bushfire prone areas

in an attempt to mitigate the risks to people and property.

Look after your family’s health

Leaks in ceilings and walls can lead to extra moisture in the home, which encourages mould and mildew to grow. This can cause irritation in some people, and more severe health problems in others. Infants, children, pregnant women, individuals with existing respiratory problems and the elderly are all at greater risk. The best way to avoid these problems is to take precautions to eliminate the growing conditions that would lead to mould appearing in the first place – keeping your home dry and damp-free – which means making sure your roof and gutters are doing their job properly, keeping water away from your home (WA Department of Health 2013).

IN SUMMARYNo gutter protection solution is maintenance free; however, installing gutter guards greatly reduces the need for regular maintenance activity on the roof and gutter. Quality gutter guard systems are largely self cleaning, which means that any small, fine matter that enters the gutter is washed away with the slightest rain. This will increase the life of your gutters by minimising the moist conditions that lead to corrosion and eliminate the need to clean out your gutters more than once a year.

When you consider that you only have to fall 1-2 metres off a ladder to suffer serious injuries - anything to reduce the

number of times you have to access your roof via a ladder is an investment in your own safety and the security of your family. A gutter guard provides a cost-effective solution to managing risk and protecting your home, with the average installation costing between $1500-$2,000 fully installed.

When you compare the costs of installation vs what could go wrong with your gutters, it definitely pays to invest to protect the value of your home, and ensure your own safety. We always say prevention is better than cure, but in this case, your hip pocket will thank you too.



HOW CAN THE RH GROUP HELP?

The RH Group is an Australian company driven to help every person and every community make the most of their environmental assets.

We design, manufacture and wholesale high quality and sustainable water, environmental and trade products for Australian and international markets. We work with governments, retailers, distributors and consumers all over the world to find smarter, more innovative solutions to challenges created by our environment, and in doing so, create more sustainable futures.

Our Blue Mountain Mesh advanced gutter protection system offers homeowners protection from a range of environmental hazards, including flooding during storms and ember attack during bushfire.

ABOUT BLUE MOUNTAIN MESH

Born out of fire. The inspiration behind Blue Mountain Mesh’s all-steel gutter mesh came from the most tragic circumstances: watching a man trying in vain to save his family home from a savage bushfire, fuelled by an abundance of leaves and debris in the home’s gutters.

Blue Mountain Mesh products prevent leaves and debris from entering gutters and downpipes. The all steel, fire resistant gutter mesh minimises gutter maintenance and improves the quality of rain water collected for tanks. The proprietary hot dipped zinc coated and oven baked manufacturing process offers superior corrosion and heat resistance, providing superior protection for homes over the longer term.

We look forward to opportunities to help more Australians reduce risk and protect themselves and their greatest assets. For more information on our all steel, custom-made gutter protection products visit www.bluemountainmesh.com.au or call 1800 612 908.

WHY CHOOSE BLUE MOUNTAIN MESH?

+ Blue Mountain All Steel Gutter Mesh® is hot dipped galvanised, zinc coated steel which provides a corrosion resistant layer.

+ Our zinc coated corrosion resistant steel mesh is strong and durable and will stand the test of time

+ Our entire range is bushfire compliant and conforms to the Australian Standard for the Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas (AS3959-2009) and the updated Australian Standard for the ember guard protection of sheet roofs (AS3959-2009/Amdt 2011).

+ Our unique steel profile ensures our steel mesh lies perfectly flat and means the finished product looks like a seamless addition to your roof.

+ Our mesh fits all gutter profiles and can be adapted for all roof types, custom made and available in a choice of over 30 colours.

+ We offer a 12 year warranty based on minimum performance that we expect from our product. Results from independent tests offer a far longer projected life span with 12 years being the most conservative estimate.



REFERENCES

Archicentre 2013, Renovation & Extension Costs, Repair & Maintenance, New Building Cost Guide, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.archicentre.com.au/images/stories/pdfs/Archicentre-Cost-Guide.pdf>.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 2006, Using a ladder - Safety alert, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.productsafety.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/973027/fromItemId/974347>.

Canstar 2013, Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings, Report No. 5 September 2012, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.canstar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/home-and-contents-insurance-oct-2012.pdf>.

Churchill Home Insurance 2013, Everybody needs good neighbours: They add £19,399 to the value of your property, accessed 1 September 2013, <http://www.churchill.com/pressReleases/2013/12032013.htm>.

Country Fire Authority (CFA) Victoria (n.d.), How fire behaves, accessed 1 August 2013, <http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/how-fire-behaves/

Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria 2013, Living with Possums in Victoria, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/plants-and-animals/native-plants-and-animals/problem-wildlife/possums/possum-faq>.

Jones, H 2013, ‘Renovations on the rise’, www.realestate.com.au, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/renovations-on-the-rise>.

Outback Insulation 2013, Insulation removal, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://www.outbackinsulation.com.au/Insulation-Removal>.

Service Central 2013, How much does it cost to get your gutters cleaned, accessed 8 August 2013, <https://www.servicecentral.com.au/article/gutter-clean-pricing-how-much-does-it-cost-to-get-your-gutters-cleaned/746/>.

Western Australian Department of Health 2013, Mould and condensation in your home, accessed 1 September 2013, <http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/cproot/2887/2/Mould%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf>.

Whirlpool Forums 2013, accessed 8 August 2013, <http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1789689>.

how gutter guards can save you money - blue mountain...

Documents