General Chat

We had heavy rain yesterday and last night, just before going to bed our rear picture window developed a very nasty leak. Checked the gutter this morning and it was full of moss :-|

The rain was from the tail end of a cyclone we knew nothing about

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/ex-cyclone-ikola-dumps-big-rain-across-southern-wa-and-more-to-come/story-fnhocxo3-1227297431917?sv=8d28752ec9981e6f5acf05a4f8925534

Then, again this morning, I had a Doctor's appointment. Went to start the car....flat battery. Called out the RAC and had to have a new battery fitted....$198.00, thank you! :-|

To be fair, the battery was nine years old

Then while I had the ladders out to check the gutters I decided to check the roller door to the garage. For some time now we have been unable to close it more that halfway. Checked for things obstructing it.....nothing. Then I noticed that the top three courses of brickwork to which the door is attached have broken away and could come down at any time :-| :-| :-|

The door will have to be removed and the brickwork replaced :-|

Does anyone want a nice cheap house in Australind??

Well at least things should be better from now on, hope you can get the garage problem sorted soon, without too much expense.

Maybe you need to check all your guttering when it's calmer, so you don't get any more overflows.

Lizx

Hi Liz,

We have a two storey house and I am petrified of heights :-(

The problem is that Australian gutters (at least in WA) have a slight J profile; in other words they are higher at the front than at the back, so any water build-up discharges backwards into the property, rather than forwards onto the exterior.

In the Goldfields, which cop very heavy rain at times from cyclones, many Councils do not allow gutters for that very reason, the amount of rain is just too much for them to cope with. Easier to let all the roof water discharge to the outside.

As for the garage, we are speaking to our Insurers to see if we are covered :-(

I can understand the fear of heights, but maybe you can bribe a friend to help out, Allan. In the UK you can buy things to stop the gutters getting clogged up with leaves but I am not sure they would stop moss growing. The starlings pick out moss from the gutters looking for insects, they make a real mess down below.

Your W.A. guttering sounds strange, and a bit impractical altho lett
ing water gush over either edge must be a nuisance. Do you have many downpipes to let the water away into water butts?

Hope the Insurance helps with the garage rebuilding bills

Lizx

things happened in 4 here today!



today (Thursday) was big "breaking news day" here ............... all happening between about 5:00 pm Wednesday night and 5:00 pm Thursday

1. oil spill in the Bay. from a freighter, 3,000 litres of bunker oil

2. stabbing of 3 people in downtown and the shooting of the man responsible ... he died in hospital, 2 of his victims are critical. Happened mid-late afternoon

3. man found dead about noon on the grounds of the residence of the president of the university, suspicious ................ but it's NOT the president :-)

4. a sink hole on major highway that appeared just in time for afternoon rush hour above where they are boring a tunnel for a subway


it was just one after the other on the news hour!

Well, Sylvia, you have just put things into perspective :-)

My micro problems do not compare with the macro ones....and there is no sarcasm implied there

Liz, yes we have downpipes, but the moss stops the rainwater from reaching them, hence the build up of water :-(

Allan .......


it was unbelievable watching the TV news!


we are due to have rain tomorrow ............ first time since the end of March. It could be interesting


OH keeps saying he must get up the ladder to check our gutters .................. the house is really only about 1½ storeys high (1 floor and a high basement), but he's nowhere near as confident on a ladder s he used to be.


Google gutter guards ............ they're available over here. Sort of screening that fits over the gutter, water can drip through into the gutter, but (supposedly) moss and leaves don't block the gutter.

Sylvia, we need the rain, but outside the house, not inside :-|

Your OH and I sound the same; I become dizzy towards the top of a 1.8 metre
ladder :-S

I think you are much alike!!



we need the rain ...................


the snow pack in th mountains is down to about 30% of what it should be at this time of year, which means drought conditions in the summer unless we can fill the reservoirs.

Plus the ground is bone dry ................. big fire season ahead, I fear.

Dear Allan sorry to hear about your problems .get yourself a Bungalow .no great heights to climb .& so much easier to maintain . <3 :-D

I totally agree, Barbra, but we have to sell this place first :-(

to stop the growth of moss on your roof - string a piece of copper wire across the ridge

All the best & hope you can get it sorted . :-)

Jeez, AnnC, our main ridge is about 4.5 metres high and the house has multiple ridges

. Where do we start? :-S :-S

'phone a friend :-D

Sylvia, my sister and BIL celebrated their Golden Wedding on Wednesday. They live in Canmore, near Calgary, but used to live in Vancouver and travelled there yesterday to have a family dinner and spend the weekend with their two daughters.

Welcome to Vancouver!! :-( :-( :-(

Happy Anniversary to your sister and BIL xx

I hope they have a great time with their family.



Yes, quite the welcome yesterday :-)


It's not usually this bad!

I had all my gutters cleaned last year and couldn't believe how thorough and quick it was.
My window cleaner recommended a chap....would you believe ...whose business is called...Charlie Gutterz......He had a machine and a pole with a camera on and and he just walked round the house,,,and it's quite a big detached house on a hill,so difficult to get to upper stories that have dormers ,with ladders.He got a bucketful of moss etc which he showed me...I was well impressed.

Perhaps you have a similar service in Oz? :-)

lol Brenda :-D

We do have people who will do house maintenance.......at a cost.

A couple of weeks ago we had a blocked drainage gulley, called the plumber who literally cleared it within a few minutes, cost $100.00. His entire time at the house was about five minutes.

Mr Gutterz only charged me £25 and my window cleaner would have charged me a lot more as it would have taken hm a long while up ladders.

Mr G also cleaned down grids as well.
I've recommended him to a few people.
Hope you don't get any more incidents as it seems you pay a lot in Oz for this sort of thing.
I did notice though that when I was in Oz recently for 3 months, that the exchange rate for us was good...worse for you visiting here....when I was there 3 years ago everything was very expensive for us as only got about 126$ to the pound and this tme got over180$,,,,
:-)