Back in January 2013, Doncaster based Oak Leaf Products contacted DPR’s Wakefield Roofers after an evening of very wet and unsettled weather. The morning after, they found that water had been spilling over their roof gutters and entered the building which had damaged over £25,000 worth of building & stock.
Among the items that were damaged were electrical products which were water damaged along with the mains electrical fuse board to the building. This was situated directly under one of the major leaks.
Whilst the customer was insured, the damaged stock meant customers were left waiting as orders couldn’t be completed. The cost and time replacing the stock was stressful, and having to do all this without electric for 24 hours made the whole process even more complicated.
The owner of the company got in touch with our team DPR after finding us on the internet and within a few hours our highly trained Wakefield roofers arrived at their site. Using our own powered platform we quickly recognized the cause of the problem was the guttering. Debris, silt & leaves had without a doubt collected up over time, which had then prevented water from running freely. Seeds had germinated in the damp silt and plants had begun to grow, causing the blockage to worsen.
Unfortunately for the company, because this was completely out of sight, they had no idea it was happening until it was too late. The main water outlet had ironically been blocked not by natural things such as leaves, but by crisp packets from the owner’s staff breaks, which had been wedged into the gutters.
Our Wakefield roofers progressed to deep clean all the gutters via hand and water jetting, bagging up and disposing of all the debris and at the same time carrying out any repairs to the damaged gutter joints.
Could the problem have been prevented?
A situation like this could have been avoided by seeking regular professional gutter checking by one of our team. It is an important way that water gets cleared from the roof and this one example shows how catastrophic an issue can be. For as little as £300, you can get regular checking to prevent this. Our roofers are 100% sure that had they been on the maintenance contract, this issue would not have happened.
Why do blocked gutters cause so much damage?
Gutters that are blocked can lead to major flood and damp problems. Because the water can’t reach the outlets quick enough, gutters fill up very quickly and then overflow, much like a blocked plug hole in a sink. The big problem is they overflow to back and front. The front runs down walls and then penetrates inwards. The rear can overflow internally on many properties and obviously damage electrics and stock etc.
If you are worried about your gutters and live in or around the Wakefield area, please do not hesitate to contact our team on 01924 640019.