Gutter Cleaning in Duncan and the Cowichan Valley

Older houses in Duncan, Chemainus and Ladysmith

The older streets around downtown Duncan, and the old mill-town blocks of Chemainus and Ladysmith, are full of houses that have been reroofed two or three times and re-guttered at least once. What hangs off the fascia now is often a mix: a newer aluminum run across the front, an older galvanized section round the back, a downspout somebody extended with whatever was in the shed.

On these houses we slow down at the roof edge. Fascia boards on a century-old house can be soft behind the paint, and a ladder leaned on the wrong spot does real damage. Lots are narrow, side yards are tight, and there is usually a lilac or a laurel hedge exactly where the ladder wants to go. We work around the planting rather than through it, and we tell you about any board that gives under a thumb. More on houses in general is on our residential gutter cleaning page.

Hillside and view homes

Maple Bay, Genoa Bay and the slopes above Cowichan Bay and Ladysmith have plenty of homes built into the hill. From the road they look like a bungalow. From the downhill side they stand two or three storeys tall, with a deck in the way and a steep bank underneath.

So the same gutter can be at shoulder height at one end and well past comfortable ladder reach at the other. We look at the downhill side first, because it decides the equipment. These lots also tend to carry arbutus and Garry oak rather than fir. Arbutus drops leathery leaves and curls of red bark through the dry months, and oak leaves come down late and wet. Neither one washes through a downspout on its own.

Acreage and rural properties

Out in Cobble Hill, Glenora, Cowichan Station, Sahtlam and along the back roads around Shawnigan Lake, the house is rarely the only roof on the property. There is a detached garage, a workshop, a barn, a greenhouse, a carport over the boat. Most of those have gutters, and most of those gutters have not been looked at since they went up.

When you book an acreage, tell us which buildings you want done and we will quote the house and each outbuilding separately. Shop and barn gutters sometimes feed a rain barrel, a cistern or a stock trough. If yours do, we keep the debris out of the tank rather than flushing it straight in.

Drainage works differently out here too. Without a municipal storm drain, downspouts usually empty onto splash pads, into a ditch, or into a rock pit buried somewhere under the lawn. We confirm that water leaves the downspout freely. Where it goes after that is covered on our gutter and downspout cleaning page.

Lake and cabin properties

Lake Cowichan and Shawnigan Lake get more rain than Duncan, and the lots sit under heavier cover: tall Douglas fir, western red cedar, bigleaf maple hung with moss. A cabin roof under that canopy fills quickly, and a gutter that stays wet all winter starts growing moss inside the trough.

Many of these places are not lived in year-round. If you are away, we can still do the job as long as we can reach the building. Tell us about gates, dogs, and which outside tap we can use for flushing, and we will let you know when it is done.

Townhomes and strata complexes

The newer neighbourhoods in Mill Bay, on the edges of Duncan and through parts of North Cowichan have their share of townhouse rows and strata complexes. Roofs are shared, one downspout may serve two units, and the person booking is often a council member or a property manager rather than an owner. We work to the scope you set, keep paths and parking clear for residents, and report back to whoever booked. The details are on our strata and townhouse pages.

Shops, offices and commercial buildings

Small commercial buildings in downtown Duncan, along the highway and in the light-industrial areas often have low-slope roofs, long gutter runs or scuppers, and a front entrance that cannot be blocked while customers are coming and going. We plan setup around your staff and your doors. See commercial gutter cleaning for how we handle those buildings.

What stays the same on every property

Whatever the building, the job finishes the same way. Matted debris comes out by hand, the downspouts are cleared and flushed, and we watch water run out the bottom before we call it done. Debris goes into our bags and leaves with us. If we notice a loose hanger, a split joint or a soft fascia board, you hear about it, with no pressure to have us fix it.

We have spent more than ten years on Vancouver Island rooflines. We are insured and WCB-registered, and the quote costs you nothing. Tell us what kind of property you have and how many roofs are on it, and we will take it from there.