Awful roof construction needs gutter clearing solution

[curium]

I've recently moved into a 1934 semi-detached property with a garage attached. The neighbour on the detached side, adjacent to the garage has extended up to his boundary with a 2-storey extension.

This extension predates me and the current neighbour.

The extension makes clearing the guttering tricky.

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It's full of dirt and moss and this impedes water flow which has caused damp issues for next door and there is evidence of historic damp in the garage wall.

I climbed up and used some scaffold boards to clear the guttering closest to the front but wasn't comfortable to proceed across the roof for fear of damaging the polycarbonate roof and causing myself damp problems.

Additionally, some of the polycarbonate sheets look too long so they overhang the gutter by enough to make clearing them difficult.

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Is it possible to get some kind of rodding solution that would slide under the polycarbonate sheets and push through the rubbish to the other end?

Cheers

 

[catlad]

Move the guttering lower so you can get your hand in from below.
The sheets will have slipped.

 

[curium]

Move the guttering lower so you can get your hand in from below.
The sheets will have slipped.

I can't move the guttering lower, there's a wall underneath which abuts next doors wall.

There are timbers spanning the gap from a barge board on the side of my house to the top of the garage wall adjacent to the he neighbours extension.

I had assumed that the polycarbonate sheets were physically attached at some point to prevent movement and the length was just poor workmanship failing to cut them to the appropriate size. Can anyone link to how a roof like this would have been constructed so I can better understand what the possible solutions are?

Cheers

 

[Tigercubrider]

Normally the brown bits are capping over an aluminium T profile that is upside down.
The sheets normally have a single fixing to hold them in position

 

[catlad]

They are probably snap down timber glazing bars, can't you higher the sheets so you can access the gutter from below

 

[pcaouolte]

If the gutter is large enough you might be able to clear it from one end with a drop scraper on a set of drain rods like this: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Drain+Gutter-Cleaning-Kit-11-Piece-Kit/p/420003#

Don't try to clear the whole thing in one go. Do it in short sections and test it at the end nearest to you first in case the scraper can get stuck in the gutter.

 

[Mw Roofline]

As catlad said the sheets have possibly slipped. An easy way to check this is to simply lift the lead at the top and see.

 

[curium]

Thanks all.

The sheets had slipped. I managed, with great difficulty, to move them back a couple of inches to allow me to clear the gutter. The fall on the gutter isn't great so even after clearing the water was moving quite slowly.

I'm off to buy some polycarbonate fixing buttons now. Hopefully 2 in each sheet will prevent future slipping. I need the roof to be maintained for the next 5 years at least before I can afford to demolish the garage.

I have another question (perhaps I should start a new thread but we'll see how this goes).

The guttering on the house needs replacing. It's old and has inadequate fall so the water gathers in the gutter at the front of the house before overtopping the gutter and dripping below.
It should flow around to the side of the house and to the back where the down-pipe is located.

How easy would it be to temporarily remove some of the polycarbonate sheets so that a ladder could be used to access the guttering on the side of the house? Would the sheets go back without issue or should I purchase replacement sheets for the ones removed for access purposes?

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Many thanks.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Pictures of the underside would help.
Personally I would wait a month or two for better weather. The sheets may/maynot come off without breaking. They get brittle but are quite cheap enough to replace for five years.
Adjust thE gutter at the same time.
If the understructure is good enough you might be able to work off crawl boards but easier to lift and replace