Gutter Cleaning for Coombs Homes and Hobby Farms

Most people know Coombs for one roof: the sod roof on the Old Country Market, with goats grazing on top. That is the one roof in Coombs with no gutter for us to clear. The roofs around it, on the houses, barns and sheds scattered along the Alberni Highway and the side roads off it, are a different matter.

Coombs sits inland from Parksville, among farmland and second-growth forest, and the properties here are mostly rural. That shapes the work in three ways.

A dry summer, then everything at once

This side of the island has dry summers. Nearby Parksville gets under 40 mm of rain in each of July and August, and the wet months arrive in October. For four or five months the gutters sit dry and collect: needles, seed keys, dust, twigs, the odd bird’s nest. Nothing washes through because there is no water to wash it.

Then the fall rains start, and that summer’s load turns to sludge in a single storm. The first heavy rain of the season is when an uncleaned gutter overflows. A clean in late summer or early fall, before the rain, means the first storm drains the way it should. A second visit in late fall picks up the leaves that come down afterward.

Trees on every side, and shade

Many Coombs homes sit in clearings, with fir, cedar and maple standing close on all sides. That means more debris, but it also means shade. A shaded gutter stays damp long after the rain stops, and wet debris packs down and grows moss far faster than dry debris does.

Shade grows moss on the roof as well, and clumps of it break off and slide into the gutter, where they plug the outlet like a cork. We clear every clump out of the trough and check the top of each downspout by hand before we flush.

Shade also hides trouble. On a bright, open lot you notice an overflowing gutter from the kitchen window. Under the trees, a slow leak at a corner can run down the wall behind a rhododendron for a whole winter before anyone sees the stain. While we are up there, we look along each run for drips, open seams and the dark streaks on fascia that give an old leak away.

Barns, sheds and the other roofs

Hobby farms and acreage mean more roofs. A barn or run-in shed with a gutter usually drains right where animals stand or equipment gets parked, so when that gutter overflows, the doorway turns to mud. Those outbuilding gutters are worth adding to the visit.

Long outbuilding runs also sag under the weight of wet debris, and a sagging run holds water instead of draining. If a hanger has let go or a seam has opened up, we can fix it on the spot through our gutter repair service, or quote it separately if you would rather.

Getting to your property

Long lanes, gravel drives and gates are normal here. When you ask for a quote, tell us about access, where we can park, and whether any animals are loose on the property. We work weekdays, the quote is free, and we are insured and WCB-registered, with 10+ years on Vancouver Island rooflines behind us. If your neighbour is in Errington, we cover that too.