Gutter and Window Cleaning — Blenheim Street, Balaclava

A single-storey house is usually the quick kind. Not this one: the roof is cut into several planes, and the sheeting overhangs the gutter far enough to close most of it over. Between the two there is no long straight run: the ladder moves every few metres and each length is cleared by reaching under the lip.

The gutters were worked metre by metre, ladder move by ladder move — the only way into a channel you cannot see. The windows took the same approach for a different reason. Colonial glazing means dozens of small panes in timber bars, and a squeegee cannot cross them: every pane is done on its own, both faces, and the timber left dry, because water against painted bars is how they lift.

• Gutter run cleared from under the roof overhang
• Ladder repositioned along each section of roof
• Downpipes checked and cleared one at a time
• Colonial panes cleaned individually, inside and out
• Timber glazing bars wiped dry, not left wet
• Before and after photographs supplied

• Gutters clear across every section of the roof
• Downpipes confirmed running
• Every pane done on both faces
• Timber bars and sills left dry, no water on paint