Gutter Cleaning on a Two-Storey House: What Changes Up There

Because the height changes everything about the climb. You need a longer ladder, and a fall from the top of it is a lot further. WorkSafe Queensland says (opens in a new tab) the risk of injury from a fall depends on things like how high the work is, what's below it and the roof pitch. A second storey adds height straight away.

Then there's the moving. You can only reach a short stretch of gutter from one spot, so you climb down, shift the ladder and go back up, again and again. WorkSafe lists moving on or off the ladder as one reason ladder work leads to falls. So is leaning out to the side.

We clean gutters on two-storey homes. Storeys change the setup, so tell us how many your home has when you ask for a quote. The quote form has a box for single or two-storey.

For most people, no. WorkSafe Queensland says (opens in a new tab) ladder falls have caused serious and fatal injuries “even when working at relatively low heights.” A second-storey gutter is well above that. Its advice to businesses is that ladders “should only be considered after safer alternatives have been considered first”. That's a fair test for the rest of us too.

The falls Code of Practice (opens in a new tab) WorkSafe publishes goes further. It says extension ladders should only be used to get on or off a work area, or for “short duration light work that can be carried out safely from the ladder.” It also says only light work should be done on a ladder, where tools can be used safely with one hand. Scooping wet sludge out along a long gutter is a hard fit for that.

For homeowners, the Queensland Government's ladder safety advice (opens in a new tab) says to have someone hold the ladder at the base. The ladder should sit on flat, firm ground, and you should never use one in rain, wind or a thunderstorm. It also says over 1,000 Queenslanders end up in hospital each year after falling off ladders, mostly around the home.

So here's where we'd draw the line. If the gutter's on a second storey, hand the job to an insured cleaner. Our guide on whether gutter cleaning is dangerous has what Queensland hospital research found about ladder falls at home.

Yes, both do. WorkSafe Queensland lists roof pitch and the surface below (opens in a new tab) among the things that change how bad a fall can be. It also names glazed tiles, and a metal roof wet from morning dew or rain, as places where it's hard to keep your balance. A steep, wet roof two storeys up is about as hard as it gets.

WorkSafe's rules for building work on houses (opens in a new tab) draw a line at the same spots. Before work starts, the business must have controls in place to stop or catch a fall where someone could fall 3 metres or more, or on a roof with a slope over 26 degrees. Those rules are written for building work, but they show where the regulator thinks the risk climbs.

A sloping block can do the same thing to a single-storey home. Around Everton Park or Chapel Hill, the land drops away behind plenty of houses, and the back gutter ends up two storeys high. Our page on gutter cleaning around Brisbane covers more of the hilly suburbs.

It can, and on a two-storey home that's worth a lot. Every trip up there is height work. Gutter guard keeps the leaves out of the gutter, so you're not booking a high clean as often. Leaves still land on the roof, so it's worth a look now and then.

If you'd rather not book a clean every year, ask about gutter guard while we're quoting. Every install includes a free gutter clean, and it's backed by a written 10-year no blocked gutter guarantee. You don't need gutter guard to book a clean, though. Our guide on how often to clean gutters shows how your trees change the timing.

We're a family-owned team, over 25 years in the trade and fully insured. We clean gutters across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, and quotes are free.