Last updated 5th April, 2023
Trying to find out how much it costs to clean and clear gutters?
Here you can find out the average prices (which will be between £100 - £150) for gutter cleaning for all sizes and types of house and gutter. You can also find out gutter cleaner fees.
Read our gutter cleaning price guide below to find out!
The average cost of hiring someone to clean your guttering will depend on the size and height of the property, along with ease of access to the gutters. But assuming there is easy access up to the typical second storey gutter height, then the cost for a typical semi-detached property would be around £125.
This is money well spent as overflowing gutters will eventually lead to much more costly blockages and other problems. It’s recommended that gutters are cleaned at least twice a year.
How much will labour cost?
Most roofline tradesmen charge around £150 per day and for cleaning gutters around an average sized semi-detached house, you're looking at 4-8 hours worth of work depending upon the ease of access and how badly the gutters needed cleaning.
Here are a few average costs for hiring someone to clean your gutters:
House Type | Scaffolding? | Avg. Cost | Duration |
---|---|---|---|
Terraced | No | £100 | 1/2 day |
Semi-detached | No | £125 | 1/2 day |
Detached | No | £150 | 1/2 day |
Terraced | Yes | £375 | 1 day |
Semi-detached | Yes | £400 | 1 day |
Detached | Yes | £425 | 1 day |
Individual costs for hiring a tradesman to clean the gutters of a 2-storey semi-detached house with easy access - Total Cost: £125
Roof gutters are designed to collect rainwater from the roof and transport it away from the building to a ground level drain or soak-away. In the UK today most roof gutters are made from plastic but cast iron and aluminium gutters are still popular, particularly with older, period properties.
Gutters in the UK are smaller than those used by the rest of Europe or in the USA, so they tend to become blocked more often and more easily. The common causes of gutter and downpipe blockages are roof moss, leaves and twigs. Removing this debris is normally not very difficult as it can usually be removed manually with just a glove, bucket and ladder.
There are some related jobs that may need doing at same time as gutter cleaning, for example the roof tiles my also need cleaned if covered in unsightly moss or lichen and a chemical treatment applied to the tiles to prevent re-growth. In addition it may become apparent whilst cleaning that the guttering may not be in the best condition, or the fascia boards the guttering is fixed to could also need some remedial work.
If you live in an area where the gutters get blocked frequently, then you should consider installing a gutter guard to keep leaves, twigs and roof moss out of the guttering. You may want to consider cutting back any overhanging tree branches to reduce the amount of debris clogging up your gutter.
Gutter cleaning can be done DIY as the work itself is very straightforward and usually involves nothing more than simply scooping out the debris by hand then flushing the downpipes with a hose.
However, working at height can be very dangerous, especially on a ladder, so it’s often best to find a local, reliable contractor to do this type of work for you. Professionals can usually do the job without ladders or scaffolding using lightweight carbon fibre cleaning poles.
If the gutters are overflowing but the blockage is not in the gutters or the downpipe, it could be located underground which can increase the overall cost substantially. If this is the case you need to check with the local authority to determine who is responsible for the drainage costs, normally if the blockage is underneath your property then it is your responsibility.
In addition if your roof is higher than normal, for example if you live in a 3 or 4 storey town house, then this will also increase the cost. Much of the labour cost in fact is decided by the access to the roof, if the gutters can be cleaned from the ground level using telescopic carbon fibre poles then this reduces the cost, whereas if scaffolding is required to reach the gutter then the cost will be much, much higher.