Storm season starts in October. The roofline is the part you can still do something about.
You cannot do much about the weather. You can decide whether the water that lands on your roof leaves it the way it was designed to. Almost every storm-related callout we see comes back to the same thing — a gutter or a downpipe that had no capacity left when it mattered.
When the season actually runs
Victorian severe weather builds from October and peaks through to around February.
What makes it hard on a roofline is the shape of it. The damaging events here are strong wind and short, very heavy bursts rather than long soaking rain — and those two arrive in that order. The wind loads the gutter, then the downpour turns up before anything has had a chance to settle or dry. A gutter that coped fine through a wet winter can fail in the first serious spring front for exactly that reason.
VicSES puts keeping gutters, downpipes and drains clear of debris second on its own storm preparation list, above securing outdoor furniture and below trimming branches back from the house. It is not a marketing line — it is on the state emergency service's published advice because blocked drainage is one of the more predictable causes of preventable damage.
Book before the season, not during it
This is the only genuinely time-sensitive thing on this page. Demand across the entire industry spikes twice — the week a serious front is forecast, and the week after one lands. Availability tightens everywhere at once, which means the people who call in November are competing with everyone else who also just looked at their ceiling.
Four to six weeks before the season is the useful window. In practice that means September and the first half of October. It is not urgency for its own sake; it is just how the calendar works.
What actually fails
Rarely the thing people expect. Five patterns cover nearly everything we are asked to look at after a storm.
The downpipe, not the gutter
The most common single point of failure and the hardest to see. A gutter can be cleared and still back up if the pipe below it is partly blocked, because there is no capacity left when a burst arrives. It is why a gutter that photographs beautifully is not proof the roof will cope.
Overflow going the wrong way
People picture a gutter spilling over the front onto the garden. On a low-pitch metal roof with a narrow gutter and a small eave — most estate housing built here in the last twenty years — there is no depth to hold an overflow, so it goes over the rear lip into the fascia and the eave sheet instead. Inside the building, not outside it.
Valleys on tiled roofs
Internal valleys where two roof planes meet collect faster than the eaves gutters and sit where rain never flushes them out. A packed valley pushes water sideways under the tiles. It can do that for an entire season without anything visible from the ground.
Box gutters with nowhere to go
Standard where an alfresco roof ties into the main house. A box gutter is built to carry water, not to spill it, so when one blocks the water goes into the roof space rather than over an edge. This is the failure that turns into a ceiling repair.
Weight, brackets and sag
Wet debris is heavy. A full gutter through a wet spring pulls on fixings that were sized for an empty one, and once a section sags it holds standing water permanently — which is what corrodes the base from the inside.
What you can check yourself, from the ground
Four things are visible without going anywhere near a ladder, and any one of them is worth acting on:
- Dark vertical staining on the fascia under the gutter line — water has been running over the back of the gutter rather than through it.
- Anything green growing out of the gutter. If a plant has established, the gutter has been holding soil and moisture for a long time.
- A gutter line that visibly dips between fixings. A sag holds standing water permanently, even once it has been cleared.
- A downpipe that trickles instead of running during steady rain. That is the one that catches people out.
What we would not suggest is getting up there to look. Falls from ladders and roofs at domestic height are the part of this job that genuinely injures people, and a look from the ground tells you enough to decide whether it is worth someone else going up.
Why we photograph it
Every visit produces a Property Care Record — dated before-and-after photographs of the roofline, gutters and downpipes, what we removed, and anything we found that needs attention. It exists first because you cannot see your own gutters and should not have to take our word for what was in them.
It has a second use going into storm season. Home policies commonly treat storm damage differently to damage arising from a lack of maintenance, so what upkeep had been done tends to come up afterwards. A dated set of photographs showing the roofline was clear before an event is evidence that is very hard to assemble after one.
We will not tell you it decides a claim, because it does not — your policy wording does, and that is worth reading now rather than in February.
If a storm has already been through
For water actively coming into the house, SES is the number — we are not a 24-hour emergency service and would rather be straight about that than imply otherwise.
Once it is dry, the useful thing is finding out what actually happened up there, because an overflow is a symptom rather than a cause. Tell us what you saw and we will clear the roofline and document the condition, including anything that needs a licensed roof plumber rather than us.
Where we work
Gutter cleaning across South East Melbourne, with dedicated pages for the suburbs we are in most weeks:
Common questions
When is storm season in Melbourne?
Victorian severe weather builds from October and runs through to around February, with spring bringing the strongest damaging wind events and summer bringing short, very heavy downpours. The practical window for getting a roofline ready is September and early October — before the first serious front rather than after it.
What actually causes storm damage to a house through the gutters?
Almost always a blockage plus volume, not the wind itself. A gutter holding debris has less capacity, and a downpipe that drains slowly has none to spare. When a burst arrives faster than the system can clear it, the water leaves the gutter somewhere it was never meant to — over the back lip into the fascia and eaves on a low-pitch metal roof, or backwards under the tile line into the sarking on an older tiled one.
Is it too late to book once the forecast is out?
Usually, and not because of us specifically. Demand across the whole industry spikes the week a serious front is forecast and again the week after one hits, so availability tightens everywhere at exactly the moment everyone wants it. Four to six weeks ahead of the season is the useful time to book.
Do you do emergency call-outs during a storm?
We are not a 24-hour emergency service and we would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise. If water has come into your home, SES is the number for the immediate problem. Once things are dry, tell us what happened when you get in touch and we will look at the roofline and document what we find.
Does a gutter clean help with insurance?
It does not decide a claim, and anyone telling you otherwise is overselling. What it does is leave you with dated photographs showing the condition of the roofline before an event, which is evidence of upkeep that is very difficult to produce after the fact. Home policies commonly treat damage arising from lack of maintenance differently to storm damage, so your own policy wording is what matters — worth reading before the season rather than during it.
What should I check myself before the season?
From the ground, safely: dark vertical staining on the fascia under the gutter line, which means water has been going over the back rather than through; plants growing out of a gutter; a gutter line that visibly sags; and a downpipe that trickles rather than runs during rain. Any of those is worth acting on. Do not get on the roof to check — that is the part that actually hurts people.
Protect your property
with confidence.
Every visit includes professional workmanship, before-and-after documentation, and your Clearline Property Care Record. Whether it's a one-off service or ongoing maintenance, the process is the same.