We look first
From the ground, along the whole run. If the leaf is still coming down we will say so and put you in for a few weeks' time rather than doing the job twice.
Gutter Cleaning in The Ballagh, Co. Wexford
Everywhere else the advice is to clear after the leaf is down. Here there is a second consideration: the salt-laden air comes in on the winter winds, so a run cleared in November is doing its work in the months that matter.
01
The right month
Not just whenever we are passing.
02
Before the winter winds
That is the window here.
03
Cleared and taken away
Straight into the bag rather than onto the garden.
04
From €75
You get the figure before we arrive.
The Ballagh year, run by run
The heavy season here is not the one people expect.
WinterSalt drift on the easterlies, the heaviest spell
SpringCatch-up work, and the ditches starting
SummerRoad dust from the traffic through
AutumnLeaf down, and the month to book
Why the calendar works differently at The Ballagh
Coastal air from the east, and a road that never stops.
Salt arrives with the winter weather
With the Irish Sea only a short distance east, salt-laden air drifts inland on the prevailing winds — and the heaviest of that is in the winter storms rather than in autumn. A run cleared in September has the whole of that still to come.
Road film all year underneath it
Busy road traffic through here puts a steady film on the roofline regardless of season. It is the base layer that everything else binds to, and it does not have a quiet month.
So autumn is the one clear that counts
After the leaf is down and before the winter weather sets in: the run goes into the salt season empty rather than half full. If you only do it once a year, that is the week to do it.
Around The Ballagh we work the gutter rounds from late October into December. Salt deposits leave a cloudy film in the channel and wear at metal fixings, so going into the winter with a clear run is worth more here than it is a few miles inland.
What changes the price at The Ballagh
The month you pick is not one of them.
How a Ballagh gutter visit runs
Four steps, in the order they actually happen.
The run is cleared
Section by section into the bag. Material that has set is broken up on the spot instead of being pulled the length of the gutter.
Nothing is left half done
The full length is gone over, including the corners, so there is no section quietly holding water behind you. The runs are the work.
Then we put it back
Covers up, bags on the van, and an honest word about the state of the run — including when it was better than expected.
Everything the visit covers at The Ballagh
The run, cleared for the season ahead.
The Ballagh, and everywhere on the same sheet
We work this stretch on a round, so you are not waiting on a van being sent out specially.
The crossroads and the houses along the road, with Oulart and Blackwater on the same run and Curracloe down towards the coast.
Wider out we cover Enniscorthy and Gorey, with Monageer and Ferns inland. A picture from the ground is enough for us to tell you where you stand.
Questions about when to have it done
Including the times we tell people to wait.
When is the right month to have it done?
Once the leaf has finished falling and before the weather turns properly: late autumn, in practice. Earlier and you are paying to do it twice.
Why does salt matter to a gutter?
It leaves a film in the channel that holds whatever lands on it, and over time it is hard on metal fixings. It is not urgent in the way a blockage is, but it is a reason not to go into winter with a full run.
Can I book it early to be sure of a slot?
You can book early — we will simply put the visit itself at the right end of the autumn. Doing it while the trees are still dropping would mean doing it again.
What is included in the price?
Clearing the accessible gutter runs, bagging what comes out, taking it with us and checking the length end to end before we leave. The runs are the job — that is what the figure covers.
Book a gutter clear at The Ballagh
Give us a rough month and we will find the week that actually suits the job. From €75.