Winter in Canberra does the damage quietly. Frost lifts joints, timber swells and shrinks, fixings work loose, and none of it announces itself while the weather is still calm. Then the first proper storm arrives with wind and horizontal rain, and everything that had been holding on gives way in the same hour.
August is the window to get ahead of it. The frosts are easing, the leaf drop is finished, and the jobs below are all cheap while the weather is dry and dull while it is wet.
FROM A RECENT JOB
After a run of strong winds and heavy rain, a Canberra homeowner called us about water coming through around an outdoor patio area. They assumed it was simply the amount of rain that had fallen. On inspection, several sections of guttering had worked loose and were no longer directing water where it was meant to go, and the run had collected enough leaf and debris to back the water up during the storm.
We cleared the blockage, secured the affected sections of guttering and repaired a damaged downpipe connection. The job itself was straightforward. What it showed is how quickly a small maintenance item turns into a bigger problem once storm season arrives. A pre-season check of the gutters, downpipes, roof areas, fences and the other exposed parts of the property would have found it before the weather did.
When storm season actually starts here
The ACT Emergency Services Agency puts the main period of increased storm activity from September to the end of February, and notes that severe storms bring torrential rain, strong winds, large hail and lightning, enough to flood, unroof buildings and bring down trees and power lines. Insured storm losses are the largest natural hazard cost in the country.
For a homeowner that means the useful preparation window is roughly now: late winter, before the first spring cell rolls through.
Gutters and downpipes come first
A storm delivers more water in twenty minutes than a fortnight of ordinary rain, and it all has to leave the roof through the gutter. If the run is holding leaf paste from autumn, the water goes over the edge instead, straight down the wall and into the garden bed against the house.
- Clear the full gutter run by hand, then flush it with a hose from the far end and watch where the water pools.
- Run the hose down every downpipe until you can hear it discharge at ground level. No sound means a blockage.
- Look along the gutter line for a sag between brackets, and at the joins for staining down the brick below.
Frost damage from the winter just gone is worth a separate look, and we covered how to spot it in why a Canberra winter is rough on gutters. If access is awkward or the property is two storey, book a gutter cleaning and repair visit rather than putting a ladder against a gutter that is already loose.
WHY THIS ONE IS FIRST
Every other water problem on this list gets worse when the gutter overflows. Saturated ground next to the footings, water tracking behind a fence post, damp getting into the bottom of a paling, a pergola post standing in a puddle. Fix the gutter and half the rest slows down.
Fences, gates and pergolas
Wind finds the weakest fixing on the property. In most Canberra backyards that is a fence post that has rotted at ground level or a gate that has been dragging for two years.
- Push on the fence. Take the middle of each panel and give it a firm push. Movement at the post means the post has gone, not the panel.
- Check the gate. If it needs lifting to latch, the hinge side has dropped. In a strong wind an unlatched gate becomes a battering ram against the fence it is hung on.
- Look at pergola and deck fixings. Bolts at the house end, post bases at ground level, and any board that flexes underfoot. Twenty-year-old outdoor timber usually fails at the fixing before the timber.
- Trim what overhangs the roof. Small branches over the gutter you can handle. Anything you would need to climb for, or anything over a power line, is an arborist job.
Fence, gate and outdoor timber repairs are standard property maintenance work, and grouping them into one visit costs less than calling separately as each one fails.
Where the water goes once it lands
This is the part most people skip. Clearing the gutter only moves the problem to the bottom of the downpipe.
- Follow each downpipe to its outlet. If it discharges onto a garden bed or a paved area that falls back towards the house, storm water is being delivered straight to the footings.
- Check the ground fall for the first metre out from the wall. It should drop away from the house, not towards it.
- Clear the stormwater grates in the yard. A grate packed with bark takes about a minute to clear in August and floods a courtyard in November.
- Move or secure anything loose that a wind gust can throw: outdoor settings, umbrellas, empty pots, trampolines, bins.
Doors, windows and seals
Canberra storms usually arrive with wind behind the rain, which is why water gets into places that are fine in ordinary weather. Check the weather seal along the bottom of external doors, the seals on sliding doors and their drainage slots in the bottom track, and any window frame with peeling paint or a gap in the sealant. A door that has swollen through winter and no longer closes properly is a door repair, and it is worth doing before it is the only thing between a southerly and your hallway.
What needs a licensed trade, not a handyman
We are straight about this. Handyman work covers gutter clearing and minor gutter repair, fencing, gates, decks and pergolas, doors, seals, patching and painting. It does not cover:
- Roof restoration, retiling or metal roof replacement, that is a roofer.
- Anything electrical, including outdoor lighting and switchboards, that is a licensed electrician.
- Stormwater pipework beyond clearing a blockage you can reach, that is a plumber.
- Removing a limb over a power line or felling a tree, that is an arborist.
If your job is one of those, we will tell you when you call and point you the right way rather than have a go at it.
A quick FAQ
When is storm season in Canberra?
The ACT Emergency Services Agency describes the main period of increased storm activity as September to the end of February, while noting that storms can happen at any time of year. That makes late winter the sensible time to work through an outdoor maintenance list.
How long does the whole checklist take?
On a standard single-storey Canberra block, the gutter clear and flush is the bulk of it, and the rest of the walk-around is an afternoon if nothing needs fixing. Most homes need two or three actual repairs, usually a gate, a fence post and a downpipe outlet.
How much does a handyman charge for a job like this?
Most jobs across the Canberra metro area are priced between $150 and $180 depending on scope and complexity, and we quote a fixed price before anything is booked in. A list of small items in one visit is normally cheaper than the same items across separate callouts.
Is a storm-damaged fence covered by insurance?
Storm damage is often covered where the fence was in reasonable condition beforehand, but insurers treat rot, rust and general wear as maintenance rather than storm damage. Dated photos and receipts from work done before the season help if you do end up making a claim. Check the wording with your insurer rather than assuming either way.
Can you do the whole list in one visit?
Usually, yes, and that is how we prefer to book it. Tell us everything when you call, gutters, a gate that drags, a loose paling, a door that will not shut, and our team works through as much as possible in a single attendance on one invoice.
Want the list done before September? Ring 0424 705 056 with what needs doing and we will quote a fixed price for the lot. We cover Canberra, Queanbeyan and the surrounding area.