Spring on the South Coast arrives with wind, pollen, seed drop and the first proper storms — and it's the last comfortable window before bushfire season. A twenty-minute walk around your place now saves a lot of money later. Here's what Keith checks, in order.
Start with the gutters — winter leaves a mess
Winter rain packs autumn leaf litter into a heavy sludge that sits in the gutter line and slows drainage. From the ground, look for sagging gutter sections, plant growth over the edge, and rust staining down the fascia. Those are all signs the gutter has been holding water for months.
- Watch where water spills over during the next shower — that's your blockage
- Check downpipe outlets are flowing, not just the gutter trough
- Look for gutter brackets pulling away under the extra weight
Look at the roof for moss, lichen and lifted ridge caps
Cool, damp winters on the coast and in the Highlands grow moss and lichen fast, especially on south-facing tiles and under tree cover. Left alone it holds moisture against the roof and shortens its life. Spring is the right time for a soft wash — never a high-pressure blast, which drives water under tiles and strips protective coating.
- Green or black patches on tiles usually mean moss or lichen
- Check ridge capping and pointing for cracks after winter movement
- Note any slipped tiles before the first spring storm finds them
Give the solar panels a look — output drops quietly
Panels collect winter grime, pollen, salt spray and bird mess, and the loss shows up on your bill rather than as an obvious fault. Compare your app's output to the same week last year. If birds have nested under the array, spring is when they breed — sort the mesh before eggs arrive, or you'll be waiting months.
- Feathers, droppings or noise under panels means nesting
- Salt film is common within a few kilometres of the coast
- Clean with deionised water only — no detergents or abrasives
Flush the stormwater drains before the storms
Spring storms on the South Coast can drop a lot of water very quickly. Blocked stormwater pits and downpipe drains push that water back toward the house, into garden beds, under slabs and against footings. Pour a bucket of water into each pit and watch how fast it clears.
- Slow draining pits are usually root intrusion or silt build-up
- Lift and clear leaf baskets in surface grates
- Look for pooling near the house after rain — a drainage warning sign
Get bushfire prep done now, not in December
Every BAL-rated property on the South Coast and in the Highlands should have ember mesh in place and defensible space clear before the season starts. Bookings tighten dramatically once the first fire warnings appear, so late winter and early spring is when to organise it.
- Ember mesh should be metal — not plastic leaf catchers
- Clear leaf litter from the roof valleys, not just the gutters
- Keep 20 m of defensible space clear where you can
What's worth doing yourself, and what isn't
Ground-level checks, drain flushing, garden clearing and monitoring your solar output are all safe DIY jobs. Anything that involves a ladder, a roof edge, a two-storey home or a steep pitch is where people get hurt — Keith holds RIIWHS204E working-at-heights certification and a White Card, and works with proper roof-safe equipment.
- Safe to DIY: visual checks, drains, garden clearing
- Leave to a pro: roof access, gutter cleaning at height, roof washing
- Combine jobs on one visit to save on call-out costs
Key takeaways
- Late winter is the ideal time to plan spring work — before the storms and fire season
- Clear winter sludge from gutters and downpipes first; it's the most common cause of overflow
- Soft wash moss and lichen off the roof — never pressure wash tiles
- Sort solar bird mesh before spring nesting season starts
- Flush stormwater pits so spring downpours drain away from the house