We got a call from a homeowner in Thornhill on a late-winter morning. Snow was still on the ground. The problem, as she described it, was simple: every time it rained, water was pouring over the right side of the house instead of going down the downspout. She was getting water right against her foundation, and she wanted it dealt with.
Simple enough on the surface. What we actually found when we got up there was a bit more involved.
What the client reported
The overflow was happening on the right side of the house. During rain events, water would run over the front edge of the eavestrough instead of flowing down and out. She had not noticed it until recently, which is typical. These things get worse slowly, and people do not usually stare at their gutters in the rain.
She had not had the system cleaned in at least a year. Maybe longer.
What we found on arrival
Here is the thing about late winter gutter calls in Thornhill: the problem is almost never just debris. Thornhill gets the same freeze-thaw cycles as the rest of the GTA, and those cycles do real damage to eavestrough systems. By March, if you have not had a fall cleaning, you are looking at a season's worth of leaves and shingle granules frozen solid in the troughs.
This house was no different.
The entire system was frozen. Every downspout was completely closed with ice. Not partially blocked. Completely shut. When we ran our inspection along the roofline, there was no path for water to go anywhere. Any rain hitting that roof had two choices: pool in the gutters and overflow, or stay frozen. When the sun came out and things started to melt, that water ran straight over the edge.
The downspout the client had flagged as the problem was the worst of them. But all four downspouts on this property were blocked. Ice, packed debris, compacted shingle granules. If she had waited another month into spring melt, she would have been dealing with water in the basement, not just overflow along the wall.
This is exactly the situation described in our post on what happens when you skip fall gutter cleaning. The fall is when debris accumulates. Winter is when that debris freezes and the system locks up.
How we cleaned it
We worked the entire perimeter. Every trough, every downspout, not just the side that was visibly overflowing.
The first thing we did was clear the debris from the troughs: wet leaf matter, compacted shingle granules, and a fair bit of general muck that had been sitting there since fall. The granules are worth mentioning specifically. On a lot of Thornhill homes with aging asphalt shingle roofs, granule loss is significant by year ten or twelve, and those granules end up in the gutters. They pack down over time and do not flush out easily. You have to scoop them manually.
Then we cleared each downspout. With frozen blockages, you have to work carefully. You cannot just force water through a frozen column or you risk blowing a joint. We cleared the ice progressively, confirmed flow was restored in all four downspouts, and checked the wire mesh strainers at each outlet. Two of them were almost completely clogged with granule buildup, which would have blocked them again within a few weeks if left alone.
Once everything was clear, we flushed the system with water to confirm flow from trough to downspout to ground. All four downspouts draining properly.
If you are dealing with ice blockages yourself and wondering what is safe to do before calling someone, we have a separate write-up on frozen eavestrough defrosting and damage prevention.
The leak check: four spots flagged
After the cleaning, I always do a leak inspection while I am still up on the roof. You are already there, the system is wet from flushing, and the light hits the troughs at an angle that makes seam gaps easier to spot. It is the best time to check.
On this house, we found four spots where the sealant has failed or is failing. Three are at trough joints, one is where a downspout elbow connects to the side wall. None of them are catastrophic right now, but they will get worse. Water will drip through these spots, run down the fascia board, and eventually get behind the soffit or into the wall.
The homeowner asked if we could seal them on the spot. The honest answer is: not properly.
Why we are waiting until summer for the silicone
Here is something most homeowners do not know: silicone sealant will not bond correctly to wet metal. It needs a dry, clean surface. Not just damp. Dry.
In late March, the system still has water sitting in it. Even if we dried the spots down as well as we could, moisture stays in the trough joints and under any remaining debris, and the temperature swings between day and night mean condensation is forming and reforming constantly. Apply sealant in those conditions and it looks like it is holding for a week. Then it peels.
We have seen contractors do this. We do not.
The right call is to schedule the silicone work for summer, once the system has had time to fully dry out and temperatures are consistently above 10 degrees Celsius. We have noted the four locations, they are documented, and we will come back to do it properly. You can learn more about what that repair process looks like on our eavestrough repair page.
If the homeowner wants to take the longer view, this would also be a good time to talk about gutter guard installation. Mature trees surround this property. The volume of debris in these gutters was not a fluke.
Gutter cleaning service in Thornhill and the surrounding area
Thornhill sits right on the border of Vaughan and Markham, just north of the 407. It is mostly single-detached homes, a good number of them built in the late eighties and nineties, with mature tree canopy that looks great in summer and drops a serious amount of debris in fall. The combination of heavy tree cover and freeze-thaw winters makes it one of the areas we get called to most often for late-winter cleanings like this one.
We cover the entire Thornhill area. Same-week bookings are usually available except during peak spring weeks in late April when the call volume picks up fast.
Our main gutter cleaning service page for Toronto and the GTA has more details on what is included, pricing, and how to book. Or if you want a number quickly, you can get a fast quote here.
We carry $2 million in liability insurance and are Heights certified and WSIB compliant. All technicians work on proper extension ladders or roof jacks on two-storey homes.
With 450+ five-star Google reviews, the work we do in Thornhill is the same as what we do anywhere else: show up on time, do the job properly, and tell you honestly what we found.
Frequently asked questions
Why is water overflowing from my gutters even after I cleaned them?
Usually it is one of two things: a downspout is still partially or fully blocked and the water has nowhere to go, or a joint in the trough has sagged and water is pooling instead of flowing toward the outlet. Sometimes it is both. If you cleaned the troughs themselves but did not snake or flush each downspout, the overflow problem often stays.
Can frozen gutters cause damage to the house?
Yes. Ice buildup in gutters adds significant weight, which can pull fasteners out of the fascia. When melt water has nowhere to drain because the downspouts are blocked with ice, it backs up and either overflows toward the foundation or works its way under the shingles. Both are expensive to fix in spring.
What is the right time of year for gutter cleaning in Thornhill?
Twice a year is the standard: once in late fall after the leaves are down (usually November in Thornhill), and once in early spring to clear whatever froze over winter and check for freeze-thaw damage. If you have heavy tree cover, a mid-summer check is worth adding. Homeowners who skip the fall cleaning are almost always the ones calling us in March with overflow problems.
How long does a full gutter cleaning take?
On a standard two-storey home in Thornhill, plan on 60 to 90 minutes for the cleaning itself. A leak inspection adds another 15 to 20 minutes. The first visit usually takes longer because we are clearing a season or more of buildup. Maintenance visits on a well-kept system go faster.
Do I need to be home during the cleaning?
No. We work from the exterior, so you do not need to be present. Most clients are not home. We ask for access to a hose bib for flushing, so if you have an exterior tap, just leave it on. We will contact you after with a summary of what we found and any recommendations.
Book a gutter cleaning in Thornhill
Call us at (647) 558-8411 or email info@dtcleaning.ca.
You can also get a fast quote online and we will follow up same day on weekdays.
If there is repair work needed, we will tell you what it is and what it will cost. We are not going to upsell you on something that can wait, and we are not going to apply a patch that will not hold.
More background on what downspout repairs involve is on our downspout repair page for Toronto.
Related case study: Oakville gutter cleaning after four years of neglect.
