The GutterBrush Blog

Whether you’re an experienced handyman or have never picked up a hammer in your life, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which tools and equipment are necessary to own. Besides calling up Mr. Fix-It next door, home improvement stores and local rental centers now provide a full assortment of gear and tools to loan at a reasonable price. Though GutterBrush™ Simple Gutter Guard doesn’t actually require any tools for installation apart from a ladder, I’ve compiled a list of a few recommended items that I believe are required equipment for all homeowners:

1. Extension Ladder
   An extension ladder will come in handy for many jobs around your home. Accessing roof, rain gutters, ceilings and other high locations in your home, a stable and reliable extension ladder really can’t be beat. When an overthrown Frisbee lands on the roof or a burnt out light bulb creeps up in middle of the day, nothing is more convenient then going to your garage and pulling out a dependable ladder. To further the safety and purpose of your extension ladder, we recommend the Ladder-Max Standoff / Stabilizer. This ladder accessory makes just about any extension ladder significantly more stable and allows you to set your ladder against your roof rather than against your gutters, avoiding expensive damage. Frankly, anyone who has an extension ladder should really have a Ladder-Max to go with it.
2. Hammer
   Of all the tools in the world the lowly hammer is probably the most useful around your home. Choose a hammer that feels “right” in your hand in terms of weight and swing. I recommend a hammer with a straight claw over a sharply curved claw.
3. Pliers
   A small assortment of pliers will be invaluable around your home. Hardware stores often have packaged sets of pliers that include straight pliers and needle nose pliers. Needle nose piers have long nose that tapers to a point at the end. They are great for grabbing small objects in tight spots. A set of pliers will also include wire cutters. Many needle nose pliers include a wire cutter as part of the tool as well.
4. Screwdrivers Set
   Screws are one of the most commonly used attachment devices both inside and outside the home. Everything from computer equipment, children’s toys to outlet covers, use screws. Having a set of decent set of manual screwdrivers is a must with so many devices and materials using screws. In addition to this set of manual screwdrivers I also recommend an electric screwdriver. I guarantee you will find so many uses for an electric screwdriver around that house that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one.
5. Wrench Set
   Like screwdrivers, wrenches and come in various sizes and are commonly needed to fasten or loosen nuts and bolts around the home. Wrenches are designed to give the extra torque to fastening agents when hand strength is not enough. I recommend a small set of SAE wrenches from ¼ inch to ¾ inch.  You could consider a set that includes metric wrenches as well; however, unless you’ll be working on your car, metric sizes aren’t often used around the house.  Many hardware auto stores offer wrench sets that package both SAE and metric sizes in one kit. These kits often include Allen wrenches and a socket set that could also prove handy around your home.
6. Level
   From hanging pictures to balancing your washing machine a level sure beats eyeballing it. I recommend a simple straight level that is at least 12 inches long. I’d say avoid the laser levels. The simple torpedo level is often enough tool for just about any job around the house.
7. Power Drill
   Of all the electric power tools to invest in, this is the absolute necessity. With a driving attachment, usually a drill bit, secured to a motorized power source, drills can create holes in a multitude of surfaces. Plus they can also be used to drive screws.  You may be surprised to realize how many times a common fix-it or repair job needs will need a drilled hole as part of the project. Having a well-made drill that will cut through metal, wood and numerous other materials is a wise investment for any household. Though a cordless drill can be convenient, I recommend it only in addition to a good corded drill. I’ve often had to resort to my corded drill when I find that my cordless batteries are dead right when I need to use the drill. When buying the drill make sure that you also pick up a set of drill bits from 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch along with a few screwdriver bits. Again most hardware stores sell kits that include a combination of common drill bits that are helpful around your home.
8. Vise Grips
   Vise grips are like duct tape, there are perhaps a million uses for these locking pliers. I recommend having at least one pair of vise grips.
9. Tape Measure
   Even if you’re less inclined to be making repairs around the house, you’ll still find a tape measurer useful. Lengthier, more pliable and usually easy to carry, the tape measure is more advanced than a common ruler. Being able to measure around corners and high places is needed for a range of things from furniture placement to cutting plywood. In my house, the simple tape measure has proven itself so handy to all members of the family that I often can’t find it when I need it.  Now I have three.
10. Circular Saw
    From cutting a 2×4 to trimming a piece of plywood circular saws are very helpful and definitely preferred over a hand saw. Like the drill I recommend that most homeowners consider a corded circular saw over the cordless models.

One thing that should not be in your garage is GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard. It should be in your rain gutters where it can keep debris from clogging your gutters reducing time spent on home maintenance. Something else you should know about GutterBrush is that apart from an extension ladder, GutterBrush doesn’t require any tools for installation. It’s simple and effective design can be easily installed by just sliding the brushes into your rain gutters from end to end. The GutterBrush bristles work to keep rain gutter clogging debris out while allowing rain water to enter the full width of the gutter without overflow that is common to many gutter cover systems such as Gutter Helmet®.

If you’re a bit of a history buff like me, you love learning about the history of things around you. When I look out the window these days in Cambridge, Massachusetts all I see is… snow. Lots of it. We have about 2 feet of the white stuff sitting on everything from yards to cars to gutters.

This made me wonder what exactly were the biggest blizzards (most snowfall and overall insane weather) in the history of the U.S.? Can you name them all?

The Biggest U.S. Blizzards On Record

1. The Denver Christmas Blizzard of 2006 – Up to 8 foot snow drifts covered much of Denver, Colorado.
2. The Schoolhouse Blizzard – A.K.A The Blizzard of 1888 – Rapid temperature drops (from 70 F to -40 F in some places).
3. The Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 – 5 day storm that hit New York and Ontario with 69 mph wind gusts.
4. The North American Blizzard of 1996 – A.K.A. Nor’easter – Over 4 feet of snow in 3 days on the East Coast.
5. The Great Blizzard of 1978 – Hit the Ohio Valley with 100 mph wind gusts and 40″ of snow.
6. The Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940 – An intense low pressure systme that brough high winds, rapid temperature drops, rain, sleet and snow.
7. The Storm of the Centrury – A.K.A. 1993 North American Storm Complex – A superstorm that hit from Central America to Canada and brought everything from tornados to blizzards.
8. The North American Blizzard of 2005 – Over 3 feet of snow in 3 days hit most of the northen U.S.

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If you know of a crazier blizzard or storm, let us know! Join the conversation with us by following @gutterbrush on Twitter, say hey on our Facebook page here, or leave your response down in the comments. Thanks!