Signs of Spring: 2012

Seemingly strange weather patterns continue to break high and low temperature records. The same patterns spawned an early tornado season in the midwestern United States and brought late season snowstorms to the west. Record snow falls and frigid temperatures characterized a particularly difficult winter across Europe with many deaths attributed to the conditions. Signs of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere (which began officially with the Vernal Equinox – March 20 – when the hours of day are approximately equal to the hours of night) like trees blossoming and flowers blooming, the shedding of winter coats and the desire of anyone -who has spent an all too long winter season indoors – to venture outside to soak up the sun. — Paula Nelson (45 photos total)

Photo by Steve Velo

Innovative and new products are constantly entering the home improvement industry. These products and services are great additions to contracting businesses because they can help increase profits as well create an edge over competition.

I know that, as a home improvement contractor, you are hit by manufacturer offers from every direction making it difficult to understand what will truly help your business, and what will probably prove to be a waste of time and money.

Three questions to ask when considering
a value-added product for your contracting business.

How Will The Product Increase My Business’s Profit Margin?

Increasing revenue is the primary goal of all contracting businesses. Any additional purchases should be an investment that will only serve to grow profit while adding value to your client’s life. Your examination of revenue potential must also include a close look at the overhead required in terms of specialized tools, training and additional labor involved. After all a value-added product should complement your business not become your business. So make sure that you consider products that have high value to your client, high revenue potential and extremely low overhead.

Will The Product Increase My Value to My Clients?

If you’re in the roofing, painting, siding, home repair or construction business, you know your services are valued and appreciated by your current customers. After all, they’ve entrusted you to correct and repair one of their most valuable assets, so it’s likely they’ll value any additional help your offer to provide.

Offering a value-added product or service to your clients shows that you’re thinking beyond the present project. That you’re thinking about their welfare and recommending a service you recognized that they might not have considered otherwise.

Will the Product Give My Business an Advantage Over My Competition?

In order to succeed in the contracting business you need to stand out from the crowd. You need to offer something more than your competition to close a potential client project faster. A value-added product or service can often be that unique feature of your business that really sets you apart in a presentation.  In fact, in most cases it’s the extras offered by a business offers that usually closes prospective clients on the spot. Additionally, offering a value added service to your existing customers gives you a solid reason to make a follow-up call or visit that keeps your business in mind rather than your competitors.

So how does the GutterBrush Contractor Program
stand up to these criteria?

Yes, GutterBrush will Increase Your Profit Margin

In fact we can demonstrate that GutterBrush can increase the profit on a job between $300 to $1500. Best of all GutterBrush doesn’t require any training on the part of your employees, take just minutes to install and requires absolutely no special tools for you to purchase. So what will you do with an extra $1,500 profit per job?

Yes, GutterBrush Will Increase Your Value To Your Clients

Clients want to know that you’re thinking about their welfare beyond the job. So while you’re on the roof you will have a perfect opportunity to see the condition of their rain gutters. Explaining the hazards of clogged rain gutter to your client from the perspective of a trusted expert will show that you are considering the client’s overall welfare. Plus, recommending the very affordable & simple solution of GutterBrush in addition to the project at hand will demonstrate value whether or not they take you up on the offer.

Yes, GutterBrush Will Give You an Advantage over Your Competitors

GutterBrush is that extra service that can be offered to help you close deals faster and more profitably. In fact, we make GutterBrush so affordable to our contracting partners that you could easily absorb it into your current service as a nice bonus to get prospects to close quickly with you rather than get a few more offers. GutterBrush is also a perfect reason for you to follow-up with all of your existing clients. Let them know that you just learned about this great new product that will help them avoid water damage to their homes. This will give you a great opportunity to open the conversation to other projects they may have in mind.

The Bottom Line

GutterBrush offers contractors great wholesale pricing and the GutterBrush product is backed by a lifetime warranty. So what are you waiting for, call us now at 1 (888) 397-9433 to learn how the GutterBrush Contractor Program can add value to your client’s while increasing your profit margins.

Rain gutter installation has become a staple in home construction, and most modern homes offer rain gutters as a standard feature. Since they’ve become so common place, rain gutters often go unnoticed. These frequently overlooked roof attachments are actually very important, not just for the safety and longevity of the roof, but to the entire integrity of the house. Rain gutters serve to redirect water down and away from the surface of the roof, preventing exterior damage that water can cause as it soaks down the siding of a home. Without a sufficient and clean rain gutter system in place, rain water can seep into the interior of the home, including the basement, resulting in cracked and unstable foundations and walls and soffits. Repairs to these types of damages become quite costly, and a homeowner who is unable to correct the problem will see a devaluation of their home.

The best and most efficient method to ensure a home stays intact and valuable is to prevent problems before they start. Properly installed rain gutters are the first step, but it’s also equally important that rain gutters stay clear of debris that could clog up the gutters and impede the flow of rain water. Frequent gutter cleaning may seem like the only option, but GutterBrush Gutter Guard offers an alternate solution. By simply placing the GutterBrush Gutter Guard into your rain gutters from end to end, pesky leaves, debris and pests will be unable to form clogs stopping the flow of rain water through the entire drainage system. GutterBrush Gutter Guard’s bristles simply prevent debris from entering the gutter system allowing the natural weather cycles to blow the debris off the roof. GutterBrush Gutter Guard keeps your gutter clear and flowing to prevent damage and reduce the horrible task of gutter cleaning on an annual basis.

Affordable and easily accessible, GutterBrush Gutter Guard can be purchased in numerous national retailers as well as online. Complete with a satisfaction guarantee, GutterBrush is a risk-free product that avoids hassle some gutter cleaning while still protecting and safe-guarding a home’s most valuable assets.

Visit GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard at Booth $1640.

GutterBrush Guys LTD has just announced that they will be attending the 2012 International Roofing Exposition. The event is taking place February 22nd through the 24th in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, South Hall A.  GutterBrush will be among hundreds of industry professionals, providing information on products and services pertaining to the roofing industry.

Located at Booth #1640, GutterBrush will be explaining their Contractor/Partner program, which gives roofing professionals the opportunity to easily extend earnings on any given job. Designed as a bristled brush that is merely slid into the rain gutter, GutterBrush keeps leaves and debris from entering the gutter while allowing water to freely flow.  Through the GutterBrush Partner Program a contractor can add profits of $300-$1,000 to each and every job.

Visitors of the booth will be able to see GutterBrush samples, how GutterBrush Gutter Guard works and learn more about the contractor program directly from the company’s founders. With no overhead costs, no extensive installation training or procedures, offering professional installation of GutterBrush is an easy way increase contractor profits with an in demand value added service.

Owner and founder, Bob Schreiber’s GutterBrush has been a testament to this American made product. Conceived in the early 1990s, Schreiber simply stumbled upon the idea of keeping a brush in a gutter to keep it clean after he noticed that a large bristled brush accidentally left his cabins rain gutter from the previous year had managed to keep his gutter free and clear of all pine needles and leaves that usually caused such a nuisance. After years of testing and marketing, GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard was introduced to the market in 2004.

Originally marketed to homeowners as a convenient and inexpensive alternative to expensive gutter covers, gutter screens and helmets, home improvement expert and radio host Gary Sullivan endorsed the product. This new wave of publicity, along with the support of fellow home improvement personalities The Carey Brothers, Glenn Haege, and The Money Pit, GutterBrush saw a huge demand for their user-friendly, affordable, effective product. Roofing contractors, painters, siding and window installers, chimney sweeps, and other building professionals, started to inquire about this gutter guard solution and wanted to know how to make it a part of their services. Professionals quickly pointed out the reliability of a product that did not need any special equipment to install, could easily be removed for maintenance and also prevented bees and animals from nesting in gutters. Competing gutter guard systems consisting of screens and covers, which required attachment to the gutters or sliding under roof shingles, were too complicated and risky in comparison to GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard. Seizing on this demand, GutterBrush has created the Contractor/Partner pricing program, which they’ll proudly be showcasing at this year’s International Roofing Expo.

For more information concerning GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard or to inquire about the Contractor/Partner Program please visit http://www.gutterbrush.com/roofing or call Randy Schreiber at 1 (888) 397-9433.

Cleaning out gutters every year is not on most homeowner’s top ten list of favorite things to do. So end the mess and the hard work and save money with GutterBrush.

GutterBrush is a simple solution to help prevent gutter clogs and reduce the time spent cleaning gutters. Essentially it is a cylinder shaped brush that fills your gutters keeping leaves, pine needles and other debris from clogging your gutters while allowing water to flow through. GutterBrush helps protect your home from damage and extends the life of your gutters.

Now most gutter guard systems such as gutter screens or covers are expensive. They often require modification to your gutters and roof and they tend to be difficult to install.

GutterBrush is affordable and easy to install; saving you time and money. GutterBrush costs significantly less than the competition and is one of the best rain gutter protection systems on the market today. No tools other than a ladder are required. Just clean out your gutters and then slide sections of GutterBrush into your existing gutters.

Proudly made in the USA, GutterBrush is available in 18 and 36 inch lengths in various diameters to fit from small to extra-large gutters. GutterBrush will work with any type of roof surface. To determine what size GutterBrush you will need measure the width of your gutter opening from the back of the gutter to the front of the lip. Then measure the total length of all your home’s gutters.

GutterBrush is backed by a 1 year satisfaction guarantee and a 25 year warranty against manufacturer defects or deterioration.

Put GutterBrush to work in your gutters and take gutter cleaning off your to do list. For more information about GutterBrush ask one of our employees or visit http://www.GutterBrush.com.

View More Videos that Answer Common Questions about GutterBrush.

What did we find after examining our product as well as the other ones out on the market? Why read a lengthy review when you can watch a helpful video! (You can check out even more helpful videos here)

Click here to listen to the WGN interview (.mp3)

It’s officially mosquito season and you know what that means: doomsday news reports about West Nile virus.

West Nile virus is most commonly associated with the Culex mosquito. Hot, dry weather and stagnant water are the two main ingredients that prized by the Culex.  As temperatures rise, we usually begin to see our first human cases in July or August.

“Now is a good time to get out and inspect your yard for items such as old tires and clogged gutters, where stagnant water can accumulate. These are the types of areas that provide the ideal breeding spots for the Culex mosquito,” said Paul Kuehnert, executive director of the Kane County Health Department. “By identifying problem areas now, you will be able to protect yourself later in the summer.”

Last year, five cases were reported in people in Kane County. In 2009, an unusually mild summer with cool temperatures, there were no human cases of West Nile Virus reported in Kane County. There were three cases of the virus reported in 2008. In 2007 there were 13, four in 2006, 17 in 2005, two in 2004, zero in 2003 and nine in 2002.

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become ill three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.

Only about two persons out of 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness. Illness from West Nile is usually mild and includes fever, headache and body aches, but serious illness, such as encephalitis and meningitis, and death are possible. Persons older than 50 have the highest risk of severe disease.

The best way to prevent West Nile disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Precautions include:

• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes are present.
• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.
• Change water in birdbaths weekly. Properly maintain wading pools and stock ornamental ponds with fish. Cover rain barrels with 16-mesh wire screen. In communities where there are organized mosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.

Additional information about West Nile virus can be found on the Kane County Health Department’s website, the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website. People also can call the IDPH West Nile Virus Hotline at 866-369-9710 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Source: Patch

GutterBrush has actually been reported as being able to absorb the heat of the sun and actually help melt ice dams before they turn into dangerous problems. So what is an ice dam?

Ice dams are typically the result of improper insulation resulting in a “warm roof.” Snow melts on the roof and water trickles down near the rain gutter/eave area where it freezes again and builds up as a block of ice.

GutterBrush Gutter Guard will have no effect on this process, but when the sun comes out, the black GutterBrush Gutter Guard bristles absorb heat and have been reported to promote quicker melting of any ice build up.

GutterBrush can also be used to protect your rain gutters safely with gutter and roof heating cables.

Plus by using Gutterbrush your gutters wont get clogged with debris that causes unprotected gutters to pool with rain water and freeze.

This is the advice given most often to consumers, “Make sure your contractor is licensed, bonded, and insured.” In short, if there are bonding or insurance requirements, these need to be fulfilled in order to get licensed. So, the real question should be, “Are you a licensed contractor?

In order to obtain a contractors license in most states, they must (1) meet the experience requirement for each classification; (2) have an owner or qualifying party pass two written exams, one for business and the other for the skill; (3) Provide proof of Workers’ Compensation Insurance and tax licenses from the Dept. of Revenue for state transaction privilege tax; (4) Provide proof of Tax liability bond, and Licenses bond; (5) pay a license fee and residential contractors must contribute to the Contractors’ Recovery Fund.

The other piece of advice given most often to consumers is: ”Get several bids so you can compare price.” Contractors all understand how important price is to your decision making. It is important you understand the pitfall of only considering price when there are so many other factors that affect you decision. In order for you to be able to compare price, all the bids have to be for the same project, the same products, the same specifications, and the same quality of work. Most contractors will try very hard to give you what you want at the price you want to pay. They will even find cheap products and inexpensive subcontractors to help you meet your budget. Be careful what you ask for and how you ask for it. Remember that the bid is only the starting point in your negotiations with the contractor and not necessarily the bottom line.

Keep in mind that the lowest bid may not necessarily be the best bid, and that an unusually low bid may be cause for alarm. In this case, the contractor may not fully understand the scope of work; may be inexperienced and is underestimating the amount of labor and materials required: or may be planning to cut corners by using inferior materials, low-paid, inexperienced workers, or not following local building codes. You could end up paying to repair or replace work much sooner than if your project was done right the first time with qualified workers and quality materials.

A good contractor will not put a dollar amount on the back of a business card and hand it to you. A contractor should prepare a complete Proposal that refers to the scope of work. It should be broken down in different areas with the price clearly spelled out and with specific brands and models spelled out. A contractor should help you establish a budget that you are comfortable with. The best contractor will listen to you and be respectful of your budget. They should share design ideas with you about your project and help you understand how your decisions and different materials affect the cost. Finally beware of contractors who refuse to give a written estimate or contract. Verbal statements never hold up in court.

A contractor’s reputation is one of his most valuable assets. A good contractor is very willing to share his reputation with his future clients. A reputation is something that sticks with a contractor for years. It takes years of reliable work, many satisfied customers, and enduring relationships with suppliers to build up a good reputation. The best contractor has many references, has testimonials from past customers who had projects like yours, and exhibits a history of pleasing his customers and completing jobs in a satisfactory manner.

The success of a project can hinge on the communication skills of all the people involved in the project. The good contractor understands the value and importance of clear communication. They should value your questions and practices clear communication. Furthermore, the good contractor makes sure there are no misunderstandings, asks for feedback on a regular basis.

We hope that we have helped you better understand all of the common advice given to consumers and then share all of the other elements that will help ensure a successful project.