The GutterBrush Blog

So… You have procrastinated cleaning out your gutters, but still want to get it done before Winter.  Better hurry, you only have 5 days left before Winter officially arrives!

While you are up there taking care of this dreaded but necessary chore, why not spread some holiday cheer and highlight your freshly cleaned gutters with Christmas lights for all to enjoy!?

Christmas-Lights-Hanging-On-Colonial-Style-Home-Gutters

If you really want to have a rewarding gutter cleaning experience you could also install GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard while you are up there and make regular gutter cleaning a thing of the past.

Here are some helpful tips we found for hanging Christmas lights from your gutters.

1.  Measure the length of the gutter where you want to decorate by running a tape measure along the wall below. Add the distance from the gutter to the power outlet so you know what length extension cord to use.

2.  Purchase gutter hangers in the Christmas section of your local department or hardware store. They are small and plastic. One side has a oblong hook to clip onto the gutter and the other side has a hook or clip for the wire of the Christmas lights.

3. Test the lights. Before you plug them in, visually inspect your light strings, looking for broken or missing bulbs and worn or defective wires. If you discover faulty wires, replace the strings entirely. If bulbs are broken or missing, replace the bulbs.

4.  Set up a ladder.  If your home’s gutters are low, you may be able to use a stepladder; otherwise, plan to use an extension ladder. Place it firmly on flat ground and lean it against the gutter, or better yet, use a ladder stand off / stabilizer like Ladder-Max to make your experience on a ladder as safe and secure as possible.  If you must lean the ladder against the gutter, place a short piece of 2 by 4 inside the gutter to reinforce it.

5.  Hang the lights along the gutters.  Your objective is to hang lights as easily and safely as possible without damaging your home’s trim or walls.  Attach the wire of the string of lights to the clip side of the hanger.  Hangers should be placed approximately every 12 – 18 inches.

6.  Plug in the lights and start belting out Christmas Carols to celebrate a job well done!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
GutterBrush Guys Ltd.

www.GutterBrush.com

888-397-9433

They sure do look nice but they are also the primary reason a house should have clean gutters and gutter protection.

Falling leaves and other rotting debris can get stuck in the gutters of a house that are unprotected. This may not seem like a big deal since from the ground a person cannot see the leaves and rot in the gutters, but rot and leaves in gutter can create big problems including significant water damage and landscaping destruction. Gutters are on the house to help with drainage and gutter protection such as gutterbrush makes this an easier job. When the gutters on a roof are filled up with, leaves, debris and rot they no longer can work properly. Once a gutter that is not protected with gutter brush simple gutter guard  is clogged there is no longer any room for water to flow down through the gutters from the roof down the downspout and out to the ground. When the water backs up in the gutters it can spill over in places that can cause water damage to the house and landscaping. Many basements will become flooded because there is not proper drainage from the roof because the gutters are clogged and remain unprotected. The water needs a place to go and if it is not draining in the right place it can cause a lot of water problems. GutterBrush can solve this problem simply and effectively.

Rot and leaf guards

A great way to protect roof gutters from falling leaves and water damage is by using  the gutter brush simple gutterguard. However, there are many companies that make  leaf guards for roof gutters so please shop around for the one that will work best for you. But be sure to choose one that can be used on your particular size of gutter. Water must be able to pass through the guard, but leaves and other debris should not be able to get through to clog the gutters. Gutterguards like gutterbrush simple gutter guard are easily installed and  fit the size of the gutter perfectly.

Cleaning roof gutters

One very simple, but time consuming way to protect a home from clogged gutters is for a person to clean out the gutters. A person can hire someone to clean their gutters or do it themselves. It is kind of a messy job but does not require a lot of tools to complete. A person will need a ladder, gloves, a garbage bag, and a small tool (such as a trowel) to get the leaves and rot out of the gutter. Since the leaves fall from the trees in the fall, it would be smart to clean out the gutters after the leaves have all fallen from the trees and then install gutter protection so you are ready for the rainy season and falling leaves in the future. That way the person does not have to clean out the gutters more than once. However, in some parts of the country the first snow may fall before a person is able to clean out their gutters. If there is not a day during the fall that a person can clean out their gutters they should try to do it as early in the spring as possible to avoid drainage problems.

Lose the trees to solve the clogged gutter problem?

Trees are beautiful in any yard. They are a great addition to landscaping. But when these beautiful trees hang over a person’s house they can cause more harm than good. Not only could it be dangerous when there is a strong wind but even a soft wind that blows the leaves off of the tree can cause some damage. Leaves from a tree that hangs over a roof can easily get caught in the gutter more than a tree that is across the yard. To alleviate the problem a person can cut down the trees that have a lot of leaves that hang over their house. It is important that a person takes a lot of precaution when cutting down a tree that hangs over their house. A branch could easily fall and damage the house. A person could hire someone who cuts down the trees professionally to do the job. This is probably not the best course of action from an environmental or aesthetic perspective and could be avoided by using a gutter protection system such as gutterbrush. Either way you should think long and hard about how to protect your property form costly water damage due to clogged gutters.

Good luck and remember to put safety first!

Do you need a new roof? Are you trying to decide how to save some money on the job? One way people try to do this is to place the new roof installed over an existing layer of roofing. This technique is quite common in many areas and many roofing contractors don’t see any problem with this method and have no problem trying to sell homeowners on a lay-over or go-over as this technique is called.

Don’t do this. EVER.

Here are the top five reasons laying a new roof over an old one is a terrible idea.

First, there are sure to be areas that have or had leaks and they can’t always be addressed properly

There is a good chance that your old roof had some problem areas including possible leak spots, whether you noticed them or not. Without tearing off the old roof and properly identifying these types of trouble spots and determining where the leak was coming from and traveling to it is impossible to tell what areas of your roof may need some special attention.

Second, any rotted wood under the existing roofing will only get worse leading to an even more expensive fix down the road.

There could be areas that have rotted wood hiding under the old roofing. These rotted areas need to be identified and replaced before a new roof is installed. Obviously if your roofing contractor is only doing a lay-over roofing installation then these rotted areas will remain covered up and only get worse as the years go on. Also the nails holding down the shingles in areas with rotted wood cannot properly do their job and you have a much higher risk of shingles blowing off in those areas.

Third, the eaves, rakes and valleys always need special treatment and not doing so will cause more costly repairs later.

This is a big one. The eaves, rakes and valleys of your house need special attention when your home’s roof is being installed. This is especially important in colder climates like Massachusetts, where we are located. In the winter time the eaves of your house are under attack by Mother Nature, whether it is through ice dams, snow build up, or just the constant freezing and thawing that occurs throughout the winter season. When a new roof is properly installed the roofing contractor needs to put new aluminum drip-edge around the entire perimeter of your roof.

Next they need to apply a 3 foot wide section of ice & water barrier around the perimeter as well as in any valleys on your roof. Then they can begin to install the new roofing. Without tearing off the original roofing there is no way to properly install the new drip-edge or ice & water barrier. On a lay-over type of roofing install, the roofing contractor is counting on the existing products on the home’s roof to still be up to par and be able to handle the winter conditions. All too often the old products fall short whether it was because they have outlived their lifetime, were sub-par to begin with, or maybe they were never there to begin with (all to often the latter is the case with ice & water barrier).

Fourth,  the extra roofing weight is no good for old rafters and can cause structural failure and safety hazards in the structure.

One of the more obvious problems with a lay-over re-roof is the added weight of the extra layer of shingles. On most newer homes this is not an issue, however many older homes have rafters that are considered undersized by today’s framing standards. It is not uncommon to see 2×6 rafter systems on many of these houses. Now in most situations a 2×6 rafter is undersized to begin with and you certainly don’t want to be adding the weight of a new roofing layer on top of an old roofing layer to these already undersized rafter systems.

Fifth, adding a roof on top of another roof will lead to a shorter roof life expectancy.

Most responsible roofing contractors agree that a lay-over roof will decrease the new roof’s lifetime by about 25%. This fact alone means that any money you might have saved by doing a lay-over, as opposed to a tear-off and new roof install, was only a short term savings. In addition, you now have 2 layers of roofing that will need to be removed the next time your roof is done and that will also add more cost to the job

Tearing off the old roof and then installing a new one is always superior to laying a new on on top of an old one. And as always, do not forget your gutter protection system needs!

We have seen a significant increase in finished basements being used as living rooms and bedrooms especially as families become more extended due in part to the current financial situation. Therefore, using this usually reserved storage space for living areas can result in problems that can be both annoying and uncomfortable humidity, but can also cause significant health problems for those who live and spend time in them. Mildew and mold can easily occur and flourish in damp areas as well as in carpets and upholstery. Completing a basement before taking the actual water issues, if any, present can easily lead to the creation of health problems and/or substantial damage to the building itself. Well then, where does the water come from?

If the area near the foundation is not level or slopes toward the house, it is most likely that the water will be directed towards the foundation and into the basement. Often the earthen floor next to the house’s foundation is filled without proper compaction and/or drainage plans. To correct this one needs to grade the earth around the house away from the foundation wall, not less than one inch per foot for at least six feet.

Gutters and downspouts are also very important to keeping water out of the basement living space. These systems keep the water from running down the side of the house and pooling around the foundation followed by seeping into the basement. It is important to keep the downspouts emptying far enough away from the home so that this water penetration is less likely to occur.  There are other components to keeping the basement dry but they fall outside of the scope of this author’s technical and practical skillset. However, you can find this information quite easily on the world wide web.  Stay dry this spring and keep your property protected as well!

Save for a few enthusiasts of home repair projects, one of the most dreaded for homeowners is roof repair. A roof that leaks can cause major damage to the structure of your home and, if left unchecked, could eventually lead to the damage of many of the possessions inside. Asphalt shingles, which are what you’ll find on most roofs, generally only last 15 to 20 years and can require a lot of maintenance and upkeep.

If you’re looking for an alternative to the exhausting process of roof repair and maintenance with asphalt shingles, you may want to consider rubber roofing. Worried that rubber roofing sounds like stretching out a dozen Goodyear treads over your home? Don’t worry–although rubber roofing materials can come in a roll for buildings with flat roofs, you can also buy rubber shingles, which look much like slate shingles and come in a variety of colors and designs.

Another advantage to using rubber roofing materials is that most rolls and shingles are composed of recycled tires, saw dust and slate dust, which are much more eco-friendly than other roofing materials. Although rubber-roofing shingles can be more expensive than asphalt shingles, rubber roofs are much more durable and less likely to crack and crumble through tumultuous weather and drastic changes in temperature. Rubber shingles are also much cheaper and lighter than slate shingles–if that’s the style you’re looking for–and are similarly fire resistant. Rubber roofing materials also last much longer and require less maintenance–most manufacturers warranty their roofs for thirty to fifty years, and some even carry a lifetime warranty. The first rubber roof, installed on a home in Wisconsin in 1980, is still holding strong today!

No matter the size of your  business the costs involved in the preparation of estimates for prospective clients are significant. They can also take up a considerable amount of time and effort adding even more to your cost of doing business. While charging for an estimate as a means of getting back some of the initial outlay in resources is not a best practice, eliminating the inefficiencies and waste by utilizing available technology can result in less expenditures of finite resources.

This is where utilizing Google Street View may be very beneficial. How so? That is an excellent question.

First,  you can usually see what the street was like and if parking was available. This allows for proper planing to assure an on time arrival which is a great way to start off the relationship with the potential client. Second, it often allows visibility into the type of property where the estimate is going to be made. This also allows for some strategic planning prior to arrival on scene. Third, if you are in the roofing industry this technology often allows you to see exactly which type of roof is present on the property as well as other important roofing variables needed to make a sound estimate. This information can allow you to be prepared to offer a customized estimate to the potential client without having to take unnecessary time to do so due to already having knowledge of the roof type. Fourth,  you can often determine obvious structural defects from the photos available. Again, this type of due diligence saves you time on site but also helps you to project a very professional image. Fifth, using this technology allows you to be completely prepared in terms of what equipment you will need to make the best estimate possible. For example, Google Street View may allow you to determine what size ladder(s) may be needed to make an inspection/estmate. Finally, this technology allows you to capture an image of the property for any client files you may be keeping for the estimate and any subsequent work.

I suggest you give this technology a look to see if you can implement it to make a very positive impression on your prospective clients.

Rain barrels

Residential water use increases 40 to 50% during summer months due to outdoor water use. Stormwater runoff is the leading type of residential non-point source pollution.

What is a rain barrel?

A rain barrel collects and stores rainwater from rooftops to use later for lawn and garden watering.

Water collected in a rain barrel would normally pour off your roof directly or flow through gutterbrush and roof gutter downspouts and become stormwater runoff.

Depending on your yard, this runoff can travel onto paved surfaces and eventually into a storm drain.

54 gallon, green plastic rain barrel with screened cover and outlet hose. Also comes with overflow hose and linking kit to connect a set of two.

Why Use Rain Barrels?

• Rain barrels conserve water and help lower costs (a rain barrel can save approximately 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months).
• Rain barrels reduce water pollution by reducing stormwater runoff, which can contain pollutants like sediment, oil, grease, bacteria and nutrients.
• Rain barrels are inexpensive and easy to build and install.

A rain barrel can be used to save water for plants during dry periods. Rain barrels can also be arranged to slowly release the collected rain fall to areas that can soak up the water, reducing stormwater runoff and increasing groundwater recharge.

Operation and Maintenance
Rain barrels should be drained and removed for the winter months to prevent ice damage. It is recommended that you remove the existing downspout and elbow intact and store for reinstallation in the late fall. You can then add another downspout section that will need to be custom cut to an appropriate height above your rain barrel. Two, connected downspout elbows (forming an S shape) or hinged extension should sit about two inches above the rain barrel inlet hole. Fine mesh screen should be used to cover any openings in the rain barrel to prevent mosquitoes and to trap debris. Rain barrels can be installed upon blocks or wooden crate to provide height for gravity flow purposes.

Where to purchase?
Ready-made rain barrels range from $89 to $135 each depending on size, style and added features. For local suppliers, inquire at your local home and garden supply store, garden center, nursery, or hardware store.

You can also do an internet search on rain barrels and gutterbrush.

What’s most likely to destroy your home?