Everett, Washington Gutter Pros - Everett Gutter Pros - Blog and Articles

The importance of gutter cleaning and care

3/17/2022

Regular maintenance is the key to keeping your home gutter system intact. Those who assist you in preparing your home for sale may advise you to check your gutters for any bent areas. The saleability of your home is enhanced by clean and well-maintained gutters.

Gutter cleaning should be done at least twice a year, according to most home improvement experts. If your gutters are blocked with debris such as leaves and twigs the rain will not run down or drain properly. It’s crucial to make sure that the rain isn’t spilling over the top of your gutter and onto your foundation. Over time this can cause harm to the home’s foundation.

Fall and spring are the recommended times to clean your gutters after they've been covered in leaves all summer long. While you’re cleaning your gutters you will want to inspect them for any holes or rust through. Make sure there are no loose nails. Check to make sure the gutters are firmly secured to the home.

After you have removed all the debris from the gutter you’ll want to rinse any residual debris down the gutter and into the downspout using your garden hose. This will also allow you to make sure that your downspout isn’t clogged with debris. If you notice the water not running into the downspout you can remove the downspout, clean it and then reattach it.

Use a plastic or concrete diverter to ensure that the water exiting the downspout is properly diverted. You don’t want the water flowing out on the ground where it may promote erosion.

Gutter guards have grown very popular and do away with the problem of needing to clean your gutters, although they will still need twice yearly inspection. For a do-it-yourself type installing gutter guards isn’t a big deal, and, it could save you hundreds of dollars over having the gutter guards placed by experts.

Some people say that gutter guards are too expensive and not worth the money. While gutter guards prevent huge leaves from entering the gutter they do not stop much smaller natural waste such as seeds, buds, small bits of bark and twigs or evergreen needles. Debris in your gutters is the result of all of this natural materials decomposing over time. Also, debris can pile up over the gutter guard screening that will have to be manually cleaned off. Some have found that gutter guards actually bring them more troubles.

Gutter cleaning

notes from the field: dented downspouts

11/10/2021

Damaged gutter downspout

During a recent inspection, we found the following. The homeowner said we could share this picture for everyone's benefit.

Dented gutters (and downspouts especially) can be problematic. Even minor dents can constrict water flow in a downspout and cause issues during heavy rains.

But a much bigger issue is this: Dented downspouts constrict space inside, making it easier for debris to form an obstruction and backup your downspout. Add a few wet leaves or twigs, and we have problems. Add pine needles and smaller debris on top, and you've got a clog. And clogs lead to bad things.

Replacing dented sections is relatively inexpensive, and can be done during your annual cleaning or service. Again, this is an inexpensive fix which can save you money and headaches down the road. Call us now, and we'll get it done.

notes from the field: rodent guards

10/2/2021

Rodent Guards

Our team was pleased to find the following during a recent service visit. This homeowner had done everything right:
-Well cleaned, serviced gutters,
-Downspout extensions to move water away from the foundation,
-Splash guards (the green panel) to move water into the lawn and away from the foundation, and;
-Rodent guards (the white grate) to keep rodents and pests out

Our team disassembled these components, checked them for cleanliness and any obstructions, and put them back together. Great work homeowner!

Rodent guard gutter

SPRAYPAINT RACK BUILT FROM OLD GUTTER

7/21/2021

Gutter project

Here's another use for old gutter section that we love. This is a spray paint storage rack built from old gutter.

The homeowner took used gutter, cleaned it, added end caps, and has attached via two slats of wood to a wall (presumably in the garage) to house spray paint.

This is a fantastic idea, and use of old materials, and we salute you! Well done!

old gutters used for planters

4/14/2021

Gutters

Recently, a customer had us out to completely replace their gutters. They asked us what they could do with the excess gutter as they contemplated whether or not to have us take it away.

Here's what they came up with: gutter planters for their garden. We loved this idea. Some plants don't require all that much space, and fit really well into the narrow space of the gutter.

The idea is simple. Grab old gutter sections, seal the ends with metal caps or cut wood (even hot glue and plastic cut from large bottles could work) and situate in a garden or greenhouse. Fill with planting soil and your favorite plants, water, and let the magic happen. Obviously there's some research required to determine what will grow best (as some plants need lots more space) but we thought this was ingenious way to garden and reuse existing materials in the process.

Happy gardening!

fall means gutter cleaning

10/30/2020

Fall gutter cleaning

Fall is a special time of year and means a lot to our community. A return to school, Halloween and Veteran's Day, a changing of the seasons and a few short weeks to Thanksgiving.

Fall is also special because its time to clean your gutters! We recommend cleaning at least twice each year, and late Fall is typically the most important cleaning. As leaves and debris fall from nearby trees, much of this material winds up in our gutters.

Deciduous trees, and Evergreens alike both shed leaves and needles during this time - so a thorough cleaning is really required wherever you live. Each tree type poses its own issue. Large leaves quickly fill gutters, and can start to clog downspouts. As pine needles fall on roofs and into gutters, they quickly wind up in downspouts and can exacerbate existing minor clogs.

These issues become increasingly problematic as Fall storms set in and dump water on your roof. Then comes the freeze. As cold Winter temperatures turn water to ice - standing water begins to pose an increasing threat to your gutters.

If standing water freezes, it can cause damage to gutters, burst downspouts, and in some cases, entirely rip gutter from your home.

Avoid all of this by completing a Fall cleaning. And avoid the headaches by letting our team help. And while we're at it, happy Fall. Enjoy the season!

6 Reasons not to clean your gutters yourself

10/7/2020

gutter care

Don't buy the hype: gutter maintenance and cleaning is not rocket science, and just about any savvy homeowner can safely and effectively complete this task. However, there are a few things to consider when contemplating whether or not to leave this job to the pros. This post contains a few things to consider when scheduling a gutter related project.

1. Your Time is Valuable. Gutter cleaning (and maintenance tasks) are not fast. We're not talking about mowing the lawn here. Gutter cleaning requires prep, supplies and tools, and a few hours of your time. Plus, it's one of those fun projects that can quickly turn into an all-day affair if you identify an issue. While most homeowners can clean their own gutters, how many own all of the right tools? Do you have a gutter spoon? Is your ladder tall (and sturdy) enough? Are you prepared to deal with an issue? Would you rather spend the time doing something else? Most would. Give us a call and we'll take care of this sometimes unpredictable and less than enjoyable activity.

2. Avoid Damage to Gutters. It may come as a surprise, but gutters can be fragile. Even placing a ladder against them can cause damage - and when you climb that ladder you could seriously dent or bend your gutter system. We can help you avoid this. Our team is well versed in correct ladder placement to avoid damage and quickly complete cleaning and maintenance tasks.

3. Eliminate Risk of Injury. Each year, hundreds of thousands of American are injured in ladder-related accidents. An injury sustained while cleaning your gutters could result from a faulty or poorly anchored ladder, or a number of other factors. This equates to wasted time and productivity for you and your loved ones. If you do tackle the project on your own, we highly recommend enlisting someone's help to hold your ladder as you work. Falls happen fast, and to experienced homeowners. Please be safe and don't let this be you. Avoid the risk of injury all together by letting our gutter pros do the work for you.

4. Insects. Gutters which haven't been cleaned in a while could provide a home to insects, animals, or any other number of living creatures. While we're less concerned with bird nests or a few stashed acorns; wasps, hornets, or burrowing insects can be challenging to remove, and downright nasty to deal with. Leave this to us.

5. Maintenance Issues. One of the benefits of professional cleaning and maintenance is our experienced eyes. As we clean, we inspect your gutters, hardware, mounting brackets, and components to ensure your gutters are in the best shape possible. We may see indicators of issues that average homeowners might look past - missing until its too late. In this sense, cleaning also serves as a "check up" for your gutters. One step in ensuring they live a long life.

6. Our Work is Warrantied. If we clean your gutters, and you have an issue, we'll come out and make it right. If you tackle your project yourself, and find an issue later, you have to pull the ladder back out, troubleshoot the issue yourself, and waste another day. Don't take the chance. Call us out and let us do what we do best.

Improperly Angled gutters

7/1/2020

Consequences of improperly pitched gutters
When it starts to rain outside, a massive volume of water pours down on your house's roof. Your home's primary function is to keep the rain out of your home and everything within. Most roofs are slanted to allow water to drain off and prevent significant precipitation accumulation in areas across the roof. If this happens, the roof will be severely damaged, and holes will appear where the rainfall used to be (it would now be underneath the hole that has formed).

The potential for precipitation to inflict damage.

Rainwater would stream down the sloped roof and then continue to pour down the home's walls, passing through window frames, windows, door frames, doors, and perhaps onto the damp proofing at the bottom of the house if left to its own devices. It would pool in puddles that would take a long time to evaporate in this location. Overall, this would harm the construction of your home, rotting wooden window and door frames and causing cracks in the pavement, among other issues. During the winter, this damage manifests quickly and might lead to more harm.

What drainpipes are for.

The gutters and downspouts are in place to keep this from happening. When the rainfall reaches the conclusion of its journey, they collect it. From there, the guttering's modest slope will direct rainwater into the down pipe, which will then transport it down into the drain and safely away.

The consequences of gutters that aren't correctly pitched.

Incorrectly pitched gutters can have a similar impact, and in rare situations, it can be considerably worse. Improperly pitched gutters that are pitched away from the wall with even a little gap are the same as having no gutter at all, and you will have the same issues. However, if your gutters are wrongly sloped, causing all of the precipitation to concentrate in one spot, the rainwater will most likely run down one side of the wall.

Instead of all of the rainwater from a single day or week being dispersed across the whole wall, it is now concentrated in one spot. Water can erode the brickwork and cement work, resulting in major structural damage as well as internal damp and decay. Both of these problems will cost you a lot more money to remedy than having your drainpipe mended or even having your gutters fully torn down and replaced.

Improperly pitched gutters have disastrous results.

Guttering that is improperly pitched might wind up costing you a lot of money, so make sure everything is working correctly on a regular basis. When it rains, you can quickly detect whether a gutter is appropriately pitched. However, you should have it examined often when you have your roof checked to ensure that the water isn't going back into the roof, as this may cause major damage and is difficult to detect without knowing what to look for.

Gutter angle

Integrated ice cooler built from old gutter

6/25/2020

This idea is amazing.

These folks took an old gutter segment, and built it into a wood picnic bench in the backyard. It required about four brackets, screws, and a plug drilled into the bottom.

With about five feet of gutter with sealed ends, the gutter mounts directly under the bench, with an exposed channel on top. The gutter forms a water-tight channel that can be filled with ice - and drinks of choice - from cans all the way up to wine bottles, as pictured.

We love the creativity, and love recycling! Well done.

avoiding damage and flooding

5/6/2020

Insurance claims from damage from flooding, cold and stormy conditions over the summer months have always increased incrementally. This is due to an expanding number of homes and homeowners across the US. 60 percent of current home insurance claims are connected to severe weather conditions. Homeowners are reminded that in addition to inspecting their trees, gutters, drains, and roofs for damage, they should ensure that they are appropriately insured in case anything goes wrong.

The overwhelming majority of home policies include insurance in respect of flood, however, it is vital to examine your policy to make sure this is so. Simple efforts can be made to prepare a property for the worst that the weather can offer. As a result of the accumulation of debris from your roof's drainage system, a blockage in your gutter system can cause significant damage to your home. The good news is that the majority of these obstructions are simple to remove, but this must be done frequently, ideally at the start of winter to remove leaves that have fallen during the autumn and summer since heavy rainfall appears to be increasing in most parts of the US.

No matter what sort of guttering you have, the troughs will require clearing. It's not a difficult task, but failing to do so can lead to water damage and dry rot infestations that can be costly to repair.

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