John Morris asked:


It is important to periodically monitor the overall condition of a home. Wear and tear as a result of weather and age occurs in every home, and it is wise to take care of problems before they lead to extensive and costly repairs. Routine maintenance should be done to ensure that everything is well in all parts of the home. This should especially be the case as far as the exterior of the home is concerned because it is the exterior of the home that is most subjected to wear and tear.

1. Maintain Your Gutter

One of the best tips that can be given for the proper maintenance of the exterior of the home is by maintaining the gutter. The gutter is the trough fixed under or along the eaves for draining rainwater from a roof. Gutters in general are also are called eaves spouts, eaves trough, rainspouts and spouting. Because they are located at the exterior of the home their proper maitenance has a direct impact upon the overall appearance of the home. Maintaining gutters is an easy task. One only has to think about the serviceability they are able to offer once they are rid of everything that they need to be rid of. Clogged gutters can cause landscaping, lawn and shrubbery, walls, foundation, basement, crawl spaces and existing gutter system great damage. This is the reason why these channels should be kept clean at all times.

2. Gutter Maitenance Tips

In maintaining gutters, it is important for one to make sure that he has all the materials needed before starting work. It is not advisable for him to stop in the middle of a task to hunt for a tool. The first step is to clean the gutters with a narrow stiff-bristled brush. A wallpaper brush can be used to sweep out debris when the gutters are dry. It is also not advisable to clean the gutters by flushing them with a garden hose. This might cause the downspout to clog. Gutters should be cleaned when they are dry, and the hose should be used to flush out any remaining debris.

- Clean any leaves, twigs or other debris off the roof - Walking on the roof and using an old broom or a leaf blower, pitch all debris down into the yard - Once the roof is clean of debris, start on the gutters themselves - Using a narrow trowel or putty knife, gently lift any debris in the gutters out and pitch it down to the yard - For safety purposes, it is a must to check all the supports when the gutters themselves are clean enough - Hose the gutters down - Use the hose to test the gutters ability to rapidly redirect water

3. Gutter Tips

It is not advisable to lean ladders against the gutter. Installing a plastic support piece to the gutter to support the weight of the ladder is what should be done. The support piece in question provides a permanent access point to the roof and is fastened to the wood underneath the roof using galvanized deck screws. It can also be mounted directly to the gutter. Purchasing a ladder stabilizer for added ladder safety is also a must as the ladder stabilizer locks onto the rungs of the extension ladder, preventing the ladder from shifting side to side.

4. Prevention Is Better Than Cure - Gutter Guards

Those who want nice-looking, serviceable gutters for their homes are advised to consider installing gutter guards, screens that prevent debris from entering the gutter. These devices also direct the flow of water away from the house and into the ground. This way, one will have gutters that will prove to be more of a blessing than a curse. Proper maintenance of these devices will cause them to be extremely useful while adding a touch of style to the exterior of the home which they form part of.



Goodman Heat Pumps

Angelo asked:


want to put gutter guards on the gutters but are expensive, any solutions?

Rheem Gas Furnace

ginger asked:


Hansons Windows Heads to Troy. Beginning October 1, 2009, the Hansons corporate office will be located in Troy, Michigan. They discovered a 185,000 square foot building that had been vacated by Cadence, an automotive supplier.  “Although we don’t need a space that large, it gives us room to grow”, said Brian Elias, President of Hansons. The building won the “Best of Troy” 2 years ago and Hansons is looking forward to becoming the new occupant. The city of Troy has welcomed them with open arms as well.

Brian Elias feels that this is a very exciting time for Hansons and he is confident the decision to move to a more modern and efficient facility will bring improved quality and faster service to Hansons customers. These innovations will also help them control cost and maintain a competitive edge in the home improvement market.

Below is the new address and contact information. All email addresses and fax numbers will remain the same as well as 1-800-Hansons toll free number.



977 E. 14 Mile Rd

Troy, MI 48083-4519

About Hansons Windows and Siding.

At Hansons, we are a family, serving families we anticipate our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations.” Elias said, “We don’t wait for our customers to find us we; find them. We offer Replacement Windows, siding, roofing, doors, gutters, and gutter protection systems, as well as real estate sales, mortgages and re-financing to residential customers in the Midwest. Our Product diversity was developed in direct response to our customer’s request. Our customers first and get it done philosophies separate us from our competition we do what it takes, every day, to make Hansons the best place for our family to serve yours.”Established in 1988, Hansons Windows and Siding, Inc. provides the best quality Replacement Windows, Vinyl Siding, Roofing, Entry Doors, Insulation and Gutter Guards for the states of Michigan and Ohio. For more details please go to www.hansons.com



Online Cpr Certificate

Anthony Peck asked:


When you think of flooding you usually think of homes along the coast. Memories of Hurricane Katrina and visions of river banks overflowing fill your mind. What you don’t usually think of is flooding in the middle of Kansas-but with the amount of snow that’s graced the Kansas plains this year it’s a very real threat, and one that homeowners shouldn’t ignore.

The first thing any Kansas homeowner should do is look into potential sources of flood insurance. Most homeowners insurance providers are hesitant to insure your home against flooding, even if it comes as a result of melting snows, which means you may have a hard time finding quality coverage-and the major danger from this type of flooding comes not to your person but to your belongings. Your basement might never be the same!

Because finding flood insurance after the winter flooding might be a problem, Kansas homeowners are advised to contact the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) via FEMA to inquire about purchasing what essentially amounts to a last ditch effort to minimize the impact on their homes when warm weather comes rolling in. While insurance purchased through the NFIP is not as cheap as that found in the private sector, it’s still a far cry from being caught without any protection at all.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what you can to minimize the damage-both this year and next! There are a number of steps you can take to minimize the impact that this winter flooding is going to have on your home. Houses in the Northeast have been doing it for years! Be sure your windows are double paned and insulated well enough that water rushing past them will not be able to seep through the cracks. Wood is vulnerable to flooding, which is why many houses in northern areas prefer brick or rock foundations instead.

If possible, raise your foundation above the flood area-keeping windstorms in mind, of course. Keep your gutters clear to allow water to flow smoothly from the roof rather than through your walls! Gutter guards will help stop your gutters from clogging and direct the water flow away from your home.

If you have an attic, it’s a prime threat for winter flooding. Why? Because heat from the attic escapes and causes the snow on the roof to melt, then refreeze, a cycle that repeats itself until there’s so much weight on your roof that it all comes tumbling down. Check the insulation in your walls, and consider installing sheets of plastic to keep water out of your basement if the threat seems too severe.

You’re far from helpless to protect your home from winter flooding, but it’s important that you take steps now to minimize the damage to your house and/or apartment and protect your property before the fluffy white you’ve been enjoying all winter turns into a cold, muddy rampage dead set on coming home for dinner.



Paint Stick

richt1234 asked:


I have two big pine trees near my house. The 75 ft of first level gutter fills up with pine tree needles, cones, etc. I clean them usually once every 6 weeks or so.

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