Sock Woodruff asked:


Almost every home is equipped with rain gutters. These rain troughs or eave troughs, usually made of metal, hang below the eaves of your roof to catch rain (or melting snow) as it runs down your roof. The rain gutters collect the water, then direct the water to downspouts, and finally direct the water on to splash pads that sit on top of the ground. This system prevents water from running down the fascia board, from possibly wetting the outside walls of you house, from collecting on the ground near the foundation (maybe leaking into the basement where it can do further mischief), and dropping onto the ground, possibly starting an erosion ditch in your yard.

The majority of American homes are equipped with what are called K-style rain gutters. However, some older homes—or certain new homes where the architect or owner just preferred their appearance—are equipped with a different style of rain gutter, the half-round gutter.

Whether K-style or half-round, all rain gutters suffer from one kind of problem. They collect debris in the form of leaves, pine needles, acorns, tree blossoms, tree seeds, twigs, and other materials. Over time, the accumulated debris can block the gutter. This leads to a recurring item on your “honey, do” list of home maintenance—cleaning out the rain gutters. Depending on where you live, and how many trees you and your neighbors have, you may find yourself doing this task two, three, even four times a year.

Before long, you might find yourself wondering if there isn’t some way to avoid this task. Fortunately, there is—install some kind of a rain gutter protection system that will keep the debris out of your rain gutters. They come in a number of different types and styles including gutter guards, gutter covers, gutter screens, or gutter filters. K-style rain gutters are more popular than half-round gutters, and other kinds of gutter protection products are available for K-style gutters. Don’t mourn, however, if your house is equipped with half-round gutters; there are still options available to you. At GutterSupply.com there is a variety of types to choose from. Pictures of the many different types and styles are provided. Clicking on any product name or photo will give you information that is more detailed.

The half-round hinged gutter screen is a favorite, due to its added advantage of being easy to install. The hinged screen comes in 3-foot sections that are attached to the gutter with stainless steel clips. There are screens available that fit 5-inch or 6-inch half-round gutters. Screens are available made from aluminum, steel, or copper. The steel screens are the least expensive, starting around $1.36 per foot. Aluminum screens are a little more expensive, starting at $1.53 per foot. As usual, copper is the most expensive choice, starting at $4.84 per foot. Why a hinged cover? Because while the screen cover will keep most material out of the rain gutter, some small pieces of debris may still pass through the screen holes, or even get stuck in the screen itself. Therefore, you may still have to clean the gutters occasionally—but not very often.

Another option (one that reduces future gutter cleaning to near zero) is the GutterFill Gutter Filter. This is a durable, outdoor open cell foam made of polyether-polyurethane. The foam is shaped to fit the rain gutter. The top of the foam is level with the top of the gutter. Water flows freely through the foam. All the other stuff lands on top of the foam to be rinsed away by water or blown away by the wind. It is easy to install and is guaranteed for 20 years. The foam comes in four-foot sections that start at $5.70/foot for the 5-inch half-round gutter size. You can choose several other options, as well. These include a gutter guard call Gutta Guard. There is also a gutter cover product called Gutter Shingle that requires some modification for use with half-round rain gutters. Call GutterSupply.com for further details on exactly what is required and for current prices.

There is always the question of whether you want to want to climb up on a ladder and do it yourself or hire a contractor to do the work for you. If you are handy and able, you can save a few dollars by going the DIY route. On the other hand, if handyman work isn’t your cup of tea, or if you would just rather be watching the kids’ baseball or soccer league game, maybe a contractor will be your choice. In any case, GutterSupply.com can provide the information to help you select the right gutter protection product for your home.

Sock Woodruff is founder and partner of GutterSupply.com, the leading manufacturer and distributor of gutter supplies, gutter machines, gutter covers, and related tools and equipment.



Insulated Vinyl Siding

damacher asked:


There’s a reason why people procrastinate cleaning their gutters. It’s dangerous. No one likes hauling the ladder around or twisting their back to get at hard-to-reach spots. However, ignoring the chore can do long-term damage to your roof, basement, foundation, fascia, and even the interior of your home.

Gutter protection is a permanent solution to these problems. A gutter protection system is a guard that installs over your existing gutters and is customized to fit to your roof without screws. It prevents leaves, dirt, and debris from entering your gutter system so that water flows properly away from your home.

(1) Ladders are Dangerous

Every year, hundreds of people fall from ladders while cleaning their gutters. Serious injuries, such as broken bones and head trauma, are the result. Gutter protection keeps you from climbing that dangerous ladder in the first place.

(2) No More Leaves and Debris in Your Gutters

When your gutters are clogged with leaves, they can actually do more damage than not having gutters at all. With a gutter protection system, the principles of gravity and surface tension cause leaves and debris to drift to the ground. Rainwater clings to the nose of the gutter guard and flows freely into your gutter and downspouts.

(3) Prevents Frozen Gutters

During cold weather the water in clogged gutters freezes into heavy beams of ice. Gutters are often damaged because they are not built to sustain that much weight. Also, during the day, the ice begins to melt, thus soaking the fascia. At night, the water refreezes and pushes the fascia outward. Gutter protection keeps water flowing away from the house and prevents ice from forming in the first place.

(4) Stops Wood from Rotting

Standing water is your home’s worst enemy. If your gutters do not function properly because they are frozen or full of debris, your soffit and fascia boards will absorb rainwater and start to rot.

(5) Avoid the Liability of Hired Help

Cleaning gutters on a ladder is dangerous. Hiring someone to do the job may make you liable for any injuries they receive. That’s just one more thing to worry about.

(6) Keep Your Landscaping Beautiful

Clogged and saturated gutters threaten your landscaping. Rain has nowhere to flow except off of the roof and onto plant life below. An uncontrolled flow of water will drown plants, erode soil, and create more hassles for you.

(7) Pest Control

Clogged gutters are generally damp, dark places filled with leaves and debris. Just the sort of place insects love. A gutter protection system keeps gutters clean and will prevent insect infestation.

(8) Protect Your Foundations

The stability of your house depends on the ability of the soil to absorb rain. Builders constructed your home to stand up to soil conditions assuming that drainage systems carry water away from the home. When gutters fail, water moves toward the foundation. When soil becomes saturated, leaks can occur, and cause the foundation to shift or crack.

(9) Prevent Mold and Mildew in Attics and Crawl Spaces

Attics and crawl spaces are just like your gutters. They are awkward to clean or work on. Keep water away from these places and you won’t have to worry about fixing what years of mold and mildew have damaged.

(10) One Less Thing to Worry About

Peace of mind. Everybody wants it, but life is filled with things to worry about. Gutter protection is a guaranteed way to stop stressing about your house and start enjoying your home.

Learn more about gutter protection and house gutters at http://www.gutterprotectiononline.com.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide. You may reprint this article with all links and text intact. Do not alter or edit content in any way.



Designer Scented Candles

choirgirl3 asked:


There are many systems on the market and they all claim to be the better deal. My house is under lots of oak trees and the gutters usually have some leaves or spinners in them. Lately, we have been looking at the Leaf Guard system. It’s expensive, at 3500.00.

What is your opinion about this system? Is it the best on the market?

Pet Cpr Training

Sock Woodruff asked:


A good Rain gutter system is essential to protecting your home from water damage. A rusted, leaky rain gutter is can do as much damage as a leaky roof.

But choosing a rain gutter system can be confusing. Gutters come in a variety of types, styles and materials. They can range from cheap vinyl gutters costing about $1 per foot, all the way up to ornamental copper gutters costing as much as $12 per foot.

Which type is right for you?

 

Sectional vs. Seamless GuttersYour first decision is whether to buy sectional or seamless gutters. Unless you are on a very tight budget, this should be an easy decision. Sectional gutters are sold in pieces through home improvement retailers like Lowe’s The Home Depot. Sections are glued or snapped together to form the length of gutter you need. These gutters are inexpensive, but are notorious for developing leaks at the joints over time.

Seamless gutters consist of a single gutter that is custom-sized to fit your roof. Since they are custom-made, they’re more expensive, but they are far less likely to have leaks down the road. As a result seamless gutters have become the most popular option for new homes. Seamless gutters are usually created on-site at your home by a contractor with a gutter machine. This is easier than transporting big gutter sections in a truck.

Choice of Material You can chose Rain guttersmade from a variety of materials. Which one is right for you? Vinyl is the least expensive material, costing about $1 per linear foot. But vinyl has a low durability. It can become brittle and break in cold climates, and exposure strong sunlight will cause the vinyl to break down over time. Aluminum is the most popular material for gutters. It is inexpensive, lightweight, and rust-proof, plus it is available in many colors. Aluminum costs about $2 per linear foot. Galvanized steel is strong, durable and should resist rust for 20 years or more. The strength of the material makes it a good choice for homes exposed to extreme precipitation. It costs $2-$3 per linear foot.

Copper is the most expensive gutter material, costing $7-$12 per linear foot. It is strong and rust-proof. Copper will also acquire a greenish patina as it ages, making it a popular choice for period homes. If you prefer the shiny look of new copper, you can buy treated copper that stays as bright as a new penny. Be aware, though, that copper gutters can be tricky to install, since it can discolor if it comes in contact with oils from your skin or work gloves.

K-Style vs. Half Round Gutters Gutters come in either a trough shape known as a K-style, or in a U-shape known as a half round gutter. K-style gutters are more modern and represent the majority of rain gutters found today. Half round gutters have a more traditional look, especially when made of copper. Half round gutters are a popular choice for people wanting a historical look. Both styles will provide good drainage for your home, so the choice is mostly aesthetic.

Gutter Downspouts In addition to the gutters themselves, you’ll need downspouts to carry the runoff and drain it safely away from your home. Rectangular downspouts are typically 2 by 3 inches or 3 by 4 inches wide, while circular downspouts are typically 3-4 inches in diameter. You may also need a splash block to catch splatter coming out of the downspout.

Sizing Your Gutters Your rain gutters handle a lot of water. Consider this: one inch of rain falling on a 1000 square feet of roof amounts to 550 gallons of water flowing off your house. So how big do your gutters need to be? Calculating the exact drainage of your gutter system is beyond the scope of this article, but a few rules of thumb can steer you to the right choice.

Your gutters should be sized based on the maximum rainfall you can expect, not the average rainfall. That means a house in Dallas, Texas, which can experience strong micro-burst storms, actually needs a bigger gutter system than one in Seattle, Washington, where the rain is more frequent but less intense.

If your home has a steeply-pitched roof, it will collect more water as the wind blows rain onto your roof. A roof with a 45-degree pitch will collect about thirty percent more rain than a flat roof.

Gutterscan range anywhere from 4 inches to 8 inches wide, but 5 and 6 inch gutters are the most common.

If your home needs to handle intense storms, you can either install wider gutters or install more or wider downspouts to drain water away more quickly.

Gutter Screens In addition to gutters and downspouts, it is a good idea to include sort kind of screen in your gutter system. Gutter screens help to keep out leaves, seeds and nuts that can clog your gutters. These items have a variety of names, including gutter screens, gutter guards, and even gutter helmets. Each name describes a different approach to keeping leaves out, while ensuring a good flow of water into the gutter.

Gutter screens are not foolproof. Even the best systems will sometimes allow a few pine needles or small seeds to get into your gutters. But the alternative is cleaning your gutters twice a year, which can be a nasty job.



Trane Heat Pumps

Chris D asked:


I have a bow window in my living room. Last month i noticed water was coming in through the window as well where the trim meets the window. the problem was there was ice damming and the water was coming in through the roof. the ice damming was pretty bad, from the gutter about 3foot up and the total length of the window about 9 foot. so i called the insurance company and they came out to estimate the damages. i also got 2 contractors out and they sent her an estimate to fix the problem. today i herd from the insurance company and they will send me a check to replace the window minus my deductible. i am fine with that but i think that they should also pay to fix the problem which is ice damming and water coming in my house. i am afraid that after installing a new bow window that next winter i will have the same problem. one contractor said i would just need to keep the area around the window clear of snow and the gutters clean an i wont have a problem. i don’t have ice guard under the shingles and didn’t know that when i bought the house 6 years ago. the roof still has 10 years on it. i think the insurance should pay for whatever fix is needed to keep the water out in the future like ice guard or whatever. what do u think about this? thanks

Rapala Fishing Lures

Sock Woodruff asked:


For hundreds of years rain gutters have been used in house design. Many different materials have been used over the centuries starting with stone, later zinc and wood, and today aluminum, galvanized steel, or copper. And as long as there have been rain gutters, there has been the need to regularly clean out the gutters because they have always collected and filled up with leaves, twigs, seeds, and other debris.

What is needed is something that will allow the water to pass through but will catch and hold any solid material being carried along by the water. Various inventive people have created all kinds of solutions. Today these are marketed as gutter guards, gutter covers, gutter screens, or gutter filters. The simplest solution is some kind of gutter screens. There are a number of different kinds currently available. Many of them employ a sheet of what is called expanded metal, which is made from a flat sheet with diamond-shaped holes. When water is poured on the screen it readily runs through the holes. A similar plate can be made from vinyl or plastic material by casting the holes.

Anything larger than the holes is caught and held back. The holes are rather large, and small pieces (broken pieces of leaves, dirt, etc.) can pass through. In addition, pine needles or leaf stems that hit the holes point-on can enter the holes. They may pass through or get stuck in the holes. Screens can become clogged with caught material and require periodic cleaning. Sometimes very fine dust or dirt is blown or sucked up into the air by winds or storms. This material can be picked up by raindrops and carried down with the rain. This fine material will readily pass through the diamond-shaped holes.

An alternative approach is to use a plate with long, narrow slits to pass the water. The width of the slit in such a gutter guard is much smaller than the dimensions of the diamond-shaped hole screen. This will prevent much smaller solid matter from being carried into the rain gutter. The flow rate through these slots will be somewhat slower than through the expanded metal screen. Most of the solid material stopped by the slot plate will be washed off the plate by the rain. Some may accumulate on top of the plate. This will normally dry out after the rain stops and be blown off by the wind.

Another strategy is to use a gutter cover. Water has a characteristic called water tension that makes it act like an elastic sheet. This is what allows water spiders to flit around on the surface of a pond. Capillary action makes the water try to stick to the surface of the gutter cover. Visualize a gutter cover with a horizontal flat-top surface and a half-circle curve on the left end. If a BB slowly rolled across the flat plate to the curve, it would then follow the curve from the 12 o’clock position until it got to the 9 o’clock position. Gravity would then make it fall directly to the ground.

If water were flowing over that same cover, the water would follow the curve from the 12 o’clock position all the way to the 6 o’clock position. If a short vertical tab were located at that point the water would run down the tab. Gravity would then make it fall. On a rain gutter cover, the lip of the cover is positioned so the debris falls outside the rain gutter, but the water falling from the tab falls inside the gutter.

With every one of these systems the idea works, but not perfectly so. There is always a little bit of debris that gets carried into the gutter by the moving water—but not much. However, a gutter filter may be the best solution yet. Instead of a filter or a cover, this system uses a piece of open cell foam that completely fills the top of the gutter. There are no open holes, no gaps, and only the tiniest bits of material, smaller than the very small foam cell size, can try to enter. The debris does stay on top, does dry out, and is blown away by the wind.

Installing one of the different kinds of gutter protection systems can avoid a lot of trouble, hassle, and home maintenance, whether you choose gutter guards, gutter covers, gutter screens or gutter filters. They all function to keep debris out of the gutter and keep water flowing freely through the gutter. The designs differ considerably, and the need for periodic maintenance is not entirely eliminated—you may still have to clean out the gutter, but only rarely rather than two to four times a year. For further information, pictures, and prices for these many products, go to GutterSupply.com.

Sock Woodruff is founder and partner of GutterSupply.com, the leading manufacturer and distributor of gutter supplies, gutter machines, gutter covers, and related tools and equipment.



Decorate Fireplace Mantel

Sock Woodruff asked:


Is your house equipped with rain gutters made of copper? If so, congratulations—in many ways, copper may be the ultimate material for rain gutters. It is stronger than aluminum, has a beautiful finish when new, withstands the effects of weather well, does not deteriorate under the attack of UV rays from the sun, and gradually develops a beautiful green or gray patina over a period of years. In addition, copper rain gutters can last for 75 to 100 years or more.

Even though you might have beautiful copper rain troughs adorning your house, by itself copper does nothing to avert the major bane of all rain gutter owners: cleaning out the gutters. The wind and rain carry all kinds of stuff into rain gutters. Every spring there are tree blossoms, to be followed in the fall by leaves, nuts, and seeds, sometimes accompanied by twigs, dirt, and bird nests. This collection of things may attract various kinds of insects. The debris may then block the gutters and downspouts, resulting in water overflowing the gutters, dripping down the walls, and eroding your yard. If you are really unlucky, the water may find its way into your basement.

To avoid these problems you probably need to clean out the rain gutters several times a year—unless you install a gutter protection system to keep all that debris out of your rain gutters in the first place. There are many different kinds of gutter protection systems available today including gutter guards, gutter covers, gutter screens, and gutter filters. All of them are intended to let the water drain into the rain gutter while keeping the debris out. Adding gutter protection will eliminate the need for cleaning out the gutters up to four times a year and avoid the other kinds of damage that might occur. In selecting a gutter protection system, most people will choose a product made of the same material as the rain gutters. The usual materials are galvanized steel, aluminum, and copper. Because the majority of home gutter systems are not made from copper, some of the gutter protection systems are not available in copper, but there is still a wide selection from which to choose.

GutterSupply.com illustrates 15 different types and styles of gutter protection systems. Pictures of the different types and styles are provided. Clicking on any product name or photo will give you information that is more detailed. Six of these products are available in copper. If you favor a screen-type unit, there are three different products from which to choose. If you have half-round gutters, the Half-Round Hinged Gutter Screen is available to fit 5-inch or 6-inch gutters. The screens come in 3-foot sections. The individual sections are easily fastened to the gutter with stainless steel clips, resulting in low installation labor cost. A gutter screen will prevent all except rather fine material from passing into the rain gutter. However, some small bits of material may get stuck in the screen openings. Occasional cleaning may still be required, but at very infrequent intervals. If your gutters are of the K-style design, your choice is either a K-Style Hinged Gutter Screen or K-Style Drop-In Gutter Screen. These units also come in 3-foot sections. Both types are available to fit either 5-inch or 6-inch K-style gutters. There is also a style of gutter cover in copper material. This is the Gutter Shingle Gutter Cover. This style is installed underneath the bottom course of shingles on the roof. The covers are 3 feet in length.

Two styles of gutter guards are available from most companies. These include the Leaf Out Gutter Guard and the GuttaGard brand. The Leaf Out Gutter Guard comes in 4-foot lengths and is available to fit either 5-inch or 6-inch gutters. The GuttaGard brand also comes in 4-foot sections and is currently available only in a 6-inch gutter size.

Although not constructed of copper, another option for use with copper rain gutters is the GutterFill Gutter Filter. This is open cell foam shaped to fit the inside of the rain gutter and is available for both half-round and K-style rain gutters. The top of the foam material is level with the top of the gutter and is not visible from the ground. The foam is particularly effective in preventing virtually all foreign material from entering the rain gutter. The leaves and other debris will come to rest on top of the foam and be washed off by rain or blown off by wind. The manufacturer really believes in its product. The filter comes with a 20 year No-Clog Guarantee.

Sock Woodruff is founder and partner of GutterSupply.com, the leading manufacturer and distributor of gutter supplies, gutter machines, gutter covers, and related tools and equipment.



Can Vending Machines