Gutter News & Information

Installing a gutter is expensive even during the best of times. But for some people, it can get really, really costly.  How costly?  Try $10,000 … or even more.  Here are three situations where your gutters will cost you a pretty penny.

1. Concrete Construction

Fortunately, we rarely run into this in home design, possibly because most people don’t enjoy a home that feels a bit like a prison.  But it’s still a major concern: concrete doesn’t like water more than any other building material.  As anybody with a flooded basement or a driveway knows all too well, concrete tends to crack and erode when exposed to large amounts of water over time.  Of special concern are the joints of an all-concrete structure: a gutter design has to specifically funnel as much water as possible away from those areas.

There are lots of ways to know if your gutters aren’t doing their job, from the obvious to the subtle.  There are some signs we can all catch, even if we’re not the most handy. But what about the more subtle ones?  We’ll start with some of the obvious ones and work our way down to the ones that are harder to spot.

1. Water spilling out of your gutters. This is the most obvious sign that something’s wrong.  If you look out the window and a waterfall seems to be coming off your roof, it’s time to look into getting those blocks cleared.

Wally Conway is an expert on homes. He first got involved in home inspections in 1994, and has since inspected an amazing 5,000 houses. He’s also the founder of HomePro (www.GoHomePro.com), which as a company has inspected over 25,000 homes!  Recently we had users from our Facebook and Twitter Facebook accounts submit questions to Wally about gutters and home improvement; here are the best.

What are the three most common “unpleasant surprises” that homeowners get during their home inspection?

Remember when searching for relevant and creative home improvement advice — on everything from room additions to gutters — was cumbersome and time-consuming? Today, these gems of inspiration are as close as your mobile device.

Home improvement aficionados have carved out a social media niche, and nuggets of design and DIY wisdom are spreading like wildfire every time someone tweets. Here are the top ten home improvement articles that can be found on Twitter:

When it comes to the design elements of a home, there is a constant battle being waged between fashion and function. This clash has come to a head in New South Wales, which is Australia’s most populous state (and home to Sydney, the nation’s largest city). The dispute? The use of high-front gutters.