Gutter News & Information

One of the basic building blocks of a backyard barbecue is the place where the beverages are kept cold for guests. To achieve this goal, there are many different types of portable drink coolers available, from extra large to wheeled to floatable. Some homes even have built-in beverage coolers in a barbecue pit or near a pool or hot tub.

If you want something semi-permanent for chilling your drinks, but can’t afford an expensive built-in compartment, here’s an idea for you: how about a picnic table gutter cooler?

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There are plenty of people who love the challenge of gardening, but are unable to engage in this hobby in the traditional manner. Many of them live in urban environments where there is no open space available. But now there’s good news for these gardening aficionados who may be living in an apartment, condo, duplex, or dorm room.

Introducing: the vertical gutter garden!

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Some homeowners take a look at their uncleaned gutters and think, “What’s the big deal? A little gutter debris never hurt anybody. Unless my gutters are falling off my home, why should I worry about it?”

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Here are the facts: uncleaned gutters can wreak a lot of havoc well before they come tumbling down. Here’s what can happen if ignore gutter cleaning. After you read this, you’ll be climbing up your ladder or picking up the phone and calling someone to address the problem.

Why is owning a home better than renting one?

Because your home is your castle and you can mold it into a perfect reflection of your tastes and needs. And if there’s something you want to change about your home, you don’t have to ask the landlord. You can tweak, alter, modify, embellish, and add on however, wherever, and whenever you wish.

Well, that’s not completely true. Depending on where your home is located, you may need to obtain a building permit before you make any major changes to your property.

Preventive maintenance is a key part of home ownership. People who ignore this duty regularly tend to incur sudden and expensive repair costs. In most cases, spending a little money sooner can help homeowners steer clear of major charges later.

Image credit: www.adjengineering.com

Good preventive maintenance begins with an inspection of your home’s exterior. Here is a step-by-step process for completing that task.

1. Foundation - Look for fractures at the base of your home or cracks that are climbing through exterior walls and splitting bricks. See if you can spot evidence of pooling water and/or foliage growth or roots right next to the structure itself.

Perhaps you are building a new home and are trying to figure out how to handle the runoff water from your roof. Or maybe it’s simply time to replace the dilapidated, worn out gutters that are currently surrounding your roofline.

There are a number of material choices you can pick from when deciding to install new gutters. But invariably, most homeowners are going to ask that all-important question: how much is it going to cost me?

So let’s take a closer look at how much different types of gutters cost.

Vinyl

Gutters can be victimized by Mother Nature in many different ways; everything from rust and corrosion to wind, ice, and snow can cause damage to gutter systems. But there’s one enemy of gutters that really has the potential to wreak havoc: hail.

That’s what Eltham College in Australia found out on Christmas Day, 2011.

theage.com.au

The man with the sunglasses is holding what’s left of the gutters from one of the school buildings at the northern Melbourne college. It’s been over a month since a December 25 hailstorm swept across the Australian state of Victoria on the southern coast of the nation. But the damage was so severe that it forced Eltham to remove the hail-smashed gutters from several of its structures.

You may not be aware of this, but gutter systems have a long and storied history of combining fashion with function. The most obvious example were gargoyles, whose presence on buildings and churches did more than just ward off evil spirits or improve the structures’ appearances; they also strategically hid the drainage downspouts from the naked eye.

Nowadays, people are finding other ways to express their creativity through gutter installation. Here are eight of the best efforts we found.

1.

latimesblogs.latimes.com

If you’re concerned about debris clogging up your gutters, then you may want to consider a system of gutter protectors. These are usually gutter covers of some sort that are designed to keep out leaves and needles while allowing water to freely drain into the gutters.

If you’ve already started looking for gutter protectors, you’re probably well aware that there are various brands and types of gutter protectors to choose from. Here are five questions to ask yourself before purchasing one.

Source: http://www.sxc.hu

The autumn season is commonly known as “fall” for a reason. That’s because it’s the time when all those beautiful leaves on your stately trees suddenly decide to cascade down onto the surface of your yard. It’s bad enough that you have to spend your time raking, blowing, and gathering leaves throughout the fall. But the fact that many of them get stuck in your gutters and cause rainwater to spill onto the ground is enough to make you yearn for an apartment lifestyle.

How can you get some “leaf relief” for your gutters? Here are four tips: