Want to buy a ladder - questions

[Nords]

Still see people doing it wrong.
Old habits die hard... literally?

You would think that the Darwin Awards would eventually winnow that out, but unfortunately too many of them manage to breed and pass on their genes before having their own Darwin Awards ceremony...

 

[Zero]

Wonder if insurance would cover this accident?

 

[TromboneAl]

More on the Gutter Sense tool. It works better with the $40 16' extension pole I bought. It's a little like fishing, since you can't see what you're going for. Often you close the jaws and come up empty.

I was thinking that I should put a camera on the end of the pole, set the timed release, and get a shot from above.

 

[harley]

I would suggest duct tape and an iPhone, set up to Facetime another iPhone down on the ground. Real time remote gutter cleaning.

 

[Telly]

Isn't there an app for that?

(well, somebody had to say it )

 

[travelover]

I would suggest duct tape and an iPhone, set up to Facetime another iPhone down on the ground. Real time remote gutter cleaning.

Clever. I was going to suggest an automotive backup camera, with the camera mounted on top of the cleaning pole, looking down.

 

[Nords]

Isn't there an app for that?
(well, somebody had to say it )

I sure hope so, because then Al can broadcast it to the Internet and we can all look over his shoulders as he cleans the gutters...

 

[W2R]

I sure hope so, because then Al can broadcast it to the Internet and we can all look over his shoulders as he cleans the gutters...

We can do this after we finish watching grass grow....

F. received and used his gutter cleaner (the same one Al got). He said it didn't seem as effective as shown on the video, and that maybe he got about half the gutter contents. I am thinking that maybe in time, one could develop the skill to clean the gutters better with it. Meanwhile, at least he isn't falling off a ladder.

 

[TromboneAl]

F. received and used his gutter cleaner (the same one Al got). He said it didn't seem as effective as shown on the video, and that maybe he got about half the gutter contents. I am thinking that maybe in time, one could develop the skill to clean the gutters better with it. Meanwhile, at least he isn't falling off a ladder.

That sounds about right to me. It does take longer than it would if you were on a ladder, or on the roof. For me it's all pine needles and no leaves. Things have germinated in the gutters, so the stuff sticks together. Also, so far I've done the cleaning when things are wet.

My biggest problem is that I'll grab the stuff, but it is hard to pull it out of the gutter. Also, my neck will get sore if I don't remember to look down now and then.

Will take photos as soon as we have sun.

 

[TromboneAl]

It is harder than I thought to get photos of the gutter. A big problem is exposure, which the camera chooses at the start of the 10 second period. Another is getting the camera in just the right place. I am going to experiment (fixed exposure, for example) and try again later.

Here are the best shots.

And here's a picture hanging over a nearby cliff:

 

[Telly]

mmmm, looks like Trail Mix up in pic #1

Not to be critical, but in pic #1 I thought that maybe you disconnected the downspout from the gutter, but I don't see a drop outlet there. Would think even with the camera angle it would show up somewhat.

Also in the same pic, just an FYI, it's best not to have the end cap of a gutter tight up against a house wall. Leaving a 1/4 - 3/8" air space between them will allow wood to dry out, and not rot over time.
EDIT- looking at pic again, maybe the "wet spot" is a shadow of the gutter on the wood wall from a camera flash, maybe there IS a space there, can't tell now.

I think I would have a heck of a time cleaning those gutters, it looks like a lot of gutter is tucked under the roof edge, leaving just a narrow slot to try to reach into. Is that the style in your area? Or is it an improperly mounted or missing fascia board behind it? Unusual to see that amount of tuck-under.

The cliff looks fine

 

[harley]

mmmm, looks like Trail Mix up in pic #1

Not to be critical, but in pic #1 I thought that maybe you disconnected the downspout from the gutter, but I don't see a drop outlet there. Would think even with the camera angle it would show up somewhat.

Also in the same pic, just an FYI, it's best not to have the end cap of a gutter tight up against a house wall. Leaving a 1/4 - 3/8" air space between them will allow wood to dry out, and not rot over time.
EDIT- looking at pic again, maybe the "wet spot" is a shadow of the gutter on the wood wall from a camera flash, maybe there IS a space there, can't tell now.

I think I would have a heck of a time cleaning those gutters, it looks like a lot of gutter is tucked under the roof edge, leaving just a narrow slot to try to reach into. Is that the style in your area? Or is it an improperly mounted or missing fascia board behind it? Unusual to see that amount of tuck-under.

The cliff looks fine

I think you need to buy a ladder.

 

[Redbugdave]

I do all my own painting and such around my house. I also clean the gutters, as well as the chimney, (we burn wood in the winter in the wood stove), so I get on an extension ladder more often than I really want...a couple stories high.

Instead of repainting this last time I decided to spend the money and had siding installed on everything that I used to paint. I also had the gutters taken off except for one small portion in the front of the house. I got tired of cleaning gutters on a ladder.

I am so glad I removed most of the reasons for getting on my extension ladder. No more yearly maintance like it used to be. And the risk was just too much for a do it yourselfer. Even a tightwad like me felt good about spending some money for those improvements.

 

[TromboneAl]

Not to be critical, but in pic #1 I thought that maybe you disconnected the downspout from the gutter, but I don't see a drop outlet there. Would think even with the camera angle it would show up somewhat.

Also in the same pic, just an FYI, it's best not to have the end cap of a gutter tight up against a house wall. Leaving a 1/4 - 3/8" air space between them will allow wood to dry out, and not rot over time.
EDIT- looking at pic again, maybe the "wet spot" is a shadow of the gutter on the wood wall from a camera flash, maybe there IS a space there, can't tell now.

I think I would have a heck of a time cleaning those gutters, it looks like a lot of gutter is tucked under the roof edge, leaving just a narrow slot to try to reach into. Is that the style in your area? Or is it an improperly mounted or missing fascia board behind it? Unusual to see that amount of tuck-under.

The cliff looks fine

Thanks, Telly. Yes, something is definitely not right with the arrangement of the gutter in picture 1. Here's another shot for perspective:



That gutter is tilted quite a lot, and I recently noticed that the wall is discolored and wet near the end of the gutter when it is raining. Luckily it is low, so I can get to it and see if I can fix things up.

The amount of tuck under may be exaggerated by the camera angle. In any case, the Gutter Sense tool fits in there fine, and photos 2 & 4 show patches that I have successfully cleaned.

BTW, here's a pole shot of the gutters that I put guards on:



These cut down the cleaning necessary by a factor of 4-8, but when I do need to clean them, I won't be able to use the Gutter Sense tool. So I my remove them. I have to look inside and decide.

 

[TromboneAl]

I also had the gutters taken off except for one small portion in the front of the house. I got tired of cleaning gutters on a ladder.

Are you concerned about water down around the foundation? For me, the only reason for gutters is to divert that water away from the house. We get a lot of rain here, and that's a big concern. The gutters empty into piping that takes the water over to my neighbor's foundation.

 

[Redbugdave]

No, Al. My house is on a hill and the water runs away from the house. In front, the downspouts are connected at the ground to piping that runs to the sides of the house where there is slope.

This pic is before I had the siding added and the guttering removed. I also have since had the stumps ground out, too.

 

[harley]

No, Al. My house is on a hill and the water runs away from the house. In front, the downspouts are connected at the ground to piping that runs to the sides of the house where there is slope.

This pic is before I had the siding added and the guttering removed. I also have since had the stumps ground out, too.

Before we moved to the current dream home we lived for a while in a 30-some year old contemporary style home. It didn't have any gutters at all. The water all ran away from the house, but we still had a lot of problems. There the water would come off the roof and hit cement or stone there was a lot of erosion. Plus, even though the water wouldn't pool against the house there was a lot of splashback from the impact. This resulted in a fair amount of rot in the wooden door and sliding glass window frames, and they all needed to be replaced. In the end we installed gutters (with Gutter Guard), as well as vinyl frames on the new doors and windows. Just fyi, something to watch out for. With brick and more modern materials you may never have any of the same problems. But water is a powerful element over time.

 

[Telly]

T-Al, looking at the additional pics, the one of the porch roof gutter is too low-res and distant to really make anything out.

In the second additional picture, it looks like the insertion of the gutter guard under the first course of shingles raised their lower edges up enough so that at the middle of the shingles, they may be level, aggravated by the shallow slope of the roof. If that is so, water will stand there and will penetrate through the end edges of the shingles over time. Or it may have enough slope, but just looks like it doesn't with camera angle.
With roofing, gravity is your friend, a better and more reliable friend than caulk or sealants.

Someday, when you have this roof replaced, please find someone who knows how to shingle properly. I see tab-edge lineup all over the place!

On pic #4, in the top right, it looks like a staple is laying on a shingle. Or maybe it is two pine needles perfectly parallel and spaced just right for a roofing staple. The pic cuts off the top of it, so can't say for sure if it is.
For the age that roof looks, I would not expect a staple to be still lying there, unless there is trouble.

I've done roof work, both new construction and stripoffs, and repair.

 

[Telly]

Before we moved to the current dream home we lived for a while in a 30-some year old contemporary style home. It didn't have any gutters at all. The water all ran away from the house, but we still had a lot of problems. There the water would come off the roof and hit cement or stone there was a lot of erosion. Plus, even though the water wouldn't pool against the house there was a lot of splashback from the impact. This resulted in a fair amount of rot in the wooden door and sliding glass window frames, and they all needed to be replaced. In the end we installed gutters (with Gutter Guard), as well as vinyl frames on the new doors and windows. Just fyi, something to watch out for. With brick and more modern materials you may never have any of the same problems. But water is a powerful element over time.

Around here, all houses are brick (except in "older" areas where most should be bulldozed!). Some houses never had gutters, and those that have lighter-colored brick often have a discolored dirty band from the first course of brick up to about 1 1/2'. Caused by rain splash off of the ground. Looks bad and isn't good for mortar life, plus it's keeping the brick wet, which will boost the moitsure level behind the brick. If this was a big-freeze area (and it's not), frozen bricks would be spalling out all over.
The dirty band is into the brick and the mortar, not just at the surface. Years of dirty water absorption.

I certainly agree, water IS a powerful element over time!

I've sawed, drilled, removed and laid brick too.

 

[Texas Proud]

OK... an update from me....

My wife calls and said 'honey, there is a guy who is doing the neighbor's gutters, do you want him to do ours?'....

Well, since I had been delaying and looking for which gutter cover to use (tried two and did not like them)... I said yes... so, for $100 got all the gutters cleaned... will put on a small section of another gutter cover and see how it works... also got the guys name and he said he would install them whenever I want...

 

[TromboneAl]

In the second additional picture, it looks like the insertion of the gutter guard under the first course of shingles raised their lower edges up enough so that at the middle of the shingles, they may be level, aggravated by the shallow slope of the roof. If that is so, water will stand there and will penetrate through the end edges of the shingles over time. Or it may have enough slope, but just looks like it doesn't with camera angle.
With roofing, gravity is your friend, a better and more reliable friend than caulk or sealants.

Someday, when you have this roof replaced, please find someone who knows how to shingle properly. I see tab-edge lineup all over the place!

On pic #4, in the top right, it looks like a staple is laying on a shingle. Or maybe it is two pine needles perfectly parallel and spaced just right for a roofing staple. The pic cuts off the top of it, so can't say for sure if it is.
For the age that roof looks, I would not expect a staple to be still lying there, unless there is trouble.

I've done roof work, both new construction and stripoffs, and repair.

Thanks for that. I'm quite sure the shingles aren't level, but I'll check it out when I remove the gutter guards.

Good eye, but those are indeed well-aligned pine needles.

 

[W2R]

OK... an update from me....

My wife calls and said 'honey, there is a guy who is doing the neighbor's gutters, do you want him to do ours?'....

Well, since I had been delaying and looking for which gutter cover to use (tried two and did not like them)... I said yes... so, for $100 got all the gutters cleaned... will put on a small section of another gutter cover and see how it works... also got the guys name and he said he would install them whenever I want...

$100 is what they charge here, too, but they generally come back after the first gutter cleaning and want to clean the gutters several times a year (and probably should), often with a yearly contract, so it really adds up after a while.

Glad you are trying the gutter cover, and good luck with that approach.