Tips for Cleaning and Repairing Gutters

Tips for Cleaning and Repairing Gutters

 

Keep rain gutters clean and unclogged to prevent damage to your home’s roof and exterior.

 

There are just a few steps to follow in order to maintain gutters. First, climb a ladder and clean the goop out of the gutters. The decomposed leaves make great mulch or compost. Pay particular attention to the downspout. If leaves and debris are clogging it, water won’t drain properly, and along with mildew and mud you’ll end up with sagging gutters.

 

Check all the spikes that are supposed to go through the gutter, through the fascia board and into the rafter behind it. At most homes, these spikes miss the rafters entirely, usually because the spike has just worked its way out of the hole over the years. It’s a good idea to invest in new gutter spikes so the gutters are securely fastened once again.

 

Another thing you want to look at are the sources of any leaks, including holes in the gutters and cracked caulking in the seams. Use an old chisel to scrape the old caulking out and dry the area thoroughly. Then use new bead silicon sealing to keep water from getting down behind the gutters and rotting the boards.

 

During this inspection, check out the rivets on the downspout. Frequently they’ll be loose or will have dropped out completely, all that is needed is a rivet gun to secure them anew.

 

Buyer’s guide: Purchase new rivets at the hardware store. You can also buy a rivet gun there, usually for about $20.

 

Once you’ve finished with the mechanics, you can attend to cleaning the gutters. The best way is with a pressure washer, which you can rent or even purchase for anywhere from $60 to hundreds of dollars. Follow the instructions that come with the washer to the letter; usually the washer can be used with garden-hose water or some type of cleaner.

 

A pressure washer won’t hurt the gutters provided you’ve secured the gutters with screws or new spikes. The real key is to avoid hitting the gutters at too high an angle or you’ll blow the shingles off with a high-pressure stream of water.

 

If the gutters are rusting, they are very old. They’ve moved to aluminum and vinyl gutters now, and they don’t rust. You might want to consider new gutters. But if you’re going to stay with the old ones, get all the rust off, sand them down, paint them with a good primer and then with a good-quality rust-inhibiting paint.

 

A splash block is a very important element. It keeps the water coming out of the downspouts from digging a trench next to the house, and it keeps water away from the home’s foundation.

Here are some bonus tips when replacing gutter spikes:

 

Remove the old gutter spikes and ferrules (the large spacers that keep the gutter walls from collapsing while you drill), installing each new set as soon as you remove the old one.

 

Position the new ferrule inside the gutter, directly behind the existing spike hole.

 

Insert the gutter screw into the existing spike hole. Use a standard variable-speed drill, electric or cordless, to slowly thread the fastener through the spike hole and the ferrule and then into the existing fascia hole.

 

Thread the fastener until the head is even with the gutter and the screw has engaged with the rafters on the other side of the fascia board.

 

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Home Staging for Fall #6

In Home Staging conversations, there is a reason these two little words are so overly used – they are simply too important to ignore – CURB APPEAL!!  While autumn can make curb appeal more challenging, those who take the extra steps are already at an advantage over the competition that often ignore this after the flowers have died and the grass no longer needs mown.  Take the time to clean out flower beds and other dead plants from pots and landscaping.  Pressure-wash the house, clean out the gutters and do those tasks we often reserve for spring.  Outdoor fall decorations will add color back into the landscaping where the flowers once thrived.
Like the inside of your house, keep the exterior tidy and uncluttered.  If you
have trees on your property – Rake! Rake! Rake!

– Steve Baker, REALTOR®

HOME STAGING TIPS #6

Home Staging for Fall Part #5

Gift your potential buyers with seasonal scents!  Autumn is ripe with smells that trigger sharp memories of warmth and home.  Trigger those same olfactory memories in your guests with candles or oils of apple and cinnamon, pumpkin spice or baked apple pie.  Brew some apple cider and leave it out for your buyers to enjoy – the scents and tastes will be associated with your home.
Leave them with a memory to take with them that will help
them pleasantly remember your house over the competition.  – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

HOME STAGING TIPS #5

 

HOME STAGING FOR THE FALL PART #4

As the weather cools it is important to keep the home warm and welcoming for potential buyers. If you aren’t currently living in the house you are trying to sell or are away for a time, be sure to leave the heat on! Walking into a cold house lacks appeal. Additionally, a cold house that doesn’t provide comfort doesn’t encourage buyers to take their time to examine the house nor does it leave them with a “warm” feeling about the property. If customers and realtors are thinking about how fast they can get back to their warm car, they aren’t focused on your house. – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

“There is nothing inviting about a cold house.”  – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

HOME STAGING TIPS #4

HOME STAGING FOR FALL #3

We’ve stressed the importance of lighting over and over. Let’s face it, we see nothing without it and how we see everything is affected by it. So the importance of lighting can never be over emphasized.So why am I featuring it here in a discussion about Home Staging for Fall? As fall approaches the hours of daylight we receive decreases. It is important to put your house in the best light (pun intended). Open curtains and blinds to allow as much natural lighting into the home as possible. In darker areas, or areas you wish to feature, add lamps or spot-lighting. This adds to the

HOME STAGING TIPS #3

warmth of your home and gives it a sense of space. – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

“We see nothing without it and how we
see everything is affected by it.” – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

HOME STAGING FOR FALL PART #2

As the cooler temperatures encroach upon us and our outside activities tend to move indoors, it becomes a great time to paint the interior of your home with warm and inviting colors. Master stagers always stress the importance of neutralizing the colors when selling your home. Warm, neutral colors such as creams and tans easily achieve these results. Now consider adding accent pieces to the room with rich fall colors of orange, browns, yellows and reds. This will spice up the neutral background and pull the comfort of fall into your home. Remember, your home is competing with other houses on the market. Everything you can do to add to your home’s appeal will help it sell faster and increase the chances of getting top dollar from your investment. – Steve Baker, REALTOR®

HOME STAGING TIPS #2

HOME STAGING FOR FALL

Autumn presents a fantastic opportunity to add rich flavors and colors to your home staging repertoire. Fortunately, the beautiful earth tone’s rich in hues of browns, oranges, reds and yellows are neutral enough to appeal to a broad audience.  Incorporating fall decorations and the autumn scents of the season into your house add warmth and create a welcoming feeling of home.
A word of caution for the overzealous, keep it simple. Your home is what is on show, not your decorations. Keep it simple and non-obtrusive; never distract from your home’s best features!  Let those features shine brightest! – Steve Baker,  REALTOR®

HOME STAGING TIPS 1

PART 6 OF 6 – Low-cost, HIGH-IMPACT PROJECTS FOR YOUR HOME

Increase storage

Renovating closets from top to bottom is expensive. While built-ins are preferred, consider temporary solutions for additional clothing storage.

“We reoriented the hanging bar and [added] an inexpensive shelving unit in it. It has served us so well that I’ve put the plans to redo the closet on hold,” said Cecily Henrie of Ceci Bean.

Even with a large budget, economical projects can supplement loftier home improvements. Don’t overlook the potential of small, yet bold changes to interior design.

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PART 5 OF 6 – Low-cost, HIGH-IMPACT PROJECTS FOR YOUR HOME

Improve lighting

Add lighting to those darken corners or in areas to highlight the most appealing features in a room. Converting to eco-friendly bulbs saves on energy costs down the road, and can be completed one room at a time to adhere to your budget.

“You can upgrade the lighting in a single room or even your entire home, and the savings you will see right off the bat will make the whole project a big financial win for you,” said Chris Stern, co-founder of PURE Energies.

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PART 4 OF 6 – Low-cost, HIGH-IMPACT PROJECTS FOR YOUR HOME

Install functional accessories

Try incorporating unusual decorations to serve as organizational or de-cluttering tools at home.

“In our previous house I stuck an old shutter on the wall hoping to help organize a few things. I quickly realized how useful it truly was when it became our permanent catch-all area for keys, invitations and outgoing mail,” said thrifter Holly Marsh.

Reflective materials and surfaces increase natural light and add glamour to interiors.

“I have hung mirrors in several rooms as decorative accents. But in doing so, the mirrors have reflected light and created a visual trick on the eye to make the space appear larger,” said Anna-Kristin Yarbrough at Interior Canvas.

Think outside of the box: Even the slightest additions can help keep rooms orderly.

“I recently repurposed an old wooden cigar box from a thrift store to corral remotes and other small items on our family room coffee table,” said lifestyle writer Heather Kilgariff.

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