Avoid damage to your roof and walls; maintain your gutters to ensure your home is in good shape! Are you house proud? Perhaps you spend a lot of time keeping your home in good shape. Although there are many jobs that require doing within your home, tasks such as cleaning your gutters are extremely important in order to protect your home from getting damaged, especially damage to your roof and walls which could be costly.

Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing or replacing the structural aspects of your Minnesota home. Clogged gutters can cause drainage problems, and this in turn can lead to flooding which can damage the structure of your home. To avoid this happening it’s always a good idea to stay on top of your gutter maintenance.

Cleaning your gutters – some simple instructions
Step 1 – You will need to gain access to your roof so it is advised that you use a ladder. Make sure not to lean the ladder against a gutter, as it can easily bend or cause damage.

Step 2 – Start by removing leaves and any twigs that may have collected in the gutter. It is recommended that you use a trowel to remove debris, which can be difficult to remove by hand.

Step 3 – If there is any caked-on dirt, wet it with water and remove using a trowel.

Step 4 – Take a plastic bag or refuse sack up the ladder with you. Hang it on the ladder so that you can place debris inside it, dropping the bag when it is full.

Step 5 – Ensure that downpipes are not clogged. Water is the best thing to unclog downpipes with. Simply place a garden hose down the pipe, but be careful as downpipes are not designed to withstand huge amounts of pressure.

Step 6 – If you have access to a leaf blower, this can help with the process of clearing your gutters. Be careful when going up a ladder carrying a leaf blower, they are often heavy and blow a lot of dust around which may get in your eyes.

Step 7 – Use your hose to flush your gutter system after clearing. This is also a good time to check if there are any leaks in your guttering.

Call your Minnesota seamless gutter contractor today.

Like any other project, knowing the basics is the most important part of the process. There are certain parts that you will need, and the knowledge to choose which type of parts to get can be very helpful.

First, you will need to pick out the type of gutters that you need. There is vinyl, galvanized, aluminum, plastic, and a few others. The least expensive is the plastic, but they are also the least durable. Vinyl is the easiest to install and comes in a variety of styles and colors to match your home. If you prefer to have continuous guttering, you will have to enlist a professional to help. Continuous means that there are no joints, it is just a continuous length of guttering.

You will also need to pick out down spouts. Down spouts attach to the gutter and carries water down the side of the house. Keep in mind the size that you will need to fit your gutter number of them that you want to install. The more down spouts you have, the bigger the rain capacity.

Elbows move the down spout direction by a 45 degree angle. They are usually square and come in just a couple of styles. It helps to move the water away from the house instead of dumping the water at the base of the house like the down spouts will do. Keep in mind the size and style of the gutters that you choose when picking out down spouts and elbows.

There are other parts that are optional, or dependent on the type of gutters you choose to use, but a gutter leaf guard or gutter guard is a good investment as well and will eliminate the need to frequently clean out the gutter. They are placed over the top of the gutter to stop debris from falling in.

No matter what type of gutter you choose, keep in mind your budget, your home’s appearance, and your ability to do installation. Properly installed Minnesota gutters will not only add to the aesthetics of your home, but will protect your home from potential water damage from stagnant water.

Gutters and downspouts are the silent heroes of your Minnesota house. You never think about them and all the hard work they do. Until they stop working. Then the rain starts pouring over the sides, the downspouts are clogged up, and it’s a big mess. Maybe it’s time to have new rain gutters and downspouts installed. Let’s take a look at what you may need to know.

Rain Gutter Materials

When buying new Minnesota rain gutters, one of your first choices will be the material they are made from. Typical choices include aluminum, steel and copper. Plastic is available, but often not a good choice due to shorter lifespan. Wood, once the staple of gutters, is now becoming popular again, as properly installed and maintained wooden gutters can last for decades, sometimes longer than their metal counterparts. Regardless, you will need to make your choice based on your area (wetter areas with higher humidity can rule out steel, even though it’s galvanized), your house’s style and the look you are going after (copper is increasingly popular, though with a distinctive look), and price. Aluminum can offer the best balance of affordability and longevity. Copper is more expensive, but can last longer. Steel is cheaper initially, but can tend to rust if not taken care of well.
Take a good look at your situation before deciding – the decision will stay with you, good or bad, for quite some time.

Gutter shapes

Once you decide which material you are going to use, or perhaps in concert with the first decision, you will need to decide what shape of gutter you will buy. There are 2 major styles – half-rounds and the “K” style gutter (which can vaguely look like the letter K, but really is a kind of rectangular gutter). Also at this time, you will need to determine the size of the gutters. 4, 5, and 6-inch diameter styles are available, with 5-inch gutters being a good middle ground. If you have lots of trees in your area, larger sizes, like the 5 and 6-inch gutters, are a good choice to reduce clogging.

Attachment systems

So you know the material of your gutters and downspouts, you’ve got the shape dialed in. Now, how will you attach them to your roof? Duct tape? Hardly. In truth, the best option will be hangers. Spike-and-ferrule systems are available (basically a big nail with a spacer in the gutter itself) but they often pull out and generally don’t last as long as hanger systems. There are a number of hanger styles available (hidden hanger, hanger and strap, crossbar hangers) but the truth is, any one of those will be a good choice. Which one will depend on your individual roof.

Downspouts

Even though gutter chains are becoming popular in some areas, the typical downspout will be 3×4 inch rectangular, or often a 3 or 4 inch round downspout. Larger is better here, especially if you live in areas with lots of trees.

Gutters and Downspouts

Remember that what you choose is going to be based not only on what you like, but what you can afford. Buy the best Minnesota gutters and downspouts you can afford and generally you will be happy for some time to come. Just remember to clean them out periodically and they will keep taking care of you and your house.

Cleaning and maintaining Minnesota rain gutters may be one of the most ignored tasks for home owners. We will only drag out the ladder when the gutters are overflowing; water leaking into the basement or there are so many maple seedlings growing our houses look like a Chia Pet. You don’t need me to remind you that cleaning the gutters twice a year is a must. The spring cleaning, after the seeds and helicopters come down, is the most important. Many seeds float and quickly make their way to the downspout where it will become clogged in no time. In the fall the weather can change fast and the cold and wet is miserable and dangerous for ladder climbing. I have been in the gutter repair and maintenance business for more than five years and I can tell you late spring cleaning is critical to yearly gutter maintenance.

But you’re saying that you clean the gutters twice yearly and the dang things are still hanging off the house with water pooling far away from the downspout giving mosquitoes a perfect breeding pond for their eggs. What is happening is the nails are pulling out of the house and need to be hammered back in. This is a simple and effective way to extend the working life of your gutters indefinitely. The next time you’re at the hardware store get a hammer belt hook. This small thick leather devise with a heavy wire loop and slots for your belt is a safe way to carry a claw hammer up and down the ladder. As you move along cleaning the gutter, hammer the nails back in but do not crush the gutter. You should be able to reach three nails but be careful to never reach out to far. A good rule of thumb is to always keep your shoulders within the width of the ladder.

A few solid hits should tighten the nail but what if the nail remains loose? A properly installed nail must penetrate the end of the truss, rafter or ceiling joist. The fascia, nailed to the ends of the trusses, is less than an inch thick and ¼ inch gutter nails will split the plank then the nail will come loose if done incorrectly. Finding the truss ends is nearly impossible if the fascia has been covered with aluminum or vinyl siding because you can’t see the nails used to fix the fascia in place and trying to measure for the truss ends, even if you’re 1/16 of an inch off, by the third truss you’ll be missing the solid wood necessary to hold the nail.

So you have a gutter that has been ignored for years and you can’t tighten the gutter nail. I have cleaned and repaired thousands and thousands of feet of gutters and the hidden hanger with an integral self-drilling screw is the answer. You can get these hangers at the big-box home store but a better bet is to go to a siding and gutter supply house. It is worth the trip as you’ll be amazed at the selection and variety of gutter products and tools. This type of hidden hanger uses a ¼ inch hex-head drive and easily is screwed through the back of the gutter and into the fascia. The screw is at an angle to increase holding power and because it drills its own hole, it is far superior to nails. The smaller diameter self-drilling screw will not split the plank and if you don’t hit the truss end will still hold for many years. The problem with the hidden hanger is you’ll need clearance to hook it under the upper outside edge of the gutter and then swing it over to clip over the edge of the back of the gutter. If the roof overhang is too great you can’t make the swing without prying up the shingles. If the gutter is hanging away from the roof edge put the hangers in place along the offending length, then push up the gutter as best you can, then drive the screws in. Leave the old nails in place to fill the holes.

Another product is gutter screws that replace the gutter nail. These work well if the old nail was in the truss but pulled out anyway. The screws come with a tube to fit inside the gutter and are slightly larger in diameter. The screw is also longer to bite into solid wood. The preferred screw will have a square drive which is supplied in the box. To install a gutter screw you’ll have to first pull out the old nail with a pair of locking pliers like Vice-Grips. Then simply drive the screw into the old hole, through the tube and into the wood.

Remember to be careful on ladders and wear over-the-ankle lace-up boots. You’ll also need a good battery powered drill/driver, hammer with a belt hook and locking pliers. Keeping those nails tight will extend the life and usefulness of your Minnesota gutters for years.

Sometimes we put jobs off because they seem difficult and dangerous. Minnesota Gutter cleaning and maintenance is probably at the top of the procrastination list but gutters should be cleaned twice a year if possible. The spring cleaning, after the seeds and helicopters come down, is the most important. Many seeds float and quickly make their way to the downspout where it will become clogged in no time. In the fall the weather can change fast and the cold and wet is miserable and dangerous for ladder climbing. I have been in the gutter repair and maintenance business for more than five years and I can tell you late spring cleaning is critical to yearly gutter maintenance. We’ll look at few simple tools and methods that will make the job a little less scary and a little easier to do.

The biggest tool of course is the ladder. I have found an extension ladder is the best type for gutter cleaning because you can get above the gutter and look down into it. Don’t worry about scratching the gutter. The coatings they use on gutters are very tough and very few people are going to openly criticize you about a couple of mars on your gutters. Safety is your main concern and you don’t want to reach blindly back and over the edge of the gutter. Going up on roof should be avoided too: the pitch of the roof is very difficult to work on and worse if you are leaning over the edge. The shingles are easy to break off and your boots will gouge away the tiny stones decreasing the life of the roof. You will also need flat wedge large enough to rest one foot of the ladder so it will be level; a heavy pair of rubber work gloves and a belt hook to carry a small garden hoe. The local hardware will carry many of these items but go to the Yellow Pages and find a ladder and scaffolding supply store. You’ll be pleased to find many products the big box stores can’t carry. And remember to wear over-the-ankle lace-up boots.

An extension ladder that extends to 14 feet is good for a single story and at least 24 feet for a two story home. The ladders will have instructions on the side which must be followed closely. The small garden hoe should not be more than three inches across and the handle not more than two feet long. This will be easy to carry in a belt hook or other tool belt. The heavy rubber gloves are needed to avoid being cut by numerous sharp screws and edges inside the gutter. The gloves will also keep your hands clean and dry (a real blessing in the cold!).

Start at the end of the gutter opposite the downspout. Work your way along reaching out with the hoe but always keep your shoulders within the vertical rails of the ladder. You should be able to reach three to four feet of gutter from each side at a time safely. Be very careful when cleaning over the downspout. Don’t drag the hoe across the opening, instead use your fingers to gently reach under the leaves and seeds and push them over and remove. I don’t bother with a hose. Hoses are dangerous and difficult to handle on a ladder and only make things slippery. The hose will also wash too much solid material into the upper elbows at one time clogging them. Just leave the small bits that don’t come out by hand for the rain to gently wash away. Remember your gutters are not a surgical operating room. I would never use a leaf blower because these will just force leaves and seeds into the downspout and being on the roof waving a heavy piece of equipment around just sounds like a disaster!

The best thing about using an extension ladder is being able to look down into the downspout. Thump on it a few times and you’ll know if it is plugged. Of all the gutters and downspouts I’ve seen these upper elbows are the worst places for plugs. If the elbows are riveted together (a rivet looks like a small flat disc with a small hole in the center) you’ll have to drill it out with a 1/8 drill bit using a cordless drill/driver. The downspouts may also be screwed together with self drilling screws that have ¼ inch hex heads. The elbows may have several rivets or screws and are sometimes hard to pull apart. In come cases you will have to take the entire downspout down by removing the straps. The elbows and straps can be re-assembled with the self-drilling screws (color matched screws are available at gutter and siding supply houses).

So now you are ready to keep your Minnesota gutters clean and flowing freely. If you have not spent a lot of time on ladders, start out by leaning the ladder against your house or garage and practicing a little; get the feel of being on a ladder; ladders are flexible and will bounce a little. Start with the easy to reach gutters around the garage and 1st story; then work your way up to the higher levels. Use the flat wedge to shim up the ladder if it is not perpendicular to the ground. Again, follow the directions that come with the ladder.

A gutter is a necessity for all Minnesota homes, particularly if your home is in an area that experiences heavy rainfall. As water needs to drain from your roof and not simply run off it, a gutter is needed to divert any runoff from your roof. Of course, a gutter can become clogged with leaves and other debris, and this main reason is why many hate cleaning gutters. Although recent inventions like gutter protection or guards help reduce the amount of leaves and other debris clogging a gutter, a gutter still needs to be cleaned a few times per year.

In general, a gutter is made from aluminum or vinyl U-shaped tubes. This fixture is then attached to the edge of a roof. Although clipping a gutter to a roof is the basic procedure, it should still be installed by a professional, as the wrong placement could take a gutter down during a rainstorm. In addition, many installers recommend adding a downspout for the gutter, instead of having the water flow off the side of your house. For those in colder climates, using a deicer is recommended for the gutter to prevent it, especially vinyl designs, from breaking or tearing.

The obvious solution to reduce this leaf problem is to install a gutter cover. Gutter covers slide over or inside the standard U-shaped trough and prevent larger particles, such as leaves and seed pods. Although some gutter companies will claim their covers filter out all debris, smaller particles, such as dirt and sand, may pass into the gutter with water, and, as with an ordinary gutter, the trough still needs to be cleaned a few times a year. For areas with large amounts of foliage, guards for Minnesota gutters are significantly beneficial.

Aluminum gutters require very little upkeep and maintenance. They do not rust and although they are lightweight can handle any type of weather that there is. While you will not have to worry about rust, you will still need to keep your gutters free and clear to ensure that they are going to be able to do their job for you for a long time to come. Cleaning aluminum gutters is easy and does not take much time, as long as you know what the best steps to take are.

No matter what type of Minnesota gutters you have, you will need to watch out for certain things. Insects, dirt, twigs and leaves are just a few of the types of debris that can wreak havoc on your aluminum guttering. While it can be difficult and overwhelming the first time that you clean your gutters, you will find that the more often you do it, the easier it is.

The first thing that you will need to do is get a plastic trash bag. This is best if it is attached to your ladder. This way you will not have to go far to throw away all of the debris, the easier it is to get to, the better it will be for you while you clean. Be sure that you have a sturdy bag that will be able to withstand things like twigs.

It is usually a good idea to have someone there with you, especially if you are unsure of how level the ground is. In addition to this, you should always remember to wear gloves and eye goggles. The safer you are, the less you will have to worry about when you are cleaning out your aluminum gutters.

Start from the low part of the gutter near the part of the drain. You will need to work your way completely away from your aluminum gutter. You should slowly be making your way up towards the steep part of your house.

When you are cleaning your gutters, you should know of the tools that will be beneficial to you while you are working. With the right tools, you will find that the job can be a very easy and quick one. One of the tools that you will need is a garden trowel. The narrower it is, the easier the job will be. This is perfect for scooping out damp leaves as well as dirt. Once you have used your garden trowel, a high pressure hose will do the trick of cleaning out the rest of the gutter. When you do this, you will of course want to work near the drain outlet.

If there are any types of stubborn blockages that you are struggling with, then there are tools that are perfect for the job. A plumbers snake is great for getting out even the most stubborn blockages from our aluminium gutters. You will find with these steps and precautions you will have absolutely no trouble cleaning out your aluminum gutters.

Water and time are the most damaging forces that mother nature can throw at any home. If preventative measures are not taken to curb the damaging effects that rain, snow, and ice cause, a home owner’s biggest investment will become the biggest liability and expense. Chances of wood rot, mold, fungus, and insect infestations are greatly increased each and every time the home’s exterior siding, soffits, and fascia become saturated with moisture.

One of the least expensive and easiest upgrades to add to a home to prevent or greatly reduce the damaging effects of rain, snow, and ice build up are rain gutters. The whole purpose of gutter systems, that are properly sloped, are to channel excess amounts of water away from the roof edge and siding and into a downspout that delivers the water a sufficient distance away from the foundation and driveway. By channelling excess water away from the structure’s foundation, a homeowner is eliminating the chance for standing water to collect at the base of the foundation. Should the ground slope permit the discharged water to flow back towards the foundation and collect at the base, then this is cause for serious concern and an entirely different problem.

Without gutters installed at the base of a sloped roof, there is no way to prevent rain, snow, and melting ice from dripping from the roof edge. When the water lands, it will create a mild trough like depression along the entire length of the roof edge. Even minimal amounts of rain and water will begin to collect in the trough-like depression. When this happens, splashing from continuous falling rain will hit the siding at the base of the exterior wall. Over a relatively short time of two or three years, wood rot and fungus will begin the rapid process of wood decay. Newer construction initially stands a much better chance of minimizing this process due to newer materials that are better resistant to rot and fungus, however, this issue left unaddressed will quickly degrade.

There are several different types of rain gutters available on the market. Metal gutters have been the most widely used in the past. Plastic gutters are also available. These two types are available at most big brick and mortar home improvement stores, but are labor intensive to install and require constant maintenance year after year. Installation is recommended by more than one person. Each 10 foot section of gutter needs to be adhered to the next gutter section with a connector piece and either resin or adhesive. Over a short time these connections can leak under the constant weathering of the elements. The most effective and most maintenance free gutters are seamless gutters.

The advantages of installing a seamless gutters are just that, seamless. These rain gutters are shaped and molded from a continuous rolled sheet of metal on-site in order to achieve a precise fit and because they are seamless, are not prone to leaks as the afore mentioned connector pieces. Properly mounted, seamless gutters will long outlast the do-it-yourself gutter assembly and require far less maintenance ensuring a hassle free drainage system for years to come.

Many Minnesota people take their rain gutters and downspouts for granted. They see the guttering attached to their home, but they never give them a second thought. That can be a mistake for several reasons that we will take a closer look at in a second, but gutter maintenance is a very important part of your entire homes maintenance. Without properly installed and functional gutters and downspouts, you can easily find yourself with roof damage or erosion problems in your yard. In many cases this can lead to leaky basements and other problems as well.

Gutter Maintenance
Keeping your rain gutters clean will prevent a lot of potential problems from ever happening. Even if you do not have trees around your home your gutters can still become clogged. Do you have asphalt shingles? If so, the rain slowly causes those tiny pebbles on your shingles to fall off and collect in the guttering.

Eventually these pebbles coming with other dirt and leaves to clog up the gutters. This is why washing out and cleaning your rain gutter is so important. Why? Because of settling.

Gutter Settling
When your gutters are filled with dirt and debris they become heavy, especially when filled with water. Over time this extra weight causes them to be pulled down and unable to drain properly.

Your guttering is sloped at slight angle toward your downspout. So, when that extra weight causes the gutter to sag, the angle is lost and the water simply collects in the channel. Eventually it pulls your guttering away from the roof and causes wood to rot.

How can you tell if your gutters have settled? Well you can watch the corners during the next rain, or you can spray a water hose onto the roof. Watch to see if the corners start leaking. If they do, your gutters are not draining correctly and they need looked at.

As you can see, rain gutter maintenance is important and just by cleaning them out on a regular basis can prevent most future problems from occurring.

There’s a reason why Minnesota homeowners 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 pr