Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 8:08:05 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.

Question is what type works best? And that might depend on what trees and
stuff one has that wind up in them. One type uses a curved lip at the edge,
where water rounds it and goes into a slot, while debris goes past it.
I saw it working at a show with a moderate water flow. I wondered though
what happens with a heavy downpour, if that winds up going past it.
One problem I would think with all of them is that whatever does wind up
in the gutter, you have to remove the guard to clean that out, so I'd want
something that isn't too hard to remove. I remember fooling around with
some stuff that HD or Lowes had, that slid under the shingles and over
the gutter, ie it was DIY stuff.

On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way.* I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago.* He was on the
roof cleaning them last week.** I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

On 4/19/19 8:30 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 8:08:05 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.

Question is what type works best? And that might depend on what trees and
stuff one has that wind up in them. One type uses a curved lip at the edge,
where water rounds it and goes into a slot, while debris goes past it.
I saw it working at a show with a moderate water flow. I wondered though
what happens with a heavy downpour, if that winds up going past it.
One problem I would think with all of them is that whatever does wind up
in the gutter, you have to remove the guard to clean that out, so I'd want
something that isn't too hard to remove. I remember fooling around with
some stuff that HD or Lowes had, that slid under the shingles and over
the gutter, ie it was DIY stuff.




My ladder will take me safely as high as the bottom of the gutters but
since it's a two story house do not want to risk my life working above
the gutters, so would want to hire someone.


There is only one gutter near trees so I would not have to do all of
them. Maybe it would not cost a fortune to just do one, ten foot section.

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 9:32:21 PM UTC-4, philo wrote:
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way.Â* I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago.Â* He was on the
roof cleaning them last week.Â*Â* I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Well, they would be a good idea to keep rain from pouring onto your head
when you enter and exit. And assuming the water is dealt with correctly,
they take water away from the foundation, where it can wind up in the
basement, if there is one. Also depends on how much overhang there is.
If there isn't much, you have water pouring down on whatever is below
and if that has any dirt on it, it can splash back up and dirty the siding.
The falling water can erode whatever is below it, so hopefully there is
mulch, stone or something there so it doesn't make a hole. I guess it also
depends on how much rain you get, AZ or Oregon, etc.

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 8:08:05 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.

Question is what type works best? And that might depend on what trees and
stuff one has that wind up in them. One type uses a curved lip at the
edge,
where water rounds it and goes into a slot, while debris goes past it.
I saw it working at a show with a moderate water flow. I wondered though
what happens with a heavy downpour, if that winds up going past it.
One problem I would think with all of them is that whatever does wind up
in the gutter, you have to remove the guard to clean that out, so I'd want
something that isn't too hard to remove. I remember fooling around with
some stuff that HD or Lowes had, that slid under the shingles and over
the gutter, ie it was DIY stuff.

While I couldnt have no gutters when I designed and built my house,
I would prefer no gutters at all because that had worked well in some
of the houses I had lived in previously. Obviously you do need some
way to avoid columns of water off the roof across the doors but thats
not hard to do without any gutters.

Since I couldnt have no gutters at the time I built the house, I have
very wide gutters, must be about a foot wide. Very easy to shovel
the leaves out using a standard flat ended spade, onto the ground
beside the house.

One problem is that the design of the flat roof now doesnt allow me
to easily have no gutters. They arent legally required anymore here.

"philo" wrote in message
...
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of guard
up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have lived in houses with no gutters and that works fine.

I wasn’t legally allowed to have no gutters when I designed and built the
house here in the very early 70s, but no gutters are allowed here now.

philo writes:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.

Gpod for you.

Just did my gutters a few days ago.
I climb onto the roof(s) and use the back pack blower.
Worst part for me is getting near the edge with
a 2 story drop to the driveway.
Lower parts of the roof don't bother me.
Why does getting older make you more afraid of heights?
Might be my imagination.

Still doing gutters myself at 73.
When I give up, time to rent.


--
Dan Espen

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 9:32:21 PM UTC-4, philo wrote:
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on
the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Well, they would be a good idea to keep rain from
pouring onto your head when you enter and exit.

Yes, but its not hard to ensure that doesnt
happen at the doors without gutters.

And assuming the water is dealt with correctly,
they take water away from the foundation, where
it can wind up in the basement, if there is one.

I dont have one and most houses here dont have them.

Also depends on how much overhang there is. If there isn't much,
you have water pouring down on whatever is below and if that
has any dirt on it, it can splash back up and dirty the siding.

But you get that even with gutters.

The falling water can erode whatever is below it, so hopefully there
is mulch, stone or something there so it doesn't make a hole.

Yeah, I have one of my gutters falling onto the ground at
the corner of the very deep 6' eaves on the sunny side of
the house and there is quite hole there in the dirt there.

One of the houses my parents owned had a small
pit with stones in it with a chain from the gutter to
that pit that the water flowed down. Worked well.

I guess it also depends on how much rain you get, AZ or Oregon, etc.

Yeah, that house the parents had was in Brisbane. I have never
seen such a downpour anywhere else at times. Very spectacular
and you can get cars floating down the road at times there.

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 12:19:09 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rot Speed,
the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

One problem I would think with all of them is that whatever does wind up
in the gutter, you have to remove the guard to clean that out, so I'd want
something that isn't too hard to remove. I remember fooling around with
some stuff that HD or Lowes had, that slid under the shingles and over
the gutter, ie it was DIY stuff.

While I couldn¢t have no gutters when I designed and built my house,

LOL Tell us again about that computer OS you designed, too, senile Rodent!

--
Senile Rodent about himself:
"I was involved in the design of a computer OS"
MID:

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 12:28:30 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

FLUSH troll****

Yeah, that house the parents had was in Brisbane.

Guess whether ANYONE gives a ****, you self-opinionated, self-important,
senile asshole!

--
"Anonymous" to trolling senile Rot Speed:
"You can **** off as you know less than pig **** you sad
little ignorant ****."
MID:

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 12:20:47 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have lived in houses with no gutters and that works fine.

I wasn¢t legally allowed to have no gutters when I designed and built the
house here in the very early 70s, but no gutters are allowed here now.

I know that you designed a computer OS, senile Rodent, but I can't remember
exactly whether you designed an airplane. I believe you hinted something
like that.

--
Senile Rot about himself:
"I was involved in the design of a computer OS"
MID:

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 10:21:02 PM UTC-4, Rod Speed wrote:
"philo" wrote in message
...
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of guard
up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have lived in houses with no gutters and that works fine.

Did any of these houses have a basement?

We like to direct water away from the foundation so the basement
stays dry.

Cindy Hamilton

On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

My wife is the same and I just did mine on the first floor. I took my
time and made sure my center of gravity was good on the ladder. Several
years ago a neighbor than my age fell doing his and lost a few teeth.

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated. I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more. A quick
Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

I had my top floors gutters cleaned once and it cost about $200. I
think the are out of reach of trees around so I will do lower as long as
I can and bring out the Gutter Guys every several years.

On 4/20/2019 8:26 AM, Frank wrote:

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A quick
Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

Ouch, I'd have gueseds half that. Better to just let them fill up and
replace them every few years and come out ahead

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 09:51:00 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 4/20/2019 8:26 AM, Frank wrote:

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A quick
Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

Ouch, I'd have gueseds half that. Better to just let them fill up and
replace them every few years and come out ahead



Here's a somewhat different approach :

http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/p...=2,42194,33169

John T.

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 22:26:15 -0400, Dan Espen wrote:

philo writes:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.

Gpod for you.

Just did my gutters a few days ago.
I climb onto the roof(s) and use the back pack blower.
Worst part for me is getting near the edge with
a 2 story drop to the driveway.
Lower parts of the roof don't bother me.
Why does getting older make you more afraid of heights?
Might be my imagination.


I've painted houses hanging off the almost last rung of 40 foot ladders.
When I was younger. When I was about 45 years old I climbed about 20 feet up to paint
windows on my 2-flat. My legs started shaking. Came back down and haven't been up since.
I figured my legs were telling me something.

Still doing gutters myself at 73.
When I give up, time to rent.

I still do mine at 72, but it's a single story bungalow. Cutting down the single big maple
that was sitting over my sewer line mostly eliminated the need.
Around here the firemen do a good side business of cleaning. I heard they charge $150.
There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 10:15:02 AM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:

There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.

That's what we use. My husband didn't refer to Youtube, though. He
formed the PVC such that it slots in to the leaf blower just like the
part it replaces. We bicker a little bit over who gets to use it,
although if it's been raining I always concede.

Our gutters are maybe 9 feet off the ground.

Cindy Hamilton

Cindy Hamilton

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 10:04:18 -0400, wrote:

Here's a somewhat different approach :

http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/p...=2,42194,33169

John T.

Or maybe the Flip Clean Gutter System.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=wAjaJnXKokM

From the ground and works on the 2nd story.

On 4/20/2019 10:23 AM, wrote:
On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 10:15:02 AM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:

There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.

That's what we use. My husband didn't refer to Youtube, though. He
formed the PVC such that it slots in to the leaf blower just like the
part it replaces. We bicker a little bit over who gets to use it,
although if it's been raining I always concede.

Our gutters are maybe 9 feet off the ground.

Cindy Hamilton

Cindy Hamilton


I made one of those but it is somewhat heavy and shingles cover nearly
half the gutter so gap is not as good as it could be. I tried it before
I climbed the ladder and ended up with a lot of wet leaves in my hair.
Once they get wet and sit and soak, physical re-movement works best.

On 4/20/2019 9:51 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/20/2019 8:26 AM, Frank wrote:

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A
quick Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

Ouch, I'd have gueseds half that.* Better to just let them fill up and
replace them every few years and come out ahead

We were discussing ovens in another thread, it is practically impossible
to get someone out to the house for less than $100. The oven guy is up
to $150 and blames workman's comp insurance cost.

It is possible to avoid that expense but if someone is injured working
on your property you may be subject to a law suit. One of our sons in
an insurance company lawyer and has some frightening stories of suits he
has seen. Homeowners insurance usually does not cover workmen.

On 4/19/19 8:39 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 9:32:21 PM UTC-4, philo wrote:
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way.Â* I moved to a new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago.Â* He was on the
roof cleaning them last week.Â*Â* I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Well, they would be a good idea to keep rain from pouring onto your head
when you enter and exit. And assuming the water is dealt with correctly,
they take water away from the foundation, where it can wind up in the
basement, if there is one. Also depends on how much overhang there is.
If there isn't much, you have water pouring down on whatever is below
and if that has any dirt on it, it can splash back up and dirty the siding.
The falling water can erode whatever is below it, so hopefully there is
mulch, stone or something there so it doesn't make a hole. I guess it also
depends on how much rain you get, AZ or Oregon, etc.





Since my house already has good gutters, might as well leave them.
Been here 40 years now.

On 4/19/19 9:26 PM, Dan Espen wrote:
philo writes:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.

Gpod for you.

Just did my gutters a few days ago.
I climb onto the roof(s) and use the back pack blower.
Worst part for me is getting near the edge with
a 2 story drop to the driveway.
Lower parts of the roof don't bother me.
Why does getting older make you more afraid of heights?
Might be my imagination.

Still doing gutters myself at 73.
When I give up, time to rent.





I was doing light work for the first few years after I had my knees
replaced, but now am able to to all the dumb stuff I could to at 40


as long as the ladder is firmly set, with no chance of slipping I should
be able to do this for a while yet. It was not a big deal really.

On 4/20/19 9:14 AM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 22:26:15 -0400, Dan Espen wrote:

philo writes:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.

Gpod for you.

Just did my gutters a few days ago.
I climb onto the roof(s) and use the back pack blower.
Worst part for me is getting near the edge with
a 2 story drop to the driveway.
Lower parts of the roof don't bother me.
Why does getting older make you more afraid of heights?
Might be my imagination.


I've painted houses hanging off the almost last rung of 40 foot ladders.
When I was younger. When I was about 45 years old I climbed about 20 feet up to paint
windows on my 2-flat. My legs started shaking. Came back down and haven't been up since.
I figured my legs were telling me something.

Still doing gutters myself at 73.
When I give up, time to rent.

I still do mine at 72, but it's a single story bungalow. Cutting down the single big maple
that was sitting over my sewer line mostly eliminated the need.
Around here the firemen do a good side business of cleaning. I heard they charge $150.
There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.




My buddies and I worked our way through school by doing house painting.

I was usually the one up on the 40 foot ladder simply because I was the
worst painter and my sloppy work would not be so obvious.

On 4/20/19 9:23 AM, wrote:
On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 10:15:02 AM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:

There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.

That's what we use. My husband didn't refer to Youtube, though. He
formed the PVC such that it slots in to the leaf blower just like the
part it replaces. We bicker a little bit over who gets to use it,
although if it's been raining I always concede.

Our gutters are maybe 9 feet off the ground.

Cindy Hamilton

Cindy Hamilton




9 feet off the ground, no problem

On 4/20/19 7:26 AM, Frank wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

My wife is the same and I just did mine on the first floor.* I took my
time and made sure my center of gravity was good on the ladder.* Several
years ago a neighbor than my age fell doing his and lost a few teeth.

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A quick
Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

I had my top floors gutters cleaned once and it cost about $200.** I
think the are out of reach of trees around so I will do lower as long as
I can and bring out the Gutter Guys every several years.



Thanks for the info, I'm going to skip the gutter guards then.

This is not a major big deal, even if I have to pay someone to clean them.

On 4/20/19 11:24 AM, Frank wrote:
On 4/20/2019 9:51 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/20/2019 8:26 AM, Frank wrote:

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A
quick Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

Ouch, I'd have gueseds half that.* Better to just let them fill up and
replace them every few years and come out ahead

We were discussing ovens in another thread, it is practically impossible
to get someone out to the house for less than $100.* The oven guy is up
to $150 and blames workman's comp insurance cost.

It is possible to avoid that expense but if someone is injured working
on your property you may be subject to a law suit.* One of our sons in
an insurance company lawyer and has some frightening stories of suits he
has seen.* Homeowners insurance usually does not cover workmen.




The only bad experience I had with a contractor was the guy who quoted
me $2000 for a new toilet.


Home Depot and $64 later, I did it myself in an hour.

wrote in message
...
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 10:21:02 PM UTC-4, Rod Speed wrote:
"philo" wrote in message
...
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a
new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on
the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard
up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have lived in houses with no gutters and that works
fine.

Did any of these houses have a basement?

Nope, I've never lived in a house that had one, they arent at all
common here.

We like to direct water away from the foundation so the basement
stays dry.

Sure. Tho in many places the roof isnt necessarily the main area
that receives most of the rain except with McMansions. My roof
area is only about a third of the total area of the block of land.

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 12:13:52 PM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
On 4/20/2019 10:23 AM, wrote:
On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 10:15:02 AM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:

There are some Youtube videos showing how to set up leaf blowers with PVC pipe to clean
gutters from the ground.
Probably could make that work for gutters up to maybe 15-20 feet high.

That's what we use. My husband didn't refer to Youtube, though. He
formed the PVC such that it slots in to the leaf blower just like the
part it replaces. We bicker a little bit over who gets to use it,
although if it's been raining I always concede.

Our gutters are maybe 9 feet off the ground.

Cindy Hamilton

I made one of those but it is somewhat heavy and shingles cover nearly
half the gutter so gap is not as good as it could be. I tried it before
I climbed the ladder and ended up with a lot of wet leaves in my hair.
Once they get wet and sit and soak, physical re-movement works best.

He's made two of them. The first was Schedule 40 PVC. The second was
Schedule 80.

Our shingles barely hang over the drip edge. Snow and ice would break
them off if they were any longer.

Cindy Hamilton

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 1:29:07 PM UTC-4, Rod Speed wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 10:21:02 PM UTC-4, Rod Speed wrote:
"philo" wrote in message
...
On 4/19/19 6:59 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

I was thinking the same thing but found a better way. I moved to a
new
house with no gutters.

My next door neighbor had gutters install two months ago. He was on
the
roof cleaning them last week. I'm not putting any on.

Had I stayed in the old house, probably would have put some sort of
guard
up.



I was thinking about that...hard to see why gutters are even needed.

Yeah, I agree. I have lived in houses with no gutters and that works
fine.

Did any of these houses have a basement?

Nope, I've never lived in a house that had one, they arent at all
common here.

We like to direct water away from the foundation so the basement
stays dry.

Sure. Tho in many places the roof isnt necessarily the main area
that receives most of the rain except with McMansions. My roof
area is only about a third of the total area of the block of land.

The roof area of my house is about 1% of my total acreage. My
garage has gutters on the front to reduce ice on the driveway
and the shop has gutters even though it is on a slab, just because...

Cindy Hamilton

On 4/20/2019 12:37 PM, philo wrote:
On 4/20/19 11:24 AM, Frank wrote:
On 4/20/2019 9:51 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/20/2019 8:26 AM, Frank wrote:

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter
guards always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with
large holes self installed and would still have to remove a few
pieces to remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh
being advertised and it may work better but probably costs even
more.* A quick Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

Ouch, I'd have gueseds half that.* Better to just let them fill up
and replace them every few years and come out ahead

We were discussing ovens in another thread, it is practically
impossible to get someone out to the house for less than $100.* The
oven guy is up to $150 and blames workman's comp insurance cost.

It is possible to avoid that expense but if someone is injured working
on your property you may be subject to a law suit.* One of our sons in
an insurance company lawyer and has some frightening stories of suits
he has seen.* Homeowners insurance usually does not cover workmen.




The only bad experience I had with a contractor was the guy who quoted
me $2000 for a new toilet.


Home Depot and $64 later, I did it myself in an hour.

I went through this a couple of years ago with a new deck. DE being a
small state has contractors come in from nearby PA and MD. They might
tell you that they have insurance but it may only cover their home
state. Son had my wife worried about this and we were very careful.

I let the plumber do the toilets. I tried once and tightened it to the
floor too much and broke it. I hear many have had this bad experience.

You can usually estimate a cost yourself and if quote is out of line
seek others. A $2,000 toilet would be outrageous.

On 4/20/2019 12:33 PM, philo wrote:
On 4/20/19 7:26 AM, Frank wrote:
On 4/19/2019 6:38 PM, philo wrote:
Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean
the gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?

My wife is the same and I just did mine on the first floor.* I took my
time and made sure my center of gravity was good on the ladder.
Several years ago a neighbor than my age fell doing his and lost a few
teeth.

Last year I had new gutters installed and was told that gutter guards
always failed and would cost 3X as much. I had mesh type with large
holes self installed and would still have to remove a few pieces to
remove particulate that accumulated.* I see a micro mesh being
advertised and it may work better but probably costs even more.* A
quick Google shows cheapest at about $25/ft.

I had my top floors gutters cleaned once and it cost about $200.** I
think the are out of reach of trees around so I will do lower as long
as I can and bring out the Gutter Guys every several years.



Thanks for the info, I'm going to skip the gutter guards then.

This is not a major big deal, even if I have to pay someone to clean them.

Our problem being older is that we cannot quite do the jobs we used to
do. I even use a lawn service now. OTOH it is nice to be relieved of
the servitude of having to do these jobs.

On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 03:28:55 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rot Speed,
the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


Did any of these houses have a basement?

Nope

Are you sure, senile auto-contradictor, or did you just auto-contradict
again? VBG

--
Kerr-Mudd,John addressing senile Rot:
"Auto-contradictor Rod is back! (in the KF)"
MID:

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 10:30:23 -0700 (PDT), wrote:



He's made two of them. The first was Schedule 40 PVC. The second was
Schedule 80.


Some are made with aluminum downspout. Very light weight.

On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 10:34:28 -0700 (PDT), wrote:



The roof area of my house is about 1% of my total acreage. My
garage has gutters on the front to reduce ice on the driveway
and the shop has gutters even though it is on a slab, just because...


I put gutters on my garage because my wife wanted them. Flowers.
The water flowing off a roof digs quite a furrow when it hits.
Splashes the dirt onto brickwork/siding.
Also have hoses on the downspouts to carry the water away from the foundation.

On 4/20/2019 2:01 PM, Frank wrote:


This is not a major big deal, even if I have to pay someone to clean
them.

Our problem being older is that we cannot quite do the jobs we used to
do.* I even use a lawn service now.* OTOH it is nice to be relieved of
the servitude of having to do these jobs.

Agree. My wife has some issues that prevent her from doing much. She
helped with the lawn, shoveled snow, kept up with whatever we needed.
The housework fell on my over the last few years.

Since we moved, this house is a bit smaller and easier to care for, but,
I have a lawn service and every other week a cleaning lady. She is well
worth the money. She comes in and goes right to work for a solid four
hours or so. When she leaves, everything is the way it was when we
moved into the brand new house four months ago.

Twice a month she cleans the 8' glass slider in the kitchen. I'd
probably do it twice a year. Fixtures and appliances shine.

On 4/20/2019 5:57 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/20/2019 2:01 PM, Frank wrote:


This is not a major big deal, even if I have to pay someone to clean
them.

Our problem being older is that we cannot quite do the jobs we used to
do.* I even use a lawn service now.* OTOH it is nice to be relieved of
the servitude of having to do these jobs.

Agree.* My wife has some issues that prevent her from doing much.* She
helped with the lawn, shoveled snow, kept up with whatever we needed.
The housework fell on my over the last few years.

Since we moved, this house is a bit smaller and easier to care for, but,
I have a lawn service and every other week a cleaning lady.* She is well
worth the money.* She comes in and goes right to work for a solid four
hours or so.* When she leaves, everything is the way it was when we
moved into the brand new house four months ago.

Twice a month she cleans the 8' glass slider in the kitchen.* I'd
probably do it twice a year.* Fixtures and appliances shine.

Fortunately my wife is still capable of doing all she has been doing.
We've had other neighbors have to bring in housekeeping.

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:38:07 -0500, philo wrote:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?


I clean my gutters using a leaf-blower.

I get up on the roof to do this, but I also built a specially shaped
leaf blower attachment that lets me clean the gutter from the ground.

Obviously I can see what is happening better up on the roof, but the
leaf-blower attachment for ground level blowing worked well enough.

Ross

RMD wrote:
On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:38:07 -0500, philo wrote:

Now that I'm almost 70, my wife insisted that I call a guy to clean the
gutters.

After a ten month wait, I decided to just do it myself.


Had to do it when my wife was not watching.


I wonder if I should have those leaf guards installed?


I clean my gutters using a leaf-blower.

I get up on the roof to do this, but I also built a specially shaped
leaf blower attachment that lets me clean the gutter from the ground.

Obviously I can see what is happening better up on the roof, but the
leaf-blower attachment for ground level blowing worked well enough.

Ross



If you only need to reach up to about 8 feet or so, the Sears
Shopvac has an attachment that makes it easy to do from the
ground. I've been doing it that way for about 10 years. Here ya
go, the price may have risen only $2 in 10 years!

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-gutt...p-00916935000P

It's not as fast as the guys using a leafblower from the roof,
but I prefer not to go there.