They include:

• A ladder that can easily reach your roof gutters
• A hose hooked up to a water supply
• A long pole (a broom handle will work if you don't have anything else to use.)

First, you're going to need to determine how bad the clutter in your gutters is. If you don't live near any trees, you'll most likely be dealing with some built up grime and various bits of debris. If you do have trees in your yard, chances are that your gutters are packed with leaves as well as dirt. It's a good idea to clean your gutters every year, once all of your trees have shed their leaves, but if you find that yours don't get that dirty you may be able to get away with every two years.

Before you actually start cleaning your gutters, let's talk about why it is so important to keep them clean. Over time, you're going to get quite a lot of debris in there. Your gutters serve to catch rainwater and divert it away from your house. If your gutters are clogged, you're going to have to deal with some leaks along the gutter system, or you may notice that water is collecting around the base of your home. This is very bad for your foundation and can lead to rot, cracking and other dangerous problems with your foundation. It's a lot easier just to take the time once a year to keep them clean.

Ok, now, let's get started. Get your ladder and put it up against the house so you can easily reach the gutter without stretching. If your ladder is too short, you're increasing your chances of injuring yourself, so stick with one that is big enough to do the job. Now, you'll be able to see what you're dealing with in there. If there are a lot of leaves, you can use your long pole to loosen them, but you'll probably have to resort to good old fashioned hand scooping at some point. If you have just a lot of dirt, you can use your hose to spray the inside of your gutter clean.

Once you've removed all the debris in the area you can reach, you'll need to move your ladder down a few feet and keep repeating the process until all of your gutters are cleaned out. That wasn't so hard, was it? Remember, try to clean your gutters out every year to avoid dealing with runoff problems. Since it's so easy, it's no big deal to keep them spic and span.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-02 20:07:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• 6 Great Home Uses for Power Pressure Washers Power pressure washers are handy pieces of equipment for home use, and some models are made for commercial use, as well. Unless you plan on running a pressure washing business, however, you can get away with a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment that can you use to do a large......
• Alternative Energy For Homeowners As home heating costs rise, and energy in general gets more expensive, many homeowners are turning to alternative means to power their homes. While many systems require a lot of effort to implement, there are quite a few that can be easy to install and quite economical. Whether it is......
• How Your House Works by Charlie Wing If you have ever looked at a sink, a lamp or anything in your house and wondered how does that work this book has your answers. Any homeowner can benefit from learning more about how specific appliances and fixtures work, but there are not many resources that put it all......
• How to Safely Get Rid of Rodents Whether you live in the country or a big city, chances are you've dealt with rodents a time or two. These little critters may be cute but they are a huge health risk to you and your loved ones and they need to go. There are more than a few......
• How to Choose New Siding For Your Home If your home is starting to look a little run down, or you just don’t want to go through the expense of painting it again, you may want to consider purchasing siding for your home. There are many benefits to using siding and it can be virtually maintenance free if......

• Owl House For Rodent Control Pest & Weed Control Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
• Salt Water Ponds Water Features Garden Décor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
• Pole Windsocks & Devas Garden Decor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Cane Pole Accessories Fishing
• Corn House Seeds Tropicals Plants, Seeds & Bulbs Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living

Exterior Maintenance:

Often, the source of moisture or flooding begins outside the home. Gutters collect and move mass amounts of water on a single home with just a few inches of rainfall. A quick inspection of your gutters, down spouts, and the grading surrounding your foundation can indicate a potential problem. Gutters should be clean and properly sized for your home. Down spouts should draw drainage away from the home, to the lowest portion of your lot. In other words, the water should be directed to where it would drain naturally. Some areas allow drainage systems to be connected to city storm sewers and retention basins. Check with the water and sewer department in your area before making any changes that involve public systems.

The surface grading around your home should provide a gentle slope away from your foundation, pulling any added rainfall or moisture back into your lawn. Most building codes state that the surface grading should, in the first ten feet from the house, slope down at least six inches. Check with your local building codes to find out the specifics for your area.

Interior Maintenance:

Some basic steps for keeping your basement moisture free are to provide proper ventilation for dryers, bathrooms or any other sources of moisture, and making certain that your sump pump is in proper working order. It is essential in dealing with moisture, and during a flood can save homeowners thousands of dollars. A dehumidifier can help remove moisture from the air, which can aid in the prevention of the formation of mold.

Applying a waterproof sealant can keep moisture at bay and is not only easy, but relatively inexpensive to apply. Walls and flooring must be prepared before the sealant is applied, by scraping away loose materials, filling in cracks, and creating the cleanest surface possible by vacuuming. Simply follow the instructions included with the sealant for application and drying processes. If a sealant has been used in the past, but is no longer effective, you may need to remove the old material from your flooring before applying a fresh coat. This can be time consuming, but a little bit of extra work in the beginning of the process will yield a dry, moisture free basement in the long run.

Flooring Solutions:

If your basement is mostly used for doing laundry and completing small projects, a fresh, bright coat of paint is often enough to improve the appearance and help keep moisture at bay. However, a finished basement may have carpeting, tiles, and even hardwood flooring in some cases. Moisture and flooding can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage on these types of materials.

A simple, attractive and cost-effective alternative to these typical flooring materials is water resistant carpet tiles. Not only do carpet tiles not require a carpet pad, which can become soaked with water, causing a nightmare for homeowners dealing with flooding, but the tiles themselves are often water resistant and can be individually removed, cleaned, dried, and replaced in their original position at no cost to the home owner.

With a little knowledge and preparation, you can have not only a dry basement, but an attractive and inviting space that will likely add to the ultimate resale value of your home.

This was a guest post written by Jason Capshaw. Jason Capshaw is a weekend warrior and former general contractor. He loves woodworking and spending time on home improvements.

Photo Credits: cafemama

Originally posted 2010-02-05 16:29:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Green Flooring For Your Home If you are considering installing new flooring for your home, now is the time to consider reducing your carbon imprint. There are many new choices for flooring that are not only eco-friendly but also beautiful, economical and long lasting. Let’s go over some of the most popular choices for green......
• Guide to Buying a Home Water Softener If your home’s water is excessively hard, it may be time to think about purchasing a water softener. If you are not sure if you have hard water, there are a few easy tests that will help you determine this. First and foremost, you can send a sample to a......
• DIY Home Flooring Repairs Methods by which floors are repaired depend entirely on the type of floor you currently have. Factors like the type of floor, and damage severity are important points to consider for repairs. Repairing Ceramic Tile Nothing ruins a kitchen or bathroom floor like a chipped or cracked tile. Luckily, ceramic......
• Bathroom Redo: Painting Ceramic Tile Painting ceramic tile is an excellent way to update a bathroom. Older bathrooms especially may have outdated colors and patterns on the walls, but on ceramic tile that's still in good shape. The idea of removing all that tile and starting with a clean slate can quickly make you decide......
• Steps to Installing a Home Steam Shower A home steam shower makes your bathroom a retreat, and if you're a do-it-yourselfer with some experience you can probably handle at least some of the installation yourself. Not only will it make time spent in the bathroom more enjoyable, but any type of bathroom remodeling improves the value of......

• Faucets, Taps Plumbing Building Materials & Supplies Green Construction Store
• Cast Iron Water Fountains Water Features Garden Decor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Egg Knobs Doors & Door Hardware Building & Hardware Home Improvement
• Pewter Knobs Cabinets & Cabinet Hardware Building & Hardware Home Improvement
• Harmony Bamboo Water Fountains Water Features Garden Decor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living

Seamless or Traditional Gutters

Traditional gutters come in sections. Seamless gutters are made from one continuous piece. They are not truly seamless, however, as seams are necessary at corners and connections, they merely lack seems in the straight sections. The seams that are there can leak, but generally because of the way the gutters are installed they don't leak for much longer than traditional gutters often hold out. Seamless gutters require less maintenance, by nature.

Seamless gutters are much more expensive than traditional guttering, and bear the extra expense of professional installation. Traditional guttering can be purchased much more cheaply and you can do it yourself. And if you practice regular gutter maintenance, you can avoid problems and leaks for a very long time.

Which Material for New Gutters?

The material you choose for you new gutters will depend on a few different factors. How much maintenance are you comfortable with? How big or small is your budget? What kind of appearance do you want? Do you want to be able to install the gutters yourself? Keep all these things in mind when you choose your new gutters.

Copper -- copper gutters provide a high-end option, but they're very expensive and do require sealing and regular maintenance to prevent oxidation.

Aluminum -- aluminum is the classic material for gutters. It's long-lasting, inexpensive and lightweight. This is the best option for a small budget. Aluminum gutters are available in a variety of colors, but not as many colors as a material like vinyl. These new gutters do require regular maintenance. While aluminum can't rust, it can corrode if water is trapped in clogged gutters.

Steel -- steel is stronger than aluminum and a popular gutter choice. It's a bit more expensive, but can last longer than aluminum. The color choices are about the same as with any metal guttering. It's less likely to dent, as well. But steel can rust, so regular maintenance is essential.

Vinyl -- vinyl gutters are lightweight and easy to assemble, making them great for the do-it-yourselfer. Another great benefit of vinyl guttering is that you can buy it in a wide variety of colors. The biggest drawback with vinyl is that it's not terribly sturdy or strong and, just like vinyl siding, can crack on impact especially during cold weather. Vinyl guttering won't last as long as metal, but these new gutters will require less maintenance since they can't rust or corrode.

Photo Credits: massdistraction

Originally posted 2009-09-12 06:49:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• How to Install Rain Gutters Time Needed - Between 6 and 8 Hours Estimated Cost - $2 to $6 Per Linear Foot For homes in most areas throughout the country, having rain gutters and downspouts is necessary so that you can collect rainwater and carry it away from the home. Without rain gutters and downspouts,......
• Home Repair Almanac By Edward Lipinski Regular maintenance is vital for any homeowner, especially if you want to reduce your chances for having a major problem down the road. But for first time homeowners, or even homeowners that have been down the road before, it’s tough to know when to schedule all of those little maintenance......
• Gutted! By Lawrence LaRose If you’re thinking about buying an old house to restore, stop right now and buy this book. It is the absolute epitome of what you should not do, and it may even make you change your mind. Anyone interested in home improvement horror stories will love this book, and there......
• Review: The Old House Handbook: The Essential Guide to Care and Repair by Roger Hunt, Marianne Suhr This tome is the authoritative guide to looking after an old home. These can include such houses as a medieval cottage, an urban terrace from the eighteenth century, or a Victorian development. This book builds upon the thoughts and works of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, approaching......
• Types of Furniture Fabric If you are looking to purchase new furniture or if you are thinking about having a piece reupholstered, you will need to decide upon a fabric type for the furniture.  And, if you have never shopped for furniture fabric before, you need to know that this involves a great deal......

• Vinyl Outdoor Storage Sheds Garden Structures & Fencing Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
• Aluminum Metalware Collectibles
• Stainless Steel Cookware Kitchen, Dining & Bar Home Store
• Traditional Chandeliers Home Lighting
• Native American Contemporary (1980-Now) Porcelain By Material Dolls Dolls & Bears

For homes in most areas throughout the country, having rain gutters and downspouts is necessary so that you can collect rainwater and carry it away from the home. Without rain gutters and downspouts, the water would erode the soil around the foundation of your home, splashing dirt onto the siding and leaking water into your crawlspace or basement, and all of these things can create a lot of problems.

More often than not, gutters are installed by professionals. Luckily, this does not mean that you cannot do the work yourself with a little bit of know how. All of the necessary accessories, tools and materials are readily available and can be found at your local lumber yard, home center or roofing supply company. And if you are going to replace your downspouts and gutters, then you might as well completely upgrade the entire look of your rainwater system on your home.

To install reproduction, half round gutters with corrugated downspouts and cast aluminum brackets, you need a hacksaw, a nut screwdriver, a pop rivet gun, aviation snips, an electric drill, chalk line, miter saw, ratchet wrench, drill bits, needle nose pliers, 16 foot tape measure, ladder, gutters, fascia gutter brackets, downspouts, downspout outlets, downspout elbows, downspout brackets, spherical end caps, and ¼ inch diameter stainless steel lag screws, 3 inch aluminum strip, 3/8 inch self-tapping hex-head screws, and ¼ inch long aluminum rivets.

The process goes like this:

1. Snap the layout lines. Make sure to check the fascia for rot before the gutters are installed.

2. Attach the fascia brackets. Rub soap on the lag screws to drive them through more easily.

3. Saw the gutter to length using the miter saw. Locate the screws in the sides rather than the bottom of the gutter.

4. Attach the end caps using aluminum pop rivets. Seal the rivets with a silicon caulk.

5. Cut the downspout holes in the gutter using a downspout outlet to mark each location. The holes should be ¼ inches in diameter.

6. Install the gutter by laying it into the brackets, rotating it upward until it slips into the hooks and brackets. Aluminum gutters and brackets can be spray painted if you want them to match the trim of the house.

7. Form the strip miter joint at the corner. If you want to make this joint more waterproof, use a silicone caulk.

8. Connect the downspout to the gutter by securing the outlet to the gutter with four pop rivets or screws. Screw a downspout elbow to the outlet tube where it protrudes from the gutter and use needle nose pliers to crimp the elbow to make sure that it fits into the downspout. Then fasten the parts together using screws or pop rivets.

If you have a one story home, you should use two downspout brackets. If you have a two story house, you should use three downspout brackets instead.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-14 05:36:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• 10 Ideas for DIY Home Improvement There are a lot of different DIY home improvement projects that you can take advantage of in order to change up the look and feel of your home quickly, easily and effectively. Why pay an arm and a leg for contractors and professionals when you can make grand changes to......
• Easy Ways to Increase The Value of Your Home As the housing market continues to struggle, many homeowners are looking into ways to increase the value of their homes. However, a common issue that keeps these homeowners from making improvement is the lack of availability on home improvement loans, and a lack of available funding. Luckily, there are many......
• 6 Ways to Childproof Your Home Children are a blessing, but if you are expecting a new arrival, there are quite a few things that you will need to do to your home to make sure that it is childproof. As soon as they are able to crawl, they are able to get hurt, so it......
• Drill Types Whether you are working on a production floor or just around your own house, drills can help to provide a variety of different assistance in creating and repairing different projects. Drills are one of the power tools that is used the most, and there are a number of different drill......
• Choosing New Gutters You might not think that choosing new gutters for home is a very big decision. Rain gutters are a crucial part of our homes that we really don't give much thought to until there's a problem. If they're installed properly, they're not something we even tend to notice when looking......

• Multi-Toggle Switch Plates & Outlet Covers Electrical & Solar Home Improvement
• Corn House Seedlings Tropicals Plants, Seeds & Bulbs Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Aluminum Hunting
• 12 Inch Black Pearl Stainless Steel Gazing Balls Garden Decor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• 2 Inch Reel Hoses & Hose Reels Watering Equipment Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living