My mind is in the Gutter

[Mike]

Heres a few questions for you gutter junkies...

On average how often does your clients have the gutters cleaned in your area?

Do you offer some kind of service deal for those that want them cleaned out often?

Do you offer any kind of repair service, if so what do you do?

Do you have a few photos you might want to share showing how some of your gutter cleaners have worked for you when it comes to results?

Thanks

[Mathew Johnson]

1) generally once a year... after the leaves are down.

2) Yes, I give what I refer to as a free cleaning in the spring / summer months to my clients that also have me wash thier house annually (I do it when I am there to wash the house.

3) No PICS specifically...

I will clean gutters all day long... it is a great way to fill the checkbook.

[Beth n Rod]

We have clients that want service up to 3 times a year due to the different types of deciduous trees that grow here.
We do nail setting or replacement with the new gutter screws, in addition to flushing out the system.

The price is the same each time regardless of the condition. The point is that it takes the crews time to travel to and from the site, set up and pack time, ladder changes, fuel to power the machine and the vehicle, and overhead expenses.
While the crews may spend less time on the job on subsequent visits, they are still climbing up on ladders and W.C. Ins. does not see fit to credit us for the shorter period of time they spend on the ladders and so on. They just make sure we pay the premiums so that they are covered in the event they need it.

Besides, the customer gets a free house rinse each time which is an extra mile service.
The value to the customer is that in the process, we are staving off the need for the house wash till the mildew and algae really sets in. At this point, they are glad to have us do the work according to customer feedback.

Rod~

[Henry B.]

For all the information you asked about gutter cleaning, check out my gutter page. I've got pics, times to clean them and why and some information on repairs.

Beth, I would not suggest using those gutter screws instead of nail and ferruls. When the gutters fill up with ice they can rip right through the gutter.
Thats something else I need to address of my gutter page and haven't had the time to do it yet. Same thing with the sky hook gutter mounting system. They really don't work very well in this area. Your better of resetting the gutters into the rafters than using that stuff.

http://www.henryshousework.com/HHW/gutters.html

[Beth n Rod]

You mean Rod...
I don't like ladders much less roofs.
Thanks for the info, I'm sure Rod will make a note of it.

Beth

[Beth n Rod]

Henry,
Good info here, thanks.
In order to avoid this type of situation, I do inform the customer of the importance of regular cleaning so that there will not be a back up of water to freeze in them.

But, as you and I know, many dont listen or they forget.
We install screws as a result of the current spike holes being too worn and needing a stronger attachment.

I had one guy insist on them becuase the high winds we had this fall ripped some gutters right off his house and he has been plagued with gutter problems for a long time previous.

Rod~

[Mike]

I've seen gutters damaged both with nails & screws holding them up because they went to long without cleaning. For some reason some people wait until they have little trees growing in thier gutters before they decide to have them cleaned, and by that time you know how much "gunk" is in them weighing them down. I can see how the screws would help because the nail holes would be wore out, so to prevent adding a new hole, you just screw in the old one for grip. Most gutter / roof problems lead back to gutters not being properly cleaned often enough.

[Henry B.]

I know what you mean, a lot of times the customers just look stunned when I tell them they should be cleaned a minimum of 3 times a year. I usually suggest four times a year if they have lots of trees, expecially pines.

The nails keep pulling out because the fascia board they are attached in has rotted away right around the gutter spike. When the downspout gets plugged the water fills up in the gutter and then leaks out around the nails (and overflows). This causes the wood to rot out just enough for the nail to pull loose. In most cases, you can slide the nail back in a different spot in the back of the gutter. (preferably into the rafters) Then just seal the old hole in the back. Make sure the nail goes near the top of the gutter in back, most guys do it half way down inside the gutter. The problem with the screws is, sooner or later the gutters will get full of ice and then try to expand, when they expand with nails, the will usually pull out. The screws can't so they just rip right through the gutters. The screws can work well in areas that don't freeze but around here, I wouldn't reccomend them at all.

The guy with the loose gutters probably never cleaned and tightened them properly or his fascia rotted out from not enough roof overhang or drip edge.

For those of you that do a lot of gutter cleaning, how many times have you went to clean gutters and only found a few tennis balls or kids toys clogging the downspouts?? It's amazing how people think they don't have to clean gutters, just because they don't have trees hanging over their roof. I've watched leaves and those helicopter things drift up and then fall in the gutters or blow from 3 houses away onto the roof.

[Mike]

Thanks for the tip on the screws Henry. You gutter web site is layed out very nice by the way. The "helicopters" are very numerous here in the mid west during the spring time, you can go to a house and scoop pounds of them out sometimes. I think they come from the maple trees that seem to blanket this area. The thing about them is if they are left in there, they turn into compost, then by fall you have little maple trees growing in your gutters.

I've never seen balls or toys in downspouts, but I'm still a newcomer to the gutter scene as well. I would enjoy learning more about gutter repairs, but its not easy to find so alot of it is learned by just going out and doing it to my mown gutters.

I think I read an article you wrote while "googling" one day, have you wrote alot? Maybe you could put together a little "Gutter Repair" guide?

[Henry B.]

Hey Mike thanks for the compliments. I actually wrote quite a few guides on the different services we provide a few years back but lost most of them when my computer crashed. They are still out there on the internet somewhere and when I locate them or re-do them I'll post them for you.

[Mike]

In addition to my questions above...

I'm also looking for feedback on gutterzap also. Is it really worth the extra money? Can you really just spray it on and rinse it off?

[squirtgun]

Mike,
Gutterzap is a butyl based cleaner.The butyl breaks the electrostatic bond between the dirt and gutters.Purple power or Castroil Super Clean do the same thing because they to are butyl based and at a much cheaper price.You may have to lightly brush but there is no need to aggressively scrub.

[Degraffreed]

Squirt, Where can you purchase Purple Power. I have searched for it at lowes and HD and they both do not carry it. Can I look for it at a auto store such as Nape, Autozone? is GutterZap really as good as the say. Right now I spend way to much time on gutters. i use White Lightning and Limolene, hot water. It seems once it dwell on the gutter for about 5 min it "melts" right off. I would like to spray and rinse if possible and cut my time spent on cleaning them.

DeGraffreed

[squirtgun]

Sorry I should have mentioned you can buy it at most discount auto parts stores(Autozone,Pep boys and the like).I have never used gutterzap but have seen the RPC gutter shock used it does a great job also.The zap and shock are more pricey that the purple power

[newlook]

With a new customer we go the "extra mile" to lock them in a long term relationship with us by including a gutter cleaner in the contract for the the 1st power wash.

6 months later we are knocking on their door for the gutter cleaning. By this time the sidewalks and driveway need a good cleaning. This is when you can upsale your services by charging an extra $100-$150 to do the flat work while you are there.

We usually do the gutters twice a year out here. If we see the gutters are okay we knock on the door and tell the customer that everything looks fine and there is no charge.