Gutter Installation (12-21-10)

After getting estimates from 14 different people, I thought I was going to go mad! In the end, I ended up choosing the... first guy! Happy-go-lucky, with a gentle sense of humor, he gave me the assurance that he wasn't out to take advantage of us, but to do a good job. I was able to get the last 30 ft. box of foamy rain filters Costco carried in the state, and he provided the missing 30 ft. What a difference with the guy who tried to sell me 60 ft for...$410! We may have a few low spots where the water will accumulate, such as the corner of the porch roof, but that remains to be verified when it rains a lot.

The gutter machine molds flat metal into 5" gutters.

The gutter for the upper roof is ready.

A nice change: a straight upper gutter.

Rain and Water Update, etc. (11-11-10)

Gary was able to patch and repair the back gutter and downspout. The issue is not totally resolved, but with this temporary fix, we've gained a few days to get a couple more gutter estimates. And at least, I sleep better when it rains.

We live on a hill...

Water Issues (11-06-10)

This freaky weather is just killing me. It's been raining pretty hard for a while, and all I can think of is the missing gutter at the back of the house, with pouring water saturating the ground touching the area where there is a missing segment of concrete foundation wall. I don't know what to do, because none of the gutter contractors I talked to made me feel confident about how this project would evolve; but not dealing with the issue at all is clearly not the right solution either.

Too Much Rain (06-10-10)

My days are spent on the phone, calling contractors.

We can’t repair the gutters because the roof eaves they are braced to is totally crumbling (dry rot and suspicious ants in the vicinity); we can’t repair the roof eaves because there is an electrical conduit with live wires braced to them; we can’t move the electrical conduit (not up to code) because the electrician needs to come brace it up to the exterior wall, etc.

In the meantime, whenever it rains, I watch water pouring out from the gutters and going straight into an opening under the house where there is no foundation wall...