What do gutter guards and gutter covers have to do with landscaping?
Read on.
After three months of work, the landscaping was finally finished and it
was beautiful. There were flowering annuals mixed among the junipers.
The next day the annuals were all washed out from the rain water that
gushed from clogged gutters on to the landscape.
Clogged overflowing gutters can ruin the prettiest of landscapes and
wash away fertile soil. But that's not all overflowing gutters can ruin.
The overflowing rain water can be blown back into windows and siding
where it can peel paint or even leak into the home.
But that's not all! Water from overflowing gutters can rot out fascia
board and even the rafter tails themselves resulting in thousands of
dollars of damage. But it doesn't end there, this wet environment is an
ideal home for pests such as carpenter ants and even termites.
What's the solution? Answer: It would seem obvious—have the gutters
cleaned frequently. But that's not always the best answer because in
some environments there are so many trees that the gutters would have to
be cleaned on a weekly basis in the fall and spring.
Another answer is to have gutter guards or gutter covers installed to
keep leaves and debris from getting into the gutter. But hold on, you
may think your problem is solved only to wake up one day and find black
mold in your basement.
One of our customers had a popular gutter cover installed and thought
just that—she had solved the overflowing gutter problem. A year later
she found black mold in the basement. The entire finished basement had
to be ripped out and treated. Unfortunately the gutter cover she chose
failed and passed enough debris into the gutter that it clogged.
There are about one hundred different gutter covers in the market place
from which to choose. How does one choose the one that won't let the
gutter get clogged and one that can easily be maintained from the
ground.
The truth is that if the
gutter cover doesn't let the gutter clog, the
openings in the gutter cover that allows water into the gutter will clog
too.
Thus it's important to:
- choose a gutter cover that won't let the gutter clog inside
- choose a gutter guard so that you can see where the cover is clogged
- choose a leaf guard that can easily be maintained from the ground by the
homeowner.
There is one gutter guard that meets these criteria. It has a solid top
which keeps out tree debris from falling into the gutter. It has a front
vertical surface with two rows of interspersed louvers that limit the
size and amount of the debris that can enter the gutter. The louvers are
easily seen from the ground and any debris that collects on them can be
easily brushed away from the ground by the homeowner with a telescopic
pole and brush. The advantage is that the homeowner is never at the
mercy of the installing company for maintenance.
For more information please visit
http:///www.ligutterguard.com
or
brian@waterloov.com
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