Two years early is better than a day late!

When it comes to eavestroughing, I am often asked by customers if their eavestroughs need replaced or if they can just be repaired. Usually these customers have eavestroughs that are about 25 to 30 years old, they have corners and end caps leaking, the old nail and ferrules are popping out, and they are dented in numerous places. My response to them is that usually, trying to repair eavestroughs in this condition is simply throwing good money after bad. I explain to them that it is better to be a couple years early rather than a day late.

By failing to maintain your eavestroughs or replace them when needed, you can do extensive damage to your home. I went to a home last week and was not prepared for what I saw. The eavestroughs were dangling from the house, the fascia and soffit were falling off, the fascia board was rotted, the old soffit board rotted, but worse yet, the ends of rafters were rotten. Look at the pictures below for what I saw while doing the estimate!

The above two pictures were just for starters. As I looked around the house, I saw more damage!

In the picture above, the eavestrough is pulling away from the house, the fascia board is visible and rotting, the soffit falling off the house and the soffti board is rotting.

Above is a picture from the roof line. The board at the bottom is what is left of the fascia board and you can see off on the right that the ends of the rafters are rotting. Birds and squirrels have been making a nest inside and they have made a mess inside. But it gets worse! All this water has been falling below and damaging steps and the window sill.

Thankfully, all this can be fixed. However, it is a good reminder for all of us to maintain our homes. When it comes to replacing your roof or your eavestrough, don't be penny wise and pound foolish by taking too long to replace them. It is better to changed them too early than too late!

For all your eavestroughing needs, contact The Eavestrough Company at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com

Gutter Protection Warranties

I have been selling Gutter Protection for years now. I have come to know that there are some gutter protections that are very good and some that are absolute junk. They all promise to "Keep your Gutter Clean!" and "You will never have to clean your eavestroughs again!" With some protections, this is true, with others, it is not. The cheap DIY products sold at most Home Improvement stores are just completely failure prone. They are cheap, hence they are appealing to the average home owner hoping for an inexpensive miracle to keeping their eavestrough clean.

In the last two years, even Costco has gotten into selling gutter protection products. The surprising thing to me is that their products are actually dumbed down products of some reasonably good gutter protection products. When I say, "dumbed down" what I mean is that they are made by companies that make a very good product, but they are MUCH cheaper and flimsier than their professional grade products.

Personally, I don't like these cheaper products. In the long run, you save a little money, but who is going to help support you if you have an installation issue or a problem with the product? In my experience, the average person at Costco knows nothing about eavestrough and can not answer your questions. I know, I have asked questions of Costco staff about Gutter Protection products. However, the boxes of their products still claim that a 25 year warranty is offered! WOW! How can you resist?
However, does anyone take the time to read the warranties? Here is the warranty from one of their products called Clip N Guard which is made by AluRex. In my opinion, AluRex makes good products but Clip N Guard is not one of them. It's just far too light weight and thin. A picture of it is below:

Here is the warranty for Clip N Guard: I won't list the whole warranty below, just certain aspects which show you the exclusions.

WHAT DOES THIS WARRANTY COVER?

This warranty is limited to the terms and conditions, exclusions and limitations, subject to
reduction as per the warranty coverage schedule provided herein, stated in this warranty.
Performance - subject to the following reservations, ALU-REX INC. warrants the Clip N Guard™
for 25 years, subject to reduction as per the warranty coverage schedule provided herein, to you
the owner of the property at the time the Product was purchased that, when installed in the manner
specified by ALU-REX INC., including the installation of downspout openings of 9 square
inches or more, if the property is located in a coniferous tree zone. The Product, under ordinary
conditions, will keep gutters from becoming clogged and overflowing as a result of the interior
of the gutter or downspouts filling with debris such as leaves, twigs, needles, or seeds.... 

With out going into excessive warranty information, the company also does not cover installation in damaged eavestrough, if snow or ice happen to collapse portions of it,  if they deem you installed it improperly, if you didn't screw or caulk the overlapping portions together, etc....

Look at the two points highlighted above! All of Ontario is a coniferous tree zone. So the company demands that all your downpipes be increased to 9 square inches. Nearly all older homes have 6 square inch pipes. In fact more than 95% of homes  DO NOT have pipes 9 square inches! Result? Warranty void.

Look at the next point. They do not cover the product clogging at all. They only cover the product if debris goes through and clogs it all up. This will never happen. If the product fails, it will be from the top or because it was weakened and collapsed.

But let's just say that you installed it correctly, debris went through and the product simply failed. The last portion of their warranty states that it is pro-rated (if you kept your receipt. Here is how they reimburse you!

WARRANTY COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Number of Years from % of purchase price of
Date of Original purchase originally purchased Products
to Date of Claim or % of cost of cleaning the
Product, as the case may be, that
ALU-REX INC. is responsible for
0-5................................................................................................................................................. 100%
more than 5 but less than 6............................................................................................................. 50%
more than 6 but less than 7............................................................................................................. 40%
more than 7 but less than 8............................................................................................................. 30%
more than 8 but less than 9............................................................................................................. 20%
more than 9 .................................................................................................................................... 10%

And the next paragraph states that your warranty is with Alu-Rex not with Costco!

How do you like this for a warranty! Don't get me wrong. I love AluRex! I just think that people need to know what they are buying into before they buy into these fabulous warranties!

Another key point to consider is that these warranties are only good if the company is still around or has not been bought out. For instance, all that wonderful foam filter sold by Leaf Defier, Gutter Filter, American Gutter Filter, Gutter Stuff, etc.... They all claimed that their foam filter was better than anyone else's foam filter. Well.....it was ALL made by the same company. New Dimension Industries in New Jersey. What many don't know is that last year, New Dimension Industries was bought out by another company called FXI. FXI declared that they were not honouring any warranties made by New Dimension Industries. So all those millions of feet of warranties offered by all these companies are VOID!

With all this said, I don't want anyone to take me the wrong way. I am a BIG fan of gutter protection products. However, my belief is that people should buy a good product that works and one where the company who installs it will help in support should there ever be a problem.


In the end, you really need to find a company like The Eavestrough Company.

If you want to install gutter protection on your home, contact The Eavestrough Company at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or you can phone us at 905-966-2564. We would be happy to show you our quality products.

Ladder Safety!

 I feel compelled to write on ladder safety for the following reasons. Most home owners own a ladder and use it several times per year. I have seen homeowners using ladders and some of them scare me to death the way they use them! I once saw an 80 year old man cleaning his gutters. It was just a single storey home, but he climbed to the top rung of his 6 ft step ladder and was standing on the top rung....you know.....the one that says "DO NOT STAND HERE". There's a reason why you never stand on the top wrung. The ladder has NO stability! Here are some pictures of unsafe ladder usage!

These pictures are truly unbelievable! It just is not worth it to risk your life for the sake of what ever task you want to accomplish. Ladders are meant for one purpose. To climb safely and use according to manufacturers specifications to accomplish your task.

Every year I hear of home owners who are injured falling from a ladder. The previous owner of the home I currently live in was severely injured falling from a ladder. He was working on a side of the house that was very difficult to get a good pitch on the ladder so it was pitched too steep. He climbed the ladder and was cleaning the eavestrough when he suddenly lost balance and fell backwards. He was able to jump backwards, landing on his feet, but the impact shattered his pelvis in two places. When he landed, his momentum carried him backwards and he hit his head on a tree suffering a severe concussion. He survived, but because he was elderly, the doctors were unsure for a few days. This story is just one of many! I met a 46 yr old man who sustained an injury so severe from falling off a ladder that he had not been able to return to work for a year. Another man I know in his early 50's, broke his arm so badly that the bone splintered and was sticking out his flesh. He has been trying to get better for over 2 years and he still can't return to the work he was doing!

Using a ladder isn’t inherently dangerous, but it can be dangerous or deadly if a person is not careful and mindful of ladder safety.


With that said, it is almost spring and your “to do” list around the house has increased over the winter. Some of the things you’ll need to take care of in the coming months likely include:

1. Trimming branches from trees
2. Inspecting exterior walls and doors for cracks
3. Taking off storm windows
4. Washing windows and power-washing siding
5. Cleaning gutters, downspouts, and roof valleys on your home.

Some of these tasks will require you going out to the shed or garage to retrieve the long forgotten ladder. Please keep this sobering statistic in mind regarding ladder safety…every year, over thousands of people in North America are injured from accidents involving a ladder. Recent OSHA research found that almost 100 percent of all ladder accidents could be avoided with the proper attention to the details of how your equipment works and being mindful of ladder safety tips.

Before Using Check Ladder For:

1. Cracks
2. Bends
3. Splits
4. Corrosion
5. Missing Rungs and Steps
6. All feet are working properly – a solid base is vital to a solid ladder
7. Rung locks and spreader braces are working properly
8. All bolts and rivets are secure
9. All steps, rungs, and other ladder parts are free of oil, grease, and any other liquid or debris that will make climbing your ladder more difficult than it already is

Do not use your ladder if any of the above problems are found as a result of your inspection.

Ladder Safety Tips for Proper Setup and Use:

1. Choose a safe location to setup your ladder while avoiding doors and uneven/slippery flooring
2. Avoid windy conditions
3. Uneven or slippery flooring because this could cause the ladder to shift while you are standing on it – not a good situation
4. Stay at least 10 feet away from any and all power lines
5. Use a spotter (an extra person at the bottom of the ladder) when possible. If not, secure the ladder on each end to ensure it doesn’t fall or lean away from the structure
6. Never carry bulky materials or heavy loads up or down a ladder. All materials should be raised to the work station on a tether or with a lift.
7. Always face the ladder.
8. Keep your body weight centred in between the two side rails
9. Maintain three points of contact with the ladder at all times
10. Only one person on the ladder at a time
11. Avoid sudden movements
12. Never stand on the top rung
13. Never sit on any rung

Most of these ladder safety tips are common sense, but even the most experienced at doing something can forget the basics from time -to-time. So please be careful and then enjoy the coming Spring, Summer and Fall seasons!

To contact us regarding eavestrough, fascia, soffit, or gutter protection work, contact The Eavestrough Company at 905-966-2564. You can also visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com

In closing, I encourage you to click on the link below to one of the best ladder safety articles I have ever read!

http://www.freewindowcleaningtips.com/extension-ladder-safety.htm

Let the professionals do it!

Home Construction is an interesting business. You can get good work done and you can get some really terrible work done on your home. It never ceases to amaze me, in the eavestrough business how someone can go out and buy a truck and an eavestrough machine and "VOILA!" they are now in business! They then go out and promote themselves as an eavestough company.

These people get business by undercutting existing companies that do quality work. They do the job and the home owner thinks he got a bargain. However, when these companies make a mistake, good luck getting them back. I have seen legions of mistakes made in the eavestrough business.Most of these fly by night companies last only about 2 or 3 years before they go under or out of business.

Just today I went to look at a job for a potential customer who had issues with his eavestroughs. The original company who did the work was long gone and likely out of business. When I got there, I could not believe my eyes! I had never seen this mistake made before.  Look at the 3 pictures below very carefully and then tell me what the mistake is! It is glaring and obvious!

Do you see it? Take a very close look! Where are the downpipes? There are none! On this side of the person's house, the water goes into the eavestrough and then just over flows and the landscape below is washing away! What you don't see in the picture is that below is some very expensive patterned concrete work that is beginning to be damaged by the water in the eavestrough over flowing!

It was a shoddy job done by amateurs! All home construction is buyer beware! A bargain is sometimes not a bargain! Once you pay the contractor for the work, that's it! Unless you want to take the matter to civil court and sue the company, which usually costs thousands in dollars not to mention an excessive amount of time involved. In this case, we could fix the above problems by replacing the eavestrough and put downpipe on for around $500 so trying to go through all the hassle of hiring a lawyer and going to court was just not worth it.

When you want a quality eavestrough job done, hire a professional company like The Eavestrough Company. We do quality work and we stand behind our product and workmanship! It's how we've built our reputation! You can contact us at 905-966-2564 or you can visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com

FINALLY! A solution to roof valleys!

Every year I do estimates for Eavestrough and gutter protection. At every home I go to that has a roof valley (see picture below for a picture of a roof valley), I point out the likely and inherent problems that this area will cause.

The majority of home owners do not realise how much water is concentrated in this roof valley by the end of its run when it gets to the eavestrough! It can be enormous! Now think of all that water hitting about a 4"-6" area of your eavestrough!

Another inherent problem with valleys, is that they are debris collectors. Wind movement comes across the roof from different angles and literally traps the debris in the V area of the valley. Like in the picture below.

Now place gutter protection in the eavestrough and you compound the problem. Most people that sell gutter protection promise the stars and how theirs is the best and you will have 0 maintenance, etc...
EVERY gutter protection restricts the opening of the mouth of the eavestrough. So when you place gutter protection in the valley, now you are giving less room for the water to go through and over it will come! That's why I am a fan of a roof valley splash guard and install them on every house I do eavestrough on. However, splash guards have their own problems.

If you look at the picture above, you will notice that the benefit of the splash guard is that any water that wants to over shoot the eavestrough will hit the back of the splash guard and drop into the gutter. HOWEVER.....one BIG problem is that now the debris gets trapped behind the splash guard. So it solves a problem and creates one at the same time! It looked like there was no good solution. Until.....

Last year I was introduced by a friend to the Barnett's Valley Controller. He is in the gutter business in the USA and said he had been using them for several years and they work like a charm! I bought some and did a few installs, one for a neighbour just a few doors away from me. I have been monitoring it for a year and it is unbelievable how flawlessly they work! Here is a picture of the Valley Controller:

Here are the details about Barnett’s Valley Controller:

• It incorporates a patented cheese-grater style top and louvred sidewall design. Water flows through the open slots into the gutter, and debris washes over the top of the surface and falls to the ground.
• It’s made of Kostrate®, the same material as plastic water bottles.
• The plastic is pliable, will stand up to sub-zero temperatures, and has a memory so that it can take and hold a shape.
• It will fit on any asphalt shingle roof with or without a metal valley, and secures under the second course of shingles.
• It’s guaranteed for 12-years, and can be painted with any acrylic paint to match your roof and gutters.

Here is a picture of what it looks like installed!

My neighbour who is surrounded by trees has these on her house loves them! The debris works its way over the edge, the water goes through and into the eavestrough where it's supposed to! Problem solved! This does not guarantee that you wont have to clean the valley out at somepoint, but it will prevent all the water from coming over the edge.

To conclude this article, here is a youtube video from Barnett's Valley Controllers.

For all your eavestrough needs contact The Eavestrough Company at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or phone us at 905-966-2564.

Why Drip Edge on your roof is ESSENTIAL!

Drip edge is a metal flashing that  Roofers  install under the first row of shingles. It serves many vital purposes. Here are five.

1. It provides support to the shingles so that it does not curl down over the years and cause the shingles to crack and break.

2. It prevents potential water to run down behind the Eavestrough (between the fascia board and back of the eavestrough.

3.  It creates overlapping of the wooden fascia that can be prone to rot due to water penetration.

4. It covers small gaps between the roof sheathing and fascia which will prevent animals from seeing an opening which they will chew at until they are into your attic.

5.  It is also perfect for sealing the start of the ice and water shield. Ice and water shield is a water proof membrane that roofing companies install before shingling and helps prevent water leakage in the event of an ice dam.

It is important to state at the beginning that drip edge is a part of your roof and not your eavestrough. However, from an eavestrough standpoint drip edge is essential to provide you with a roof that will drain water off the roof and into the eavestrough properly. MANY roofers take the short cut of not installing drip edge. Most homes I work on DO NOT have it.  Roofers that take the short cut of not using drip edge will often leave the shingles extra long (2-4 inches) so that they will sag down into the eavestrough. This will eventually weaken the shingles and hinder proper installation of any new eavestroughs you may be considering after the roof is done. It also severely restricts the top eavestrough opening. See the pictures below of a house I worked on last year that only had an opening of about 1 1/2 inches.

The above roof had no drip edge on it and the shingle over hang was about 3 1/2 inches! Look at the picture below to see how much room there was to try and get your hand in to clean out debris or do repairs!

Prior to a roof installation, drip edge is very simple and inexpensive to install. Drip edge costs only about 65 cents per foot, is installed quickly and comes in various colours. It is a tragedy that it is overlooked most of the time.

As seen in the picture below there is no drip edge which causes the shingles to curl down allowing water to drip behind the eavestrough. (the black mesh is a top quality gutter protection installed in the eavestrough)

Notice how the shingles are rounded and curled. This person had a moderate amount of water dripping between the back of the eaves and fascia. The shingles were so brittle that it was not possible to lift them up and install drip edge because they risked cracking and breaking the shingles. Below is another photo.

This picture below shows an obvious gap between the roof deck and the top of the fascia. The picture shows that the current roof sheathing is too short and so is the fascia! It is a disaster waiting to happen!

With a gap like you see above, in the Fall, squirrels and other animals seek warmth. Since most house heat escapes out of the ceiling of your house, a gap like this will rapidly exhaust heat and attract the animals. If an animal gets in there, it will enter straight into the attic or chew its way in like the picture below on a house I worked on in Hamilton last year. Look closely and you will see a round hole in the fascia. A squirrel had made its home in the attic!

 Normal drip edge covers a gap of only about 2 inches. However, for a gap like this, drip edge can be custom made from eavestrough coil so that it extends about 4 to 6 inches up under the shingles and down 2 inches maximum down over the fascia. Any more than 2 inches can interfere with eavestrough and leafgaurd installation. One final tip is that the shingles should extend about 3/4 of inch past the drip edge to ensure proper water flow directly into the eavestrough. It is much easier to have drip edge installed in conjuntion with a new roof than installing it afterwards.

This final picture shows a potential problem with the shingles not hanging 3/4 inch past the drip edge. The surface tension of the water will cause the water to travel past the end of the shingle and then travel backwards toward the fascia / eavestrough. If the distance is not great enough, the water may hit the fascia in heavy rains and cause leaking behind the eavestrough and may require additional flashing work to make sure the water goes where it is supposed to.

 There you have it! The importance of roofing drip edge! Demand it if you are getting a new roof because EVERY roof needs it! For all your eavestrough needs, contact The Eavestrough Company at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or phone us at 905-966-2564.

What gauge aluminum should you use?

When it comes to installing eavestrough, I am often asked about what gauge we use. There are 3 thicknesses of aluminium that are used for eavestrough:

1. .02395 gauge is most commonly used as it has the widest colour selection and can hold up to most residential applications. It is available in about 35 different colours from our supplier (Gentek, Boncor, or Kaycan)

2. .027 gauge is slightly thicker than the .023 and is available only by a few suppliers in very few colours.

3. 0.32 of an inch which is the thickest aluminium that our machines can form. We provide this only for 6 inch eavestrough and is not necessary for 5" eavestrough.

We can check the thickness of aluminium using a digital calliper as shown below:

The most common gauge I use is the .02395 gauge for 5" eavestrough. It is plenty thick enough to handle heave snow loads. I use only the thicker gauges upon request. In reality, with any one of these thicknesses, your eavestroughs will only be as strong as the distance of spacing between your brackets. Once I had to replace eavestroughs for a customer that were not too old. However, they were badly dented and sagging. When I got up to take a look, their brackets were spaced about 3-4 feet apart. That is just too far! Brackets should be no further than 18" apart.  At customers requests, I have spaced them 12" to 16" apart. This does increase the cost a nominal amount but these customers wanted it for peace of mind.

See a quality hanger with a large deep screw that will not come loose from the wood fascia.

An excellent to substantially increase the strength of any gauge eavestrough is to add a leaf gaurd/bracket system like the AluRex T-Rex. It comes in 7 1/2 foot long pieces and snaps into the eavestrough before the eavestroughs are secured on the home.

It should be noted that although AluRex is the best way to strengthen your eavestroughs, it has its deficiencies as a gutter protection. I have found AluRex has great difficulty with coniferous trees such as pine and spruce needles.  However, it is a great product with all deciduous trees (even those little helicopter seeds are no problem). Please read my blog post on Eavestrough protection in regards to roof valley issues.

There you have it. The answer to the question is that any of the above gauges will suit you fine. It is mostly dependent on bracket use. Get a good bracket and space them close together and your eavestroughs will last years. Install AluRex and they will be near bullet proof!

As a cautionary note, make sure you hire a reputable company that uses aluminum from one of the main suppliers. There is a material available coming out of Toronto that is selling aluminum in a .15 gauge material that is as thin as paper! I saw it and got a sample. It is razor thin! Sure I can buy it cheaper, but at what cost? The material is terrible! The downpipes are also razor thin!

 If you live in the Burlington/Oakville, Mississauga, or Greater Hamilton area and would like a quote for a professionally installed and quality Eavestrough System, please call The Eavestrough Company office at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com