Why Are My Eavestroughs Leaking?

Leaking eavestroughs are an obvious sign it’s time for an eavestrough repair or an eavestrough replacement. Our company is contacted daily by people telling us their eavestrough woes. They tell us the eavestroughs are damaged, they leak, they are pulling away from the house, but what causes this? While some reasons are obvious, some are not. Here is what to look for if you have leaking eavestroughs:

Age of the Eavestroughs

Like many parts of the house, eavestroughs weaken and wear out with age. Old eavestroughs have been through decades of wear and tear from the elements, had exposure to corrosive elements, and may have even had ladders put against them for various reasons. This results in weakening the aluminum and caulking, and eventually, small holes or even tears develop. Leaks will occur through each new opening. I usually tell people if your eavestroughs are 15 years old on new construction houses or 20 years old or more on older houses, do not spend money repairing them, replace them.

Loose or Sagging Eavestroughs

Wind storms, abuse, and the effects of time can all cause your gutters to get pulled slightly away from your house. When this happens, leaks will occur, but in reality, the eavestrough is not leaking but water is falling between the fascia and the eavestrough. To fix this, you need to reattach the eavestrough so they are tight to the fascia once again. A repair may also need to be made because the gutter has warped by pulling away. Normally, it's best to get a professional to repair this for you.

Clogs from Debris

When your eavestroughs are clogged, water backs up within them and then rises. Once the water line is above the top of the gutters, it spills over the front of the eavestrough. As with loose gutters, the problem isn’t really that you have a leak. In this case, the water simply can't flow out of the eavestrough because they are impacted with debris. Having a professional clean your eavestroughs will fix the problem. It is also important to get a plumbing snake and snake the downspout to make sure there is no debris in the upper elbows of the downspout. 

Damaged, Defective, or Improper Caulking 

This is one of the most common reasons eavestroughs leak. When the caulking gets old around 25-30 years, the caulking wears out. New construction homes usually need replaced sooner because, well, the builders use a very thin builders grade aluminum and a very cheap caulking. I have also had to go and repair gutters that had the wrong type of caulking installed. There is only one type of caulking that will work on eavestrough and there are different qualities of that caulking. You really need to contact a qualified professional if you have defective caulking. I will say one thing, if you attempt to repair the eavestroughs yourself, DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF TAR SPRAYS like Flex Seal. None of these sprays work on leaking eavestroughs and only served to permanently damage them.

Improper Gutter Slope

This is one of the most difficult issues for homeowners to see. Often this happens with age. Usually because homeowners, window cleaners, roofers and others place their ladders directly on the eavestroughs. Over time,this causes the eavestroughs to sag. A sagging gutter prevents the water from flowing toward the downspout. It could also be the original installer did not slope the eavestroughs properly and the water runs away from the downspout rather than toward it. 

How Do I Fix My Leaking Gutters?

Once you or a professional determines the cause of the leaking eavestrough, a plan of action is needed to determine what the next steps are. Do you repair them or if they are old, is it time to replace them? Fixing eavestroughs can be a very dangerous job if you do not know proper ladder safety. One slip or fall can ruin your day or life!

The Eavestrough Company would love to help you. If you would like a quote to have your eavestroughs replaced, please contact us at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or call us at 905-966-2564. 

The Dangers of Eavestrough Cleaning

Eavestrough Cleaning or Gutter Cleaning (which ever you choose to call it) is an unpleasant task many home owners choose to do themselves. I will add that most homeowners who clean the eavestroughs themselves seldom clean them often enough and this adds stress to the eavestroughs and decreases efficiency and the life of the eavestrough. However, if you are going to do it yourself take all safety precautions. 

We are approaching our 17th year of business and in that time I have met people with serious injuries because they fell while cleaning their eavestroughs. Like Frank who broke his pelvis on both sides, broke a couple of ribs and a received a concussion. Or Mr. Smith (not his real name) who was on his roof cleaning his gutters, lost his balance and decided to jump off his roof. He shattered the lower part of his right leg and his heel bone shattered into pieces. 

Here's a video of a young man lucky to still be alive. He went up to retrieve a drone off of his roof with near disastrous results. WARNING! THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! IT'S GRAPHIC! 

As you can see, climbing to your roofs edge or the eavestroughs IS DANGEROUS! So let's address some of these dangers and how to prevent them.

An Unstable Ladder

If the ground is uneven, it can be difficult for a person to climb it. In addition, the ladder could be bumping up against the roof or gutters, causing damage to the eavestrough itself. Make sure the feet of the ladder are positioned properly and the top of the ladder has a ladder stand off to stabilize the top of the ladder. You also need to make sure the ladder has the proper pitch.

The Ladder is old or needs repair.

Homeowners only use their ladder once or twice a year unlike companies like mine that are using them everyday. They generally don't notice if the ladder needs repair. Ladders that are not taken care of can easily break or cause a hazard for the one using it. if you have an old ladder, or you have a rung that is dented or a rung lock broken, take the ladder to the recycler and GO BUY A NEW ONE!

Not Using the right size ladder for the job.

Home Owners usually only have one ladder. There are different size ladders so you can do jobs safely. If you have your extension ladder extended to the last rung and you have a pitch that is near vertical, you are asking for trouble! That's why our company owns 6' and 8' step ladders, several  adjustable height step ladders, several 20' ladders, several 24' ladders and many 28' ladders. We even have one 36' ladder for the really high jobs.

Wearing the Wrong Clothing

Our poor amateur in the above video wasn't  thinking much about the clothing he was wearing when he started his ascent. Sandals and shorts weren't the proper attire for climbing! I'm grateful this gentleman and his wife went public with this video for the sake of others. I also think he deserved a good chin wagging from his wife.

Watch Out for Electrical Wires

Every House has them! Electrical wires are a BIG hazard for those trying to clean eavestroughs. Coming in contact with electrical wires can be deadly so be careful around them when cleaning your gutters.

Problems with Dizziness or Age.

I can't tell you how many people from my generation (I'm a baby boomer) can't fathom paying someone to clean their eavestroughs. Even this year I was asked by a man's daughter to provide a quote for her dad (over 80 years old and in poor health) who still cleans his eavestroughs. She is afraid he is going to fall. I gave the quote of $150 and the elderly man, bless his heart, looked at the quote and exclaimed, "I'm not paying that to have my eavestroughs cleaned. I'll do it myself." He did thank me for coming out though.

The reality is, as you get older, you think you are still as good as you were at 18!!!!! Believe me, you are not. I've been in this type of work now for decades. I am now 62 years old. I know I am not as good on a ladder or a roof as I was decades ago. I also used to be able to scale a 6/12, 8/12, or 10/12 pitch roof like a monkey. No more. I now won't step foot on an 8/12 or steeper roof! My younger employees can do that! 

In closing, I would highly recommend you let professionals like us who are fully insured with WSIB and Liability Insurance clean your eavestroughs. We've been doing this for decades and we know how to do it efficiently and safely. You can contact us at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or you can phone us at 905-966-2564. We work closely with my son's company Clean Eaves and he is one of THE BEST eavestrough cleaners in the city! Yes, I am biased!

I would also recommend you install Alu-Rex Gutter Protection. This will prevent you from having to clean out your eavestroughs. The Eavestrough Company is an Elite Installer of Alu-Rex. In my opinion, it is simply the best gutter guard on the market.

If you would like a quote for eavestrough, fascia, soffit, siding or gutter guard installation, give us a call at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at https://theeavestroughcompany.com. We have years of experience and have thousands of happy customers.

P.S. If you are going to clean your own eavestroughs or gutters, like the video above shows, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE A SECOND PERSON in case something goes wrong!

Eavestrough Cleaning IS ESSENTIAL!!!!

 After 17 years in the Eavestrough business, I've quoted and been at over 10,000 houses and met as many or more customers. Most of these houses have trees and a small minority do not. I always make sure to let people know if they have trees they need to do one of two things: 

1. Get a great Eavestrough/Gutter Protection System like Alu-Rex T-Rex or Alu-Rex Double Pro.

2. Be diligent to clean your eavestroughs.

Some houses we install eavestroughs on have a few large trees around the house. Every so often we encounter one with many trees and the house is almost canopied with trees. Last week we began an install of 6" Eavestrough with the best gutter protection on the market Alu-Rex Double Pro. However before starting, we had to clean the eavestroughs and roof.

This house had been neglected and the eavestroughs not cleaned for several years. It was categorically the most intense eavestrough cleaning job we had ever encountered and it took two installers 7 hours to clean it all before they could even begin the installation.

Look at the pictures below. When you allow your eavestroughs and roof to accumulate this much debris, you ARE damaging your home.

Look at the before pictures!

The debris in the eavestroughs was composted, impacted, and filled with plants growing it them. It was a veritable garden! Here is one of our workers, Alex showing you some roots and plants growing through the gutters. He thought it would be fun to hold it like he'd just caught a fish!

And here are the after pictures, 7 hours after beginning!

Notice how wet the roof is after the clean up. This is very bad for your roof! And here are the 14 bags and hundreds of pounds of debris we cleaned up at the end of the job!

We did empty the garbage bags and recycle all the debris. Eavestrough/Gutter Cleaning is essential! If you have trees around your property and you do not want to invest in a quality gutter protection like Alu-Rex then hire a company like Clean Eaves to clean out your eavestroughs. And good news! Clean Eaves also installs quality Alu-Rex products!

If you would like a quote for Eavestrough, Fascia, Soffit or the best Gutter Protection like Alu-Rex Double Pro, visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or call us at 905-966-2564. We will give you the same quality service and product we have given to thousands of people!

 

How To Make Your House Look Stunning!

I do hundreds of quotes every year. For some, the most agonizing part for many customers is what colour to choose. After all, when you do all the eavestrough, fascia, soffit and siding on your house you are making a 30-40 year commitment to those colours!

However, now, Gentek (one of our aluminum suppliers) has made the process much easier with the Gentek Home Visualizer. All you have to do is go to https://gentekcanada.renoworks.com, download a picture of your house, and then you can put Gentek's colours on your home. Don't like one colour, change it to others AND it's all on your computer. The Eavestrough Company constantly directs customers here. By using the Gentek Home Visualizer you can make your house look like these beautiful houses done by The Eavestrough Company.

This house done on Hamilton Mountain. Done in Commercial Brown and Pebble/Khaki.

or this house done in Dundas done in Black.

Or this beautiful Ancaster home. Done in Commercial Brown.

Or this Stoney Creek home done in Chestnut Brown.

You get the idea. We do great work. If you would like a quote for Eavestrough Fascia, Soffit, Siding or Alu-Rex Gutter Protection give us a call at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com. We would love to assist you.

Do I Need 6" Eavestroughs?

 

Do I need 6" Eavestroughs? This is a question posed to me more each passing year. I own four 5" Gutter machines and from the date we started in 2007 until 2018, we didn't do much 6". In fact, we did so little, I had an acquaintance who had a 6" gutter machine come to my job site and run all our 6" eavestroughs. However, trying to coordinate this was a bit of a challenge so in 2018 I bought my own 6" gutter machine.

In the first two years of ownership of the machine, we still didn't do much 6" eavestroughs. My wife began questioning whether the $25,000 expenditure was worth it. Then two years ago in 2020, nearly every quote I went to people wanted to discuss their need for 6" eavestrough. Now we seem to use our 6" gutter machine at least a couple times per week.

The standard 5" K style eavestrough is still, by far the most common. I would say 90% of our jobs are 5". My own house has 5" eavestroughs with 3x3 downpipes and they have never overflowed. I own a 1600 square foot bungalow with an attached 28x28 garage with 240 lineal ft of eavestroughs. Here's a picture of my house.

Here are some standard questions I am usually asked regarding 6" eavestroughs.

1. Do 6" Eavestroughs cost more than 5" eavestroughs? Answer? Yes they do. Approximately 30% more. This is because the materials cost more and the 6" gutter machine costs ALOT of money and doesn't get used as much. Think of it as supply and demand.

2. How much bigger are 6" eavestroughs than 5" eavestroughs?  I am asked this question ALOT! Most people think, "It's only one inch wider." Yes, but it's also an inch deeper and this makes a BIG difference! In fact, a 6" eavestrough is about 33% larger than a 5".  For the sake of ease in calculating volume, let's square off both sizes of eavestroughs. The 6" eavestrough is right around 30 square inches and the 5" eavestrough is around 20 square inches. See the picture below. As you can see, the 6" is much much bigger than the 5".

3. WHAT SIZE DOWNPIPE SHOULD I USE WITH A 6" EAVESTROUGH? Answer? Try to always use a 3x4 downpipe. Seeing 3x3 downpipes installed on 6" eavestroughs is incredibly common. That is the same size I always install on 5" eavestroughs. You've heard the saying, "A chain is no stronger than it's weakest link." Well that holds true here as well. If you need a 6" eavestrough, you NEED 3x4 downpipes. Putting a 3x3 downpipe on a 6" eavestrough, in my opinion is like crimping a garden hose! The garden hose could handle greater volume but you are choking it off. Installing a 3x3 downpipe on a 6" eavestrough chokes off the flow of the 6" eavestrough. Here's a visual of what putting a 3x3 downpipe on a 6" eavestrough is like:

4. Do 6" Eavestroughs come in all the same colours as 5"?  The answer is no. In 5" eavestroughs there are probably 100 or so different colours you can choose from between my suppliers. In 6" there are around 32 different colours but all 32 of those colours are available in 5".

So the question is, "Do you need 6" Eavestrough for your own house or is 5" sufficient?" Without being emphatic, let's answer this question.  

1. Does every house need 6" eavestroughs? OK. I'll be emphatic here. Categorically, absolutely NOT! One company in the Hamilton area is now only quoting people on installing 6" eavestroughs no matter what the size of the house. I'm not sure why they are quoting it for every house because it's simply not needed. Here is a very small bungalow with 120' of eavestrough that they and I both quoted. I quoted for 5" eavestrough and they quoted for 6" eavestroughs.

I'll make this very clear! This house DOES NOT NEED 6" eavestroughs! And I found it very curious they were only going to install 3x3 downpipes on the house. The same size I use with 5" eavestrough.

2. How big is your roof area? If you have a normal size roof with water flowing evenly to all roof edges, chances are, you don't need a 6" eavestrough.

3. Does your roof channel water to one area? Some of the newly designed homes are beautiful. But with the designs come large amounts of water being channeled to very small parts of the eavestroughs. Below is a picture of what is called a dead valley or a dead mans valley.

You can see how nearly all the front of this area of the house channels the water to about 3 feet of eavestrough. It is a classic area of overflow in heavy rains. This area absolutely needs a 6" eavestrough with a 3x4 downpipe!

3. How wide is your fascia board? Believe it or not, this does matter. Try installing a 6" eavestrough on a 4" fascia board. Aesthetically, it looks like an elephant sitting on a mouse. Functionally, trying to slope eavestroughs on a board smaller than the eavestroughs is nearly impossible! However, the opposite is also true. If you have a wide 10", 12", or wider fascia board, the 6" eavestroughs looks much nicer then a 5" eavestrough.

4. How Heavy are the rains in the area in which you live? I am writing this blog based on the perspective of where I live in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. However, I have two children who live in the USA. One in Virginia and one in Texas. In these States, nearly 50% of the homes I have seen have 6" over 5" eavestroughs but the rains and storms they get are UNREAL! My understanding is in Florida, almost everyone has 6" gutters but the storms there produces so much rain they would nearly rival Noah's flood! :) Ok. Not really, but you get the idea!

5. What size eavestroughs make you feel more at peace? This is what it really boils down to. Remember that bungalow above I said, does not need 6" eavestrough. Well guess what? I did an identical house right around the corner in 6" eavestrough because it is what the customer wanted on their house and they were happy to pay the extra money for the 6" eavestroughs. 

At the end of the day, you need to do what is right for you and your most important investment. If you feel that installing a 6" eavestroughs is what is best for you and is going to give you peace of mind, then by all means install 6" eavestroughs!

I thought I would close this blog by posting a picture of our dog, Zoey. She doesn't care about 5" or 6" eavestroughs! She's just happy to take a nap in the shop and wander around our rural property.

If you would like a quote for 5" or 6" eavestroughs, please feel free to contact us at 905-902-9424 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com. We also install fascia, soffit, siding and Alu-Rex Gutter Protection products.

IKO Shingles. Do They Really Set the Standard?

Several of the top brand name shingles in roofing are GAF, Certainteed, Owens Corning, BP and IKO.  I love Owens Corning, GAF and Certainteed. IKO.....not so much.

In our business, I see a lot of roofs. I have also repaired a lot of roofs but the one I have repaired the most are the shingles made by IKO. In fact, I would venture to say more than 90% of the roof repairs we have repaired are IKO!

IKO has had BIG problems over the last 15-20 years and I mean BIG!!! There have been several types of shingles produced by IKO that have caused major problems for the company and homeowners who who had IKO shingles installed.

Some 20 years ago, IKO produced an organic shingle. It all sounded good. I mean, a green friendly shingle? Come on....what's not to like about that? Well, the problem was they literally decomposed at a rapid pace after they were installed! The result? A whole lot of ticked off customers and one BIG class action lawsuit against the company. Feast your eyes on the picture below!

The roof below was a mere 15 years old and it looks like it's disintegrating into dirt right on the roof.

The next major problem IKO had happened around 2012 and in subsequent years. On the back of all shingles is a tar line that works as an adhesive to hold all shingles together. However, IKO produced a tar line on several brands that had a near 100% failure rate of adhering together. It was a catastrophe! In the last two weeks I have had to repair these two IKO roofs. 

I was able to show these customers that almost none of their shingles are adhering to one another. IKO has definitely had its problems in the past and there are MANY people who are upset with IKO. Here are some reviews from a website called Top Class Action about IKO shingles:

My house was new construction in 2006. IKO Chateau shingles. Roof is deteriorating awfully and just got an estimate for 25K
PLEASE HELP!   Jeff

My house built in 2006 and the IKO shingles on roof have been deteriorating for several years. Has been crumbling, pieces falling off the shingles onto my deck and yard for at least the last five years. They are lifting, curling and falling apart.
Any help in getting a settlement would be appreciated.  Paula from Calgary, AB

Our sad story is very similar to all the above, house built in 2012 with 30-year IKO Cambridge architectural shingles, and within 2 years shingles started blowing off when subjected to wind speeds well below half the wind speed rating. This is now an annual event with more shingles blowing off each year. Additionally, due to fading of the remaining shingles, it’s impossible to repair the roof without introducing significant aesthetic damage due to the patchwork appearance (i.e. new dark shingles that must be used to replace the old faded blown off shingles create unsightly patches on the rest of the faded roof), plus the repair cost. Is there any way to participate in this or another class action lawsuit? Rick

These comlaints are just the tip of the iceberg! There are many many more!

The most common complaints I hear from my customers about IKO are:

1. They blow off. This is true. I see it all the time! I see it every day I'm out working!

2. They curl prematurely! Also very true! 

3. The tar line sucks, they don't adhere. Also VERY VERY VERY True! Like the pictures above show.

Now that said, shingles can blow off if installed improperly. However, it has been rampant with IKO.

Now let's boil this down! Would I ever install IKO shingles on my roof? Unlikely! However, I might try them on a small outbuilding to see how they do. Especially the IKO Dynasty shingle which some roofers believe is a pretty good shingle. What do I have on my house? I put a new roof on 5 years ago and I have Owens Corning Duration shingles. They absolutely ROCK!!!

Because I buy so many bundles of shingles to repair IKO roofs, I have talked with distributors who sell IKO shingles. They assure me all problems with IKO shingles are solved and they are producing a great shingle. IKO is now a fibreglass shingle and the distributors have told me the nail line and tar strip are improved. If this is so, I applaud IKO. However, In my opinion, the jury is still out. As the saying goes, " "Once burned, Twice shy."

Sure there have been some tests done in the last one to two years that demonstrate IKO has made some improvements for the better. The long term, though, is the big question mark. Many of IKO's previous problems didn't show for 5-10 years or more. I liken IKO's problems to the early problems the Hyundai Motor Company had when they entered the Canadian market around 1982. The Hyundai vehicles were absolutely awful!! They broke down all the time and everywhere! The vehicles also had huge rust perforations within two to three years. I nicknamed it, "The decomposable car"! Hyundai essentially lost the trust of most people, including me. However, to Hyundai's credit, they re-grouped, made the necessary changes and began producing a pretty amazing vehicle! So much so, I bought my wife a new Hyundai Santa Fe in 2014 which we still drive today and love it! It's probably the most dependable vehicle I've ever owned! However, it took me 30 years to trust Hyundai again!

It will be the same with IKO shingles. It will take major changes, a determination to make as good a shingle as GAF, Certainteed or Owens Corning, and decades to earn the trust of most roofers and consumers. So, if I do the same thing with IKO that I did with Hyundai, I'll start buying and installing IKO shingles in 2052 when I'm 92 years old! Until then.....I'll likely refrain.

If you would like a quote for a new roof or roof repair, eavestrough, fascia, soffit or siding contact us at 905-966-2564 or visit our websites www.theeavestroughcompany.com or at www.peakroofing.ca

Alu-Rex...Setting the Standard for All Gutter Protection Systems.

                                                                      

The Eavestrough Company has been in business now for 15 years. In that time I've seen a lot! Since I'm in the eavestrough business, it has been interesting to me to see the evolution of numerous different types of gutter protection systems.

There are only a few different types of gutter protection systems. When I first got into the business, the rage was all about foam filter inserts. The big names were Gutter Filter and their rival, Gutter Filter Canada. The foam filters were such a popular thing that Costco could not resist and got into the market. Within a few years and after millions of feet installed, this product was proved to be what it was....total garbage. The sun beat the product to shreds and it clogged badly.

Also popular were the reverse curve gutter protections. I bought a house that had this product on it. The product name was Leaf Guard.  I was very interested to see how it worked. In light to medium rains it worked fine. In heavy rains the water ramped right over the top and onto the ground. I also found that small debris reverse curved right into the eavestroughs and then you couldn't easily clean it out. After one year, I was eager to get this product off my house. 

Then there are the micro-mesh gutter guards. In my opinion, these products are total gimmicks. I would give the actual product a passing grade but for some reason, all these companies seem to think they can make a $4 to $5 product and sell it for $30-$60 per foot. They are CRAZY EXPENSIVE!

However, it all the years I have done business, the one company that has been rock solid in it's business practice, gutter protection design, integrity, and honesty has been the Alu-Rex Company. Back in 2001, two brothers, Guy and Stephane Brochu (who owned their own gutter company), designed and built the product and company.  

I have been installing the Alu-Rex products for 15 years and, in my opinion, there is no product like it. The product they designed is simple and extremely effective. In fact, it has been so effective MANY companies have attempted to copy their design. Smart Screen, Flex Point, AM Aluminum Gutter Guards, Leaf Tek, Kaycan and numerous others have come up with their own version of this gutter protection system.

However, none of these compare to Alu-Rex in quality, effectiveness, and a company that actually stands behind their product. It's why it is now the only product I sell. 

Why do I think Alu-Rex products are the best? There's a host of reasons but let me state a few:

1. The product is simple and it keeps all debris out of the gutter so it can blow off the eavestrough.

2. The product is made out of very sturdy aluminum and will not collapse or deteriorate.

3. The warranty is SOLID (40 years!) and the Company actually stands behind the product.

     To illustrate how great this company is, I was called out to a house by a home owner who could not get ahold of the original company that did their install. When I went out to the house I notice the product had been installed incorrectly and the original company, who was now out of business, had married up Alu-Rex Gutter Clean with a small amount of an ineffective knock off product. The knock off product had allowed a ton of debris to slip under it and clog the gutters. I contacted my Alu-Rex sales rep, Andrew,  and explained the situation to him. Alu-Rex and I worked to get everything fixed and repaired properly for this customer. I love Alu-Rex because they are serious about customer satisfaction!

4. The product is sold at a great price! Seriously, call us and see! Unlike other gutter protection products, you won't feel like you have to second mortgage your property to have it installed!

5. It handles a ton of water! I have never seen a rain this gutter protection can't handle! It can handle a torrent! 

I could go on and on. No gutter protection is perfect but, in my opinion, Alu-Rex is pretty close! In closing, you might want to watch the Alu-Rex You-Tube videos to see how awesome this product is! 

By the way, before watching the videos, if you would like a quote for eavestrough, fascia, soffit, siding or Alu-Rex gutter protection products, call us at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com. Now watch these awesome videos!