Gutter Maintenance: 2010
Yep, with the weather warming once again, it’s time to begin the repair of the gutters from the storms this winter. This time, we got away with light damage; several downspout straps broke and some spouts came undone. I’ll track these repairs and those to come later this year in the comments below. I make this a project because every year, some significant work must be accomplished to keep our gutters and downspouts working efficiently. So, enjoy. 
March 19th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
04:20 PM: On today’s shopping trip, I purchased some downspout clamps (bands) for anchoring the spouting to the wall (several of these broke over the winter).
07:45 PM: Installed the clamps. But I think to sure up the spouts, more must ba applied. Also, I wish to drill for and drive a few sheet metal screws into the couplings, to tighten them up somewhat; they’re quite loose now, and sometimes, the pieces come apart without apparent provocation. If the weather is nice tomorrow, perhaps I’ll get out there and do that.
March 21st, 2010 at 11:49 am
01:30 PM: Reinforced all loose spouting joints on the east porch by drilling pilot holes on two of the four sides of each joint, then applying a 3/4” #10 sheet metal screw to each. This seemed to sure up the downspouts that were pulled apart during last weekend’s storms. See the Storm Cleanup: 2010-03-13 post for other details about that cleanup operation.
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I embarked on the annual cleaning of gutters today but was stopped by a thunderstorm. Yet while up on the roof, I noticed large piles of roof sediment in the channels, which is probably testament to how especially hot it was this summer; the heat loosened more stone coating than typical from the shingles, and shazam! We have piles of it clogging the spouts. Grrrrr. But I love it though. Cleaning them makes me feel like a useful butler.
September 23rd, 2010 at 11:52 am
I finished cleaning the gutters! Ran into some problems with the roof heaters — last winter’s heavy ice and this summer’s excessive heat loosened many of the little clamps that hold the heater wires in position. So I had to repair / replace the broken clamps and ties, and now that hat’s done, and with the gutters so sparkly and spiffy, I think I can safely say that our roof is indeed ready for winter. Yeah! Bring it on.