Gutter Maintenance: 2011
Yep, with the weather cooling once again, it’s time to prepare the gutters and supporting systems for the coming winter. We’ve had no problems with the guters themselves this year beyond the usual clogging with spruce tree needles. However, one of the roof heaters failed last winter and requires replacement.
I’ll track these repairs in the content below. I make this a project because most every year, some significant work must be accomplished to keep our gutters and downspouts working efficiently. So, enjoy. 
Over the past week, I’ve begun the fall flushing of the gutters. So far, the south porch gutters and west gutters are finished. Fortunately, the north gutters rarely clog, and when they do, it’s usually just roof sediment (the granules from the shingles) that gets into the spouting. This may be rinsed out with a garden hose.
In cleaning the west gutters yesterday, the one downspout was so clogged that I had to disassemble it from the gutter work, and use a plumber’s auger to loosen the decomposed spruce needles. This mess had already turned dark brown and began looking like soil. But once I’d removed the downspout, whacking it against the ground a few times got the dirt inside to completely vacate the spout. I then reinstalled it.
I also removed the faulty roof heater from the roof that covers the north side of the office here as well as the west entrance to the house. This is a one-hundred foot long unit that showed definite signs of wear; obviously, it’s been out in the weather since 2004. Plus, a section of it looked very frayed and damaged. Not sure if an animal bit into it or if I might have accidentally cut it with the lawn mower. But this is likely why I experienced numerous tripped breaker incidents last winter. Well, not any more. I’ll get a new heater at Lowe’s or Home Depot the next time I’m up there.
Installed the new roof and gutter de-icing heater a couple days later, ahead of the coming snow. It appears to work well. So I’m eager to really test it.
Cleared the north gutters of dirt, needles, and leaves. Attempted to climb onto the east porch roof to work those gutters, but found myself a bit shaky. Sometimes, I get afraid of heights. So I’ll try again later, or perhaps just climb out onto the roof via the attic window.
October 26th, 2011 at 9:05 am
[...] Gutter Maintenance: 2011 [...]
October 26th, 2011 at 9:10 am
[...] Gutter Maintenance: 2011 [...]
October 26th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
[...] why she had more energy today and was in much better spirits besides. 06:30 PM: Worked the Gutter Maintenance: 2011 project. Today, I cleared the west-facing gutters and took down the defective roof de-icing [...]