In the winter, time seems to stand still. The growth of plants slows, animals are in hibernation, and you often get stuck at home because of the heavy snow outside. But, while it’s nice to stay inside the house for warmth, at some point you might have to consider venturing outside and cleaning your gutter.
According to the Property Claims Services, the winter weather resulted in about $30 billion insured catastrophe losses from 1996 to 2015. That’s about $1.5 billion every year. from 1996 to 2015. That’s about $1.5 billion every year. Whether your home is insured against winter weather or not, it’s better that you prevent the damages that winter can bring to your home, more specifically, to your gutters.
Why Should You Clean Your Gutter This Winter?
After your initial rain gutter installation, you may think that your gutters are good to go. Unfortunately, various forms of debris can get trapped inside them, in spite of gutter covers. For this reason alone, you need to check out and clean your rain gutters regularly. With winter weather in the mix, though, your gutters face much more strain.
Here’s exactly why winter is the best time to clean your gutter:
1. To keep your gutters intact
Debris like leaves and branches cover your roof and your gutters. When the snow falls, it traps the debris and clogs your gutters. The heavy buildup can rip your gutters right off the edges of your roof, thereby calling for expensive repairs. Prevent costly repairs or gutter replacements by having your gutters cleaned out, instead. This proactive measure is not only cheaper, but it will also save you the headache of having to get new gutters.
2. To keep pests out
Standing water in clogged gutters makes for a perfect breeding ground for pests. This attracts all sorts of pesky critters from bugs such as mosquitoes and wasps to bigger animals such as rats. Stop the formation and spread of disease from these disease-carrying creatures and clear your gutter of debris.
3. To prevent the formation of ice dams
With the cold weather, water that is trapped in your gutters eventually freezes. This creates a natural dam that prevents water from escaping your roof area and adds to the weight of an already clogged gutter. Along with the debris, this can cause further damage to the exterior of your home and roof.
4. To preserve your paint job
One of the main reasons you should install rain gutters in the first place is to stop rainwater or snowmelt from damaging your house. With gutters, you prevent the formation of water stains, cracks, and other water-induced damages on your exterior walls. When your gutter’s clogged, water can overflow and run down your exterior walls, causing damage to your paint job.
5. To prepare for spring
Depending on the weather in your area, spring can bring heavy rainfall. If you neglect to clean your gutters by then, most of the problems mentioned above will be your recurring nightmare once spring comes. Your gutters will likely be damaged, thereby causing flooding in your property. Not only that, you’ll have to pay for costly repairs, too, depending on the severity of the damage.
By cleaning your gutters this winter, you’ll have them fully functional when spring starts. So, you can enjoy the weather without having to worry about whether your gutters will collapse or if rainwater will damage your property. And if you don’t want to deal with this hassle again, give us a call at 877-594-7449 and we can install seamless gutters with Leaflock Gutter Protection.
What Ice Dams are and How You Can Keep them from Damaging Your Home
/in Updates /by Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters LLCCleaning your gutters is probably one of the household chores that you dread doing, especially during the autumn and winter seasons. It is important to keep your gutters clean, because if you don’t, you might end compromising the structural integrity of your home and face expensive repair costs. While there are some gutter maintenance and repair tasks that you can do on your own, you should consider hiring the services of a gutter repair company to make sure that your gutters are in good hands.
Not cleaning your gutters regularly can lead to different sorts of problems. Pests and animals such as mosquitoes, squirrels, and mice may build nests on your gutters. Clogged gutters may cause cracks or holes, creating an entrance for such pests to find their way inside your home. Water leaks caused by damaged gutters may result in moisture formation in cracks, creating the perfect environment for mold, mildew, and bacteria-causing allergies and illnesses. Another problem that you might face if you ignore cleaning your gutters, especially during winter months is the formation of ice dams.
What are Ice Dams?
Ice dams are the ridges or mounds of ice that form along the edge of your roofline, usually after heavy snowfall. An ice dam forms when some of the snow on your roof melts into water, but instead of draining from the gutter, the water freezes into ice. The water refreezes when it settles on the part of the roof that isn’t warmed by your attic or ceiling. The ice dam traps meltwater, causing it to seep into the shingles and make its way inside your home.
How Can You Prevent Ice Dams?
You can keep ice dams from damaging your home by winterizing it. You can:
What Can You Do If Your Roof Has Ice Dams?
You can tell that your roof has ice dams if you see icicles hanging from the gutters. Ice dams can be removed by using a rake roof or by applying calcium chloride or an ice melt product to the ice. However, if the ice dam build up is too thick and heavy, you should immediately call a professional contractor to get rid of the ice dam.
Facing Gutter Damage Due to Ice Dams?
Cracked ceilings and walls, peeling paint, stained carpets, and warped floor boards are just some of the damage that ice dams cause. Other less visible effects of ice dam damage include drenched insulation and mold problems. When they become too heavy, ice dams can also rip off your gutters and damage your roof. If you encounter any of these problems, you can turn to our team of professionals at Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters, LLC to provide you with gutter repair and replacement services.
Fill out our form here or contact us today at 877-594-7449 for a hassle-free quote.
Water Damage: How It Ruins Your Home and How You Can Prevent It
/in Updates /by Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters LLCWhether it’s a flood or just a leaky roof, the adverse effects of water damage can be silent but deadly. It can manifest in discoloration on walls and ceilings, toxic mold, and even shorted out appliances.
A report by The Denver Post which covers the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 detailed the damage that 100,000 homes in Texas and Louisiana sustained due to flooding. Here’s what we can learn from that report.
Weakened Foundation
Texas and Louisiana took the brunt of Hurricane Harvey’s wrath. Both of these states have mostly clay soil foundations. According to the expert the Post interviewed, when the clay soil gets soaked in water, it expands unevenly, causing the ground to lift. As the soil rises, it cracks parts of the concrete slab that supports the home. Some say this phenomenon may cause the house to detach itself from the foundation and float off.
Hence, it’s always smart to maintain your home’s drainage and gutter system regardless of the weather, to prevent water from mixing with the foundation and leaving it soft. Your seamless gutter might need some repairs or replacement, too. Even minor problems like a broken spout or uneven soil can let flood water seep into your foundation.
Faulty Electrical Systems and Electronics
About 25% of the world’s population lives without electricity, but some Americans may find such a situation unacceptable. Luckily for the states affected by the hurricane, flooding from the rainwater didn’t create much of a problem in the wiring. However, switches and outlets penetrated by water had to be replaced.
The same goes for appliances like televisions and refrigerators. Since they’re difficult to repair and restore, it’s better to get new ones.
If the weather forecast in your area includes strong rain and wind, prepare for it by unplugging your appliances and bringing them to higher ground. It also helps to use a smart water sensor in your basement and living room to alert you of any leaks or flood that went unnoticed.
Warped Flooring
Most of the houses ravaged by Harvey had warped or rotten floors. Some of them were beyond repair, according to the report, especially homes with carpeted floors that couldn’t be restored. Residents had no choice but to pay for expensive and time-consuming floor replacement.
The best way to prevent these costly restorations is by opting for water-resistant options like porcelain and ceramic tile. They’re durable and water-resistant as long as they get regular maintenance. If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative, go for sheet vinyl or bare concrete.
Don’t wait for a hurricane forecast to inspect your home for possible vulnerabilities. If you’re unsure about what to fix, hire a home inspector who is skilled in finding any problem. While repairs like gutter leaks might be easy to do with sealants, they’re temporary solutions. The best thing to do is to hire professionals for gutter repair and replacement. While it may seem like a lot of work, nothing can protect your home from calamity more than preparation.
Get Seamless Gutter Repair and Replacement
Your gutter is essential to keeping water off your basement and home foundation. With over two decades of experience, Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters provides worry-free seamless gutters and gutter protection in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We guarantee that our gutters aren’t only strong, but they also fit the look of your house.
Contact us today to learn more about our products and services.
Living Green with New Metal Roofing
/in Updates /by Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters LLCThe effects of climate change are evident in our everyday lives as average temperatures in different states reach extreme levels. Here in Wisconsin, temperatures climbed to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit last 2018 Memorial Day weekend and set a 107-day long record of unprecedented warm temperatures peaking at 70 degrees or higher.
The higher temperatures are taking its toll on homeowners. With space cooling accounting for around 15 percent of your total electricity consumption, higher temperatures can only mean higher bills in the future. As climate change worsens and temperatures reach unprecedented highs, it will be hard to escape surging electricity bills in the summer.
One way you can lower your energy consumption is to switch to a more energy-efficient roofing system. Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters offers quality metal roof installation and repair to help you live more comfortably and manage your household expenses.
Optimize Energy Efficiency
The roof is the part of your house that receives the most heat and energy. With a traditional energy-absorbing asphalt roof, heat will be trapped in your attic, raising your home’s overall temperature. This makes your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system work overtime.
On the other hand, the reflective surface of metal roofs means more heat from the sun bounces off, which helps you save up to 40 percent in cooling costs. They’re useful during the winter, too. While it helps reflect heat during warmer months, metal roofing improves your insulation and heating during the colder months.
Double the Effect
You also have the option to further raise the effects of your metal roof while maintaining your desired house aesthetics thanks to special treatments. Cool roof coatings have special inorganic and reflective pigments that boost its heat and solar reflection.
Moreover, the color of the coatings doesn’t affect it’s the efficiency of its cooling benefits. So, you can paint your roof in darker colors without worrying about bringing down its reflection rate and your energy savings. These coatings also offer additional protection from ultraviolet light, increased water-resistance, and better roof durability.
The Greenest Roofing on the Market
Metal roofs have another advantage over asphalt roof shingles and fiber cement shingles — their life span. Cool metal roofing will last your home anywhere between 30 and 50 years. These types of roofs don’t require as much maintenance as long as it’s made properly and treated with special coatings.
Meanwhile, the life of an asphalt roof only lasts around half of that (between 20 and 25 years). Aside from saving money on replacement costs, you’ll also be saving the environment from roofing material waste.
Additionally, metal roofs are 100 percent recyclable. In fact, many metal roofs today are manufactured using 25 to 98 percent recycled waste. There’s also almost no limit to how many times you can recycle them.
The True Value of a Metal Roof
All the advantages metal roofings offer are reflected in its up-front costs, which are understandably higher than traditional roofing. Still, metal roofs are an investment for your future. The higher initial cost pays off in the after a few years. Thanks to cool metal roofs, you’ll see a notable reduction in your energy costs and roof repairs.
One thing you need to make sure, though, is to have a reliable and highly skilled team install your new metal roof. Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters is here for all your roofing needs. We use high-quality roofing materials and ensure correct roof installation. Contact us today to get maximize your energy savings.
5 Great Reasons You Should Clean Your Gutter This Winter
/in Updates /by Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters LLCAccording to the Property Claims Services, the winter weather resulted in about $30 billion insured catastrophe losses from 1996 to 2015. That’s about $1.5 billion every year. from 1996 to 2015. That’s about $1.5 billion every year. Whether your home is insured against winter weather or not, it’s better that you prevent the damages that winter can bring to your home, more specifically, to your gutters.
Why Should You Clean Your Gutter This Winter?
After your initial rain gutter installation, you may think that your gutters are good to go. Unfortunately, various forms of debris can get trapped inside them, in spite of gutter covers. For this reason alone, you need to check out and clean your rain gutters regularly. With winter weather in the mix, though, your gutters face much more strain.
Here’s exactly why winter is the best time to clean your gutter:
1. To keep your gutters intact
Debris like leaves and branches cover your roof and your gutters. When the snow falls, it traps the debris and clogs your gutters. The heavy buildup can rip your gutters right off the edges of your roof, thereby calling for expensive repairs. Prevent costly repairs or gutter replacements by having your gutters cleaned out, instead. This proactive measure is not only cheaper, but it will also save you the headache of having to get new gutters.
2. To keep pests out
Standing water in clogged gutters makes for a perfect breeding ground for pests. This attracts all sorts of pesky critters from bugs such as mosquitoes and wasps to bigger animals such as rats. Stop the formation and spread of disease from these disease-carrying creatures and clear your gutter of debris.
3. To prevent the formation of ice dams
With the cold weather, water that is trapped in your gutters eventually freezes. This creates a natural dam that prevents water from escaping your roof area and adds to the weight of an already clogged gutter. Along with the debris, this can cause further damage to the exterior of your home and roof.
4. To preserve your paint job
One of the main reasons you should install rain gutters in the first place is to stop rainwater or snowmelt from damaging your house. With gutters, you prevent the formation of water stains, cracks, and other water-induced damages on your exterior walls. When your gutter’s clogged, water can overflow and run down your exterior walls, causing damage to your paint job.
5. To prepare for spring
Depending on the weather in your area, spring can bring heavy rainfall. If you neglect to clean your gutters by then, most of the problems mentioned above will be your recurring nightmare once spring comes. Your gutters will likely be damaged, thereby causing flooding in your property. Not only that, you’ll have to pay for costly repairs, too, depending on the severity of the damage.
By cleaning your gutters this winter, you’ll have them fully functional when spring starts. So, you can enjoy the weather without having to worry about whether your gutters will collapse or if rainwater will damage your property. And if you don’t want to deal with this hassle again, give us a call at 877-594-7449 and we can install seamless gutters with Leaflock Gutter Protection.
Seamless Gutters MN
/in Updates /by Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters LLCInstalling Seamless Gutters in MN is a must due to the high volume of humidity , moisture and rain every year. Having Seamless Gutters on your home in MN can be very crucial to keep your foundation in place and free from erosion that could occur if you do not have proper down spout drainage with your seamless gutters.
Having the proper installation of Seamless Gutters in MN depends on the contractor you decide to choose. If you are deciding on investing into Seamless Gutters on your home in Mn you should receive multiple bids, make sure the company is insured and Licensed, and has quality products and warranties. Bruce Andrews Seamless Gutters has A+ reviews and high quality ratings not only on Angie’s List but home Advisor and with the BBB.
The most common mistake in choosing the right contractor is going with price vs. quality. The old phrase ” you get what you pay for” is very true when it comes to home expenses especially on the last steps of finishing your home. Most people think that Seamless Gutters are going to be inexpensive or at least should be. That is very untrue! To have the quality, longevity and warranty that should last a lifetime, you would definitely want to choose a top rated company for your Seamless Gutters needs in MN .
When receiving a quote for a Seamless Gutters or home construction estimate for work to be preformed on your home you want to make sure that the next few steps are covered.
By Following the steps that were covered on purchasing Seamless Gutters in MN you should be ready to move forward in the process of searching.
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