Wednesday, January 7, 2004

A cost-effective way to keep your gutters clean year after year

Before you know it, spring showers will be setting the stage for May flowers, and if you haven’t cleaned your gutters lately, now is the time to do it. If your gutters are clogged with leaves, seeds and other debris left over from the fall, when the spring thaw and hard rains come, they may backup or overflow, and that could cause huge problems.

If gutters aren’t functioning properly, the resulting backed up water can cause roof decking, rafters and soffits to rot. Water that overflows the gutters and falls to the ground could wash away landscaping and seep into your home’s foundation or basement. In the wintertime, ice floes in an uncovered gutter can be a problem.

Gary Hedlund of northeast Minneapolis knows that firsthand. “There isn’t much pitch to my roof and as snow would melt, it used to drip down on the sidewalk near my front and back doors, then it would freeze into ice, which was very dangerous. In the springtime, my gutters couldn’t handle all the water and it would come splashing down onto my garden beds, creating a big mess.”

Hedlund had those problems because he didn’t do a good enough job cleaning his gutters. “I have a two-story Colonial and I don’t like heights,” he said. He looked into hiring a licensed, bonded professional to do the job for him, but that would have cost hundreds of dollars.

Instead, he decided to go with the same long-term fix one of his neighbors had chosen, and had a Gutter Helmet system installed on his home. Gutter Helmet is a closed gutter protection system designed to keep gutters free-flowing and debris-free. Depending on a number of variables, including a home’s size, the roof pitch and condition of the existing gutters, installation will cost between $1,500 and $3,000. In the 25 years Gutter Helmet has been around, the device has been installed on nearly a half million homes.

“Unlike our competitors who provide a gutter and cover combination, we’re just providing the cover, which helps keep the expense down,” said David Skelton of Gutter Helmet. He also pointed out that since the system is installed in 5-foot sections, if one piece is damaged, it can quickly and easily be replaced.

“Because there are so many variables that go into the installation, it’s not a do-it-yourself project. All of our installers have gone through special training,” he added.

“It was definitely a good investment, especially with the lifetime guarantee that comes with it. I’ll never have to worry about cleaning my gutters again,” said Hedlund.

If you’d like to find out how much it would cost to have a Gutter Helmet installed on your home, free estimates are available. To locate a Gutter Helmet dealer near you, visit www.gutterhelmet.com or call (888) 4-HELMET (443-5638).

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