Maintaining Gutters In Winter
For the homeowner, nearly nothing is as bad of a problem as is undertaking a foundation repair project. Foundation repair is costly. It is time consuming and it is messy work. More often than not, foundation repairs could have been mitigated if proper gutter maintenance was used. This is especially true during the winter months. Here is why it is important to maintain your gutters in winter.
When snow falls and lands on the roof, it accumulates. Depending on the area you live in, there up to a foot of snow, or more, can end up accumulating before temperatures climb above freezing. That roof snow acts as a huge reservoir of water. In addition, snow accumulates inside the gutters. When the weather gets above freezing the snow quickly converts into ice and water. That water needs a quick route of exit. If your gutters have not been cleaned or maintained or if an ice dam has been created, the water is going to flow over it and onto the ground surrounding the house. The ground around your house is already going to be saturated. Adding more water so near the foundation is inevitably going to create seepage. This seepage is what is, ultimately, going to wreck your foundation.
The first signs of infiltration will be in the form of moisture in the basement. This may be accompanied by the smell of mold. If the problem is not remedied, it will get worse. As the freeze/thaw cycle of winter and summer goes on, cracks and visible seepage into the basement may occur. Ultimately, these cracks become larger. This leads to a general weakening of structural integrity and potential structural failure.
All this could have been prevented if you had maintained your gutters in winter. Here are some tips to help you avoid this nightmare scenario. Make sure the downspouts drain at least 10 to 15 feet from the residence. Doing so will help to mitigate liquid infiltration, as it is channeled away at a safe distance.
Use long lasting materials. When people look at the cost of roof products, they need to look both at the price and its longevity. The longer the product lasts, the longer the period of time the cost can be amortized. In my experience, cheap products lead to more, sudden, failures than ones built with heavy duty ingredients.
If you do not like the idea of having to regularly maintain your downspout system, get a solution that uses covered gutters. You will not have to worry as much about debris and ice dams. They cost more. So, you will need to determine if the additional amount of money is worth the time savings.
Finally, make sure there is an adequate ground slope away from the residence. If there isn’t, you will have a much higher risk of pooling and, ultimately basement infiltration. A cubic yard of dirt will vary from region to region of the United States. The cost of fixing the damage as a result of inaction will be a high multiple of this price.
For more information about gutters, please visit the website entitled Gutter Guards.ws. It can be found by clicking on the following link: http://www.gutterguards.ws If you liked this article and would like to learn more about Gutters, you should read the article entitled, Gutter Covers. It talks about a potential solution for keeping your gutters clean and well maintained. You can read the artice by clicking on the following link: http://www.gutterguards.ws/Gutter-Covers.html
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/maintaining-gutters-in-winter-786598.html
Gutter De-Icing Systems
Builders rush to finish the homes they build. One of the key milestones is in getting the building covered with a roof. As soon as the builders finish the roof, they quickly realize that a roof is not complete unless the rain gutters are installed on it.
Gutters not only serve a functional purpose. They also provide a decorative element to the home. A Gutter system protect walls as well as the foundation, which may not be as water resistant is the roof. The reason being is that the materials used to make them are different which – brick, wood, concrete, cement and siding, to name a few examples. When the walls and foundation of a residence become water logged, they lose their heat protection quality. They can also suffer from liquid infiltration. As a result, owners can be subject to a wet basement and underground. The reason is because water goes directly from the roof into the ground immediately near the residence. This is brought on by lack of a sufficient gutter and downspout solution. The addition result of an inadequate solution is the reduction in the life of the foundation and the overall property. There is also the strong possibility of a health hazard as mold loves to grow in cold, damp and dark places with the basement being an ideal breeding ground. Getting rid of mold can be a difficult proposition, once it is established.
During the winter time, gutters go through extreme temperatures changes including extra weight strain from ice buildup. These combined stresses test the durability of them. The fall of large masses of snow from the roof onto gutters may also stress the brackets used to keep the solution attached. Under such circumstances, they can easily be broken. What is worse, when the snow melts, water flows into the gutter solution and produces layer upon layer of ice, also known as an ice dam. Pressure and weight is distributed unevenly in this situation. When one part of the system fails, the entire system loses its ability to adequately protect the home.
One of the ways to prevent ice dams from forming is the use of de-icing cables. These gutter de-icing systems, which can start at $100 and up, melt the snow into liquid before it touches the gutter system. The melted water stays in liquid form long enough to allow it to successfully drain through the downspout and away from the property. One of the drawbacks of using this system is its reliance on electricity to operate. Some solutions come with a timer, precluding it from being on all the time. This can cut down on the costs of operation. Otherwise, they will need to be on throughout the winter. For areas of the country that get cold weather but infrequent snowfall, the better alternative is to go out and manually break up the ice yourself. If you get snow more than once a week, or do not want to spend the time regularly maintaining your gutters, the de-icing system is the way to go.
For more information about Gutters, please visit Gutter Guards.ws. You can reach it by clicking on the following link: http://www.GutterGuards.ws If you want to learn more about gutter maintenance, you should read the article entitled, Gutter and Downspout cleaning. You can reach it by clicking on the following link: http://www.gutterguards.ws/Gutter-and-Downspout-Cleaning.html Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/gutter-deicing-systems-786611.html
Three Steps To Create Your Own Power Source At Home
Have you ever heard of micro generation?
This is the key to getting your own electric energy at home and avoiding high energy bills. Yes, rub your eyes and read carefully because what you are going to discover could be very important for you.
First, let me tell you that by this moment thousands of people all around the world have been enjoying what is called by the experts – micro generation – meaning that the energy used in certain households is self-produced.
If you eventually decide to cut your energy expenses (and the emission of greenhouse gases) you need to go basically through 3 steps.
1 Analyzing the area where you live
The first step is to analyze which suits you better – wind power, solar power, both or none of the above. To do this you can choose the option always available, of DIY, or let other people do it for you. Usually the first option depending on a person could be a bit scary, especially if you don’t know where to start and what to search for. The second option instead is much more reassuring, because you pay other people to do it for you in the hope they will do well. But, back to the DIY option, with a small effort you can, spending just little time, have your data on the screen of your PC ready for your analysis without spending a cent, just type a couple of key words such as wind or solar data into the browser and you’ll have what you are looking for in a matter of seconds. You’ll find maps, statistics and much more, collected by experts using the top technology, all across the globe…simply amazing!
2 Choosing the source you want to exploit
OK, now that you are aware of wind patterns, average speed, top speed and so on you should be able to decide if a wind turbine can be installed or not. Same process is true for solar power, once you know the average of solar power radiation in kWh per square meter in your area (once more the data are collected all year round by experts using the best technologies), you’ll be able to decide if solar energy can be exploited in your house to provide electricity.
If it sounds too difficult, long or complicated for you, or you are just too busy to think about it or simply you don’t want to bother yourself, there’s someone who is willing to do it for you in change for your money of course! OK, let’s suppose you’ve either done the research process or you have hired someone for it. Now that you are able to decide what renewable source you want to exploit, wind power, solar power or both of them (again you can ask advice from professionals if you prefer) comes the third step, getting what you need.
3 Finding components
Also for this final step two options are available to choose from: #1 hire someone, or #2 DIY.
If you choose the first option, the only thing you have to do is contact someone who works in this business, then, just open your pocket, sign a check or… you know what I mean!
You’ve paid, the job is done for you, now sit back and enjoy.
If instead of going for option number 2 you choose the DIY option, you have to continue a little bit in your research to get a plan to build either a wind mill or a solar panel, get the components, assemble them and that’s it. On the other hand, it can be fun or even lots of fun, with less money going out of your pocket – and in the end you can just sit back and enjoy your handmade clean energy and this sense of satisfaction that you always feel when you do something good for yourself and for the others.
Now you are just three steps away from having your own micro-generating power plant at home, you can choose from several options: to have fun or less fun, to spend time or less time, to invest money or less money and so on, but the outcome will be the same – you’ll have your own clean energy that will make you a happier person while saving money and taking care of the environment for good. By now, you know the basics, but you would need to get more detailed information, testimonies from real people that have already tried it, tips and tricks to get to the point with less effort, etc.
The last word is yours!
About the author:
Sam Deias is a believer and educator since 2002, especially focused on life improving methods, an expert and researcher in the electric energy field, passionate for life, nature and technology. A man who strongly believes in the positive potential of people.
You may want to claim, for a limited time only, your complimentary energy revolution mini e-course at: http://www.capstoneworld.comArticle Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/three-steps-to-create-your-own-power-source-at-home-787299.html