My Mind's in the Gutter...
Jun. 1st, 2007 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssian... but, on the positive side, there's room there now, because all but one of them have been cleared.
I was walking around the house, and, by the porch corner where two out of five of our downspouts are, I noticed the gutter was dripping. It had rained a bit earlier - about 6 hours earlier. Everything else was pretty dry.
So I get the stepladder and start scooping. The gutter was plugged and full to the brim, and this is one of the gutters with the guards installed. The back gutter on the lower roof was perfectly clear - it's the pine needles that do the most damage, and they don't migrate back there in quantity.
We brought out the big ladder and lo, I am over the weight rating for the ladder. I got about halfway up and it started complaining, so I headed back down. Justin made it four rungs up before being paralyzed with fear. Phil, the next door neighbor, scampers around his roof like it was the ground, and has volunteered to help, so Justin went over to get him.
Phil came back with a leaf blower - which I am generally opposed to - and tried to go up the big ladder. That didn't work so well, but he did manage to get the blower up there. We brought the stepladder up to the back deck and he zipped up it and onto the roof and up to the upper roof. He moved a lot slower there - he said he knew my roof was steeper, but didn't realize exactly how steep... while he still got around fast, he couldn't do it walking and had to scoot around.
From the top, he cleaned out the two front gutters that are pretty much unreachable without scaffolding - and he agreed with me that full scaffolding is the only way to get gutter guards installed. You can't do that from above as the guards have to go below the shingles, and you can't do that from below unless you are about 14-15' tall and can bend your ankle at a ridiculous angle.
Now, when we started this, light was failing, so most of the clearing, especially of the second gutter over Brandon's room, was done in darkness. In fact, when done, it took Justin and me a few seconds to adjust to the darkness before we could bring the big ladder down and take it in. That, and, as Phil had climbed up there, a bat swooped down to check him out. Once he was up there, a few more were circling.
Anyway, Phil didn't have enough roof climbing - he'll be by tomorrow or the next day to get the back gutter on the upper roof.
I was walking around the house, and, by the porch corner where two out of five of our downspouts are, I noticed the gutter was dripping. It had rained a bit earlier - about 6 hours earlier. Everything else was pretty dry.
So I get the stepladder and start scooping. The gutter was plugged and full to the brim, and this is one of the gutters with the guards installed. The back gutter on the lower roof was perfectly clear - it's the pine needles that do the most damage, and they don't migrate back there in quantity.
We brought out the big ladder and lo, I am over the weight rating for the ladder. I got about halfway up and it started complaining, so I headed back down. Justin made it four rungs up before being paralyzed with fear. Phil, the next door neighbor, scampers around his roof like it was the ground, and has volunteered to help, so Justin went over to get him.
Phil came back with a leaf blower - which I am generally opposed to - and tried to go up the big ladder. That didn't work so well, but he did manage to get the blower up there. We brought the stepladder up to the back deck and he zipped up it and onto the roof and up to the upper roof. He moved a lot slower there - he said he knew my roof was steeper, but didn't realize exactly how steep... while he still got around fast, he couldn't do it walking and had to scoot around.
From the top, he cleaned out the two front gutters that are pretty much unreachable without scaffolding - and he agreed with me that full scaffolding is the only way to get gutter guards installed. You can't do that from above as the guards have to go below the shingles, and you can't do that from below unless you are about 14-15' tall and can bend your ankle at a ridiculous angle.
Now, when we started this, light was failing, so most of the clearing, especially of the second gutter over Brandon's room, was done in darkness. In fact, when done, it took Justin and me a few seconds to adjust to the darkness before we could bring the big ladder down and take it in. That, and, as Phil had climbed up there, a bat swooped down to check him out. Once he was up there, a few more were circling.
Anyway, Phil didn't have enough roof climbing - he'll be by tomorrow or the next day to get the back gutter on the upper roof.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-02 04:48 am (UTC)The pipe beside the golden hinoki cypress was totally stuffed with needles. He had to take it apart and jam out the clumps. He commented it would be good mulch. I agree.
Your house sounds like a challenge. It may be worth investing in those special gutters.
Nightsky still climbs on the roof. I can't think of a better way to hurt yourself really, really bad.