GUTTERS, FASCIA BOARD & SOFFIT

Rain gutters provide valuable protection for your home and garden. They allow run off water to be diverted away from your landscaping. They also protect your home’s exterior from unsightly mud splashing. Like every area of your home, your gutters, fascia board and soffits need maintenance and care.

Start your gutter cleaning early on a sunny, dry day.  Good equipment to have at the ready includes:  gloves, wire handled bucket, garden trowel (or gutter scoop), small hand broom, rags, and a ladder long enough to give you safe access to the gutters. 

You may want to take the bucket handle, snip it in the middle and create “hooks” to hang it on the gutters or use a hook on the ladder.  Inspect your gutters, fascia board and soffit as you go and mark problem areas with masking tape.  Check that gutters are fastened tightly to the house and aren’t sagging.

To begin, place the ladder on a solid surface, using adjustable feet on uneven ground.  Remove debris, leaves and other things stuck in the gutters and place them in the bucket.  Stuff a rag in the downspout to prevent the debris from draining out.  Use the broom to get in the cracks and crevices. 

To finish, place a water hose in the gutters to rinse out them out.  If you find that the downspouts are clogged, place the hose in the downspout and try to force out the obstruction.  If that doesn’t work, use a plumber’s snake.

To clean the exterior of the gutters, downspouts, fascia and soffit, use a non-abrasive detergent diluted 1/3 cup to 1 gallon of water and a rag or sponge.  Make sure to inspect and clean your gutters at least twice a year, especially in the fall.

ALUMINUM CARE & MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS

Mildew will appear as black spots on surface dirt and is usually first noticed in areas where rain doesn’t hit, such as your soffit and fascia board and underneath gutters.  To remove mildew, mix together 1/3 cup of detergent (Tide for example), 2/3 cup Trisodium Phosphate (Soilax for example), 1 quart 5% Sodium Hypochlorite ( Chlorox for example), and 3 quarts water.  Use rubber gloves and a sponge to apply.

POOL CAGES/SCREEN ROOMS

When planning your pool cage or screen room, think about the following questions:

Do you need a roof and walls, or do you just need screen panels to enclose an existing covered patio?

How large of an area do you want to enclose? Sometimes people choose to leave a portion of their slab or deck uncovered or unscreened for things like grilling.

How many doors do you want, and where do you want them? Do you want them to swing left or right? Most people use doors that swing out.

Do you have budget or time constraints?

Take the time to answer these questions and then Contact Us to set an appointment!

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE OF YOUR SCREENS


CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE OF YOUR SCREENS

An easy way to clean a screened porch is to use a sprayer attachment on your hose. Spray from the inside out. The strong spray will clean away the dirt quickly and easily.  If you haven’t cleaned your screens in quite a while, you may want to rent a pressure washer.

The trick to using a pressure washer is to start high and work your way down.  Start at one corner of the pool cage and move slowly through the entire area, from top to bottom.  Don’t use too much pressure and add a little detergent for better results.

You will need to use caution during cleaning.  Older metal screens have a tendency to rip and — old or new — aluminum and nylon screens can easily be stretched out of shape. And, they don’t bounce back. Once a screen is stretched, it stays that way.

Plants and shrubs should be protected during while pressure cleaning. Place wooden stakes in the ground around plants and drape a lightweight plastic cover over them. This will prevent the water pressure runoff from breaking flowers, limbs and branches.

Remove fabric covered pads and other cloth items when pressure cleaning.  Although most patio furniture pads are made to withstand attack by water, they will last a lot longer if they aren’t saturated with water and detergent.

Be careful when using ladders and pressure washers. Anytime you work with equipment that sprays anything, you should wear eye protection and protective clothing. And when it comes to ladders, make sure you have a helper to steady things.