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Sunday, July 16, 2006

Gutter Talk

I'm not particularly handy. Or graceful. Or the owner of a ladder.

The result is I have an ecosystem where a gutter should be. I blame bad design for this problem in part. Part of good design is low maintenance, in my humble opinion. Extend the eaves and slope roof lines way from doors and you don't need gutters at all. Or extend roof lines to where gutters can be reached with a minimum of climbing, if not from barefoot on the ground, say, standing on a chair at most. Or put dormers in the attic that open out to reach cleanouts.



Then we got a big rain, lots of rain. Enough rain I've got to replace yet another burned up pump. The excavation and landscaping for my home, when it was built, was inspired by the city of New Orleans.



So besides the burned out pump, the gutters are starting to come down. Another storm like this and I'll be able to reach to clean them out.

4 comments:

kimmyk said...

OOohh bummer.

I'll pray for a day that you can get out there and clean gutters before they wash away.

Tomorrow here? Thunderstorms.

j_ay said...

Is that blurry bright green stuff, like, living thingies in your gutter?
Nifty.

Julio Wells said...

If that gutter comes down, it could be a major problem. For sure, water leaks will create moisture that can attract pests. Also, it can produce mold that can be dangerous to the health if inhaled.

Kylee Groves said...

Yikes! I know gardens are great, but the gutters are the last place you want them to be in! I hope you've managed to have the gutters cleaned out by now. And you're right – it would've been so much better if the roof and downspouts were angled lower and away from the doors to negate the need for gutters, or that the gutters were lower and easier to reach for cleaning.