Home maintenance is like a part-time job. And, if your house is anything like that movie with Tom Hanks from the 80s (Money Pit), home maintenance can creep from a full-time job to a full-blown nightmare.
So, the question then becomes — how do I approach home maintenance in the smartest, most cost effective and safest way possible?
Some home repairs are easy to do — repaint your bedroom wall, remove shelving and do some spackling, even some light carpentry work. Most of these types of jobs don’t require a lot of special skills and they also don’t require you to put yourself in harm’s way.
Most of us don’t like heights, and walking on a house’s roof can be both unsettling and dangerous.
Home repairs like roof leaks, shingle repair, gutter cleaning and gutter repair are worth the investment, unless you’re Bob Villa, Tim Allen or Chuck Norris.
The value of hiring a professional is multi-fold:
- It keeps you safe
- You don’t have to worry about a botched DIY project
- You get more free time to focus on your other projects
- The pros are licensed, bonded and insured, which means you aren’t liable for any accidents that could happen on the job.
Now, some notes on gutter repair.
There are a lot of companies out there who take a “set it and forget it” approach to gutter cleaning and maintenance.
This is a very bad idea.
Why?
Products designed to circumvent the need for gutter cleaning don’t work (and if they sort of work, it’s not for long!)
The reason that gutter screens or similar “solutions” fail is that they rely on faulty technology.
A metal or plastic mesh that covers a gutter can do two things: prevent debris from collecting inside your gutters and, once the mesh is covered in sediment, the mesh prevents water from entering your gutters.
Diverting water from your roof and away from your home is the very thing gutters are supposed to do.
So, this means that these convenient, “one-time” solutions promising no-hassle gutters — well, they’re a lie.
The best way to ensure that your gutters are in good working order and that your home is protected is to clean them and maintain them regularly.
We mentioned you could save money with gutter repair. That is very true.
You can also save money on gutter cleaning.
Keeping your gutters cleaned is the best way to ensure you don’t need costly repairs.
Over the lifetime of your gutters, it is far less expensive to clean and maintain them than it is to take shortcuts or neglect them and incur the high costs associated with needing repairs or even a new gutter system.
Another way that gutter maintenance helps you save is this — if you regularly have gutter cleaning techs cleaning and inspecting your gutters, they’ll also develop an eye for the health of your roof, soffits and fascia. If there’s a problem, they’ll let you know. The question is, how long do you want to wait to learn about a problem?
As they say, early detection is key.
Call Ned Stevens today to learn more about gutter maintenance, repair and our year-round service, the Diamond Plan. Act now and get $50 off your first Diamond Plan.