Built-in Gutters: A beginning

     In order to repair something properly, you have to remove the damaged parts. Here are a few pictures of an inside corner that has had all of the rotted and damaged bits removed.

     The water had ruined the woodwork all the way through the soffit and fascia down into the wall and window cap trim. Once it gets started, it sure can make a mess.

     These pictures show the rot removed and ready to start putting back. The last two photo's show the band cut to set the fall of the water, and installed.

     Again, I cannot stress the importance of maintenance and proper workmanship. It won't matter how good the work is if it is not maintained on a regular basis, and it will not matter how much you try to maintain poor workmanship, it will always fail.

     So, in work, relationships, or life, always do your best. In the end, it takes less time and energy to do it right the first time.

     - Sam

 

   

Built-in Gutters; The Rot Episode

First of all, my apologies for taking so long to post this.

Okay, here are a few pics of what is happening in the dark, behind what you see. When you see the peeling paint from the last post, there's a good chance that something like this is going on inside. Rotted soffit, gutter box, rafters, in drastic cases the wall framing, all of these can and will be damaged by the slow steady encroaching drip of a small leak.

Fire and water, among other things, can both wreak havoc on a house. Fire is sudden, alarming, instant, and in many cases deadly. Water damage, in my opinion, is worse. It is slow, steady, subtle, and creates molds and mildew which, in drastic cases, can also be deadly. Most of the time the damage water creates goes unnoticed until it is way to late.

Remember the old adage, "An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure." Never was this more true than with a water leak. Never wait thinking it will be okay. Trust me, after many years of repairing this stuff, it will never be okay and get better. It only gets worse.

 -Sam

Current Project: Built-in Gutters

    Here are a few pictures of the project I am currently working on. Approximately 280 feet of built-in gutter to replace. Whoever did the work the last time could hardly have done a worse job.  Improperly soldered metal joints, or, not soldered at all, failure to set the gutter to the proper fall so the water would drain out, combined with either a lack of care and/or education on how to do it right, created a nightmare of rot, wreck, and ruin, on this beautiful old house. These pictures are what it looked like when I started the project, failing paint and rotted, warped wood, due to an excess of moisture in the walls. Click on the photo to move through the set.

    We have all heard the line "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." Well, to paraphrase, "Water damage everywhere, and much more than you think." would be appropriate here.

    The next time I post, which will be in about two weeks, I will show what it looks like after I remove the faulty materials and expose what has been going on in the dark where you can't see.

       Honest work, makes honest men, so, do your best.  -Sam