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Fixing the Home's Gutter System

Bob reviews how keeping water out of the basement is a central concern in any basement remodeling project. Bob talks with Larry Janesky of Basement Systems about the problem. This home has a gambrel roof and a gutter system with three conductor pipes to carry away the rainwater. Janesky explains that the home was built in 1921 and used clay pipes as downspouts to carry the water away to the street. Over the years, these underground pipes have clogged. The pipes need to be taken up to drain at the ground level where rainwater will not affect the home's foundation. The conductor pipe will be disconnected from the clay pipe and a product called Rain Chute will divert water away from the home. This solution is much simpler than attempting to clean the old clay pipes that are clogged up beyond the side of the house and may have collapsed in upon themselves.

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Chapters from this episode

Fixing the Home's Gutter System Now Playing

Fixing the Home's Gutter System

Removing Junk and Debris Now Playing

Removing Junk and Debris

Removing Unwanted Junk and Debris Now Playing

Removing Unwanted Junk and Debris

Tour of Melrose, Massachusetts Now Playing

Tour of Melrose, Massachusetts

Installing Systems to Keep Water Out of the Basement Now Playing

Installing Systems to Keep Water Out of the Basement

Reviewing Backyard, Retaining Wall, and Moisture Issues Now Playing

Reviewing Backyard, Retaining Wall, and Moisture Issues

Clip Transcript For:

Fixing the Home's Gutter System

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" The biggest challenge to any kind of basement remodeling project is keeping. Water out of the basement making it a dry basement Larry tenacity is with us now from basement systems and you've kind of written the book or several. On this challenge right yeah. Now I always worry first of all. -- about Rainwater. Before I worry about groundwater. Ended this to this house is again amber though which means that. The roof really encompasses the second floor and what we've got here is situation where. The front of the house has a gutter the whole width of it and has three conductor pipes coming down to carry away that Rainwater you've done a little assessment what do you think."

" Yeah well you know gutters have leaves and twigs and so forth coming down over the years and in 1921 when this house was built they put the clay pipes going out to the street to take these downspouts. Take that water -- the street out to a sewer or to the gutter or whatever the storm sewer probably but yeah what's happened is they'd -- the pipes underground have completely -- when the downspouts is clogged with leaves about three feet up off the ground -- yeah. What we need to do is take this water to the surface where we know what's gonna get away from the foundation and we don't have to worry about pockets."

" So you disconnect the indeed conductor pipe from the old clay that's in here. And then how do you divert the water away from -- a very simple device we're gonna be using is a simple conduit called rain suit. And we're gonna fabricate an elbow for the bottom of this downspout and not have this -- Take the water seven feet away from the foundation and not take it away that's an alternative to kind of getting in there are trying to clear the clay pipe that it may have collapsed on itself over the course -- three years in right that's the simple solution."

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Gutter Cleaning Tips

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. While it s a job many of us would love to ignore, gutter cleaning is an important twice-a-year ritual all homeowners need to adopt. When clogged gutters overflow, they can cause ice dams on the roof that force water inside your house. They can also get so heavy that they ll pull the gutters loose and rot the trim and siding. Even if your gutter doesn t fill to overflowing each season, leaving any decaying debris in there is an invitation to carpenter ants and mosquitoes. If you have a lot of trees around your house, you might want to clean your gutters even more frequently. There are lots of ways to do the cleaning. You can find inventions like tongs on an extension pole, shop vacuums with gutter nozzles or even a remote-controlled gutter-running robot. But most methods eventually involve getting on a ladder. If you have gutters above the first story or aren t comfortable on a ladder, you re better off hiring a pro. To clean your gutters yourself, wear gloves, a dust mask and safety goggles. Make sure your ladder is well-footed at all times and use a ladder stabilizer, or stand-off, to keep from denting and damaging your gutters. Scoop the debris into a garbage bag with a garden trowel, then rinse toward the downspout with a high-pressure nozzle on your hose and scrub it clean. Try to avoid spattering the siding in the process. Next, clear the downspouts with a hose or auger. Installing leaf strainers at the drain tops will cut down on the large clogs. When it rains, check for leaks and mark them with a china marker so you can patch holes or correct pitch problems when it s dry. There s debate about whether gutter caps or screens are worth the investment of up to $7 a running foot. Because nothing keeps all debris out, you still have to have your gutter cleaned every couple of years at least, and screens and caps make it much more difficult and expensive to do it. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

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Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. Mulch is probably the best tool you have to keep your garden healthy and green this summer. There are lots of different kinds of mulch to choose from, depending on what s in your garden and what s available where you live. Wood or bark chips, compost, straw, salt hay, cocoa husks, shredded leaves, plastic sheeting and even gravel can all make good mulch for different reasons. In the right quantities, they serve as a shield for the soil so it can do its best work. Mulch protects the soil from erosion and helps it retain its moisture so you can water less frequently and roots grow deeper and healthier. It also keeps weeds down, reserving precious nutrients for your vegetables, flowers and shrubs so you don t have to add as much fertilizer. You spend less time and energy weed whacking and don t need to use poisonous herbicides. After you ve mulched everything once, you don t necessarily have to spend a fortune every season on new bags of commercial mulch. As a matter of fact, be careful of mulching your garden with anything that attracts pests or contains dangerous chemicals, especially on vegetable gardens. Adding some organic material might be enough. Autumn leaves are a gift to your garden that literally just falls out of the trees. Instead of getting rid of them all, put them through a leaf shredder or just run over them a few times with the lawnmower, rake them up and use them as fall mulch on flower or vegetable beds with a little fertilizer. You can add compost to them and turn them into the soil in the spring. In play areas or anywhere you don t want to maintain a lawn, try a recycled mulch like rubber chunks from used tires that would otherwise sit in landfills. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

LeafGuard Gutters Installed

Bill Powers of GutterPro joins Bob at the Mashpee, Massachusetts, affordable home sites for the installation of their LeafGuard gutters. These gutters are fabricated on site with a specialized installation truck that extrudes the aluminum, bends it, and crimps it to form the unique overhanging guard and gutter as a one-piece system. The fabricator creates each job on site, cutting each length to fit and drilling holes for connector pipes with little or no wasted material. Once installed with heavy-duty vinyl brackets to hold the gutters away from the fascia, these unique gutters will use the principle of liquid adhesion carry water from the roof to the surface of the gutter cover and over the lip into the gutter itself. Leaves and debris fall away, while water follows the pathway directly into the gutter. This system is priced by the lineal foot and typically runs $10 per lineal foot installed.

How to Inspect and Repair Gutters

Routine gutter repair and inspection is vital to the performance of your home's water management system. Inspect for blockage, holes, cracks and sags.