My neighbor had their roof cleaned by Roof Life of Oregon. I went out to see how the job was being done and to make sure my house wouldn’t get splattered. Didn’t think there would be a problem because of the distance between the houses. Wrong! Went back out later and found debris from my neighbor’s roof splattered all over the side of my house from the top floor to the ground – somehow splattering the crud even higher on my house than the height of the single story house he was working on . . .

What Dan doesn’t take into account is when we clean a roof we also clean out all of the gutters. ‘Splattering crud’ is inevitable as we explain, with your mind in the gutter, the problem with gutter debris.

Crud Contributing to Corruption

Have you ever looked at the crud lying in the bottom of your gutters? Living in the Pacific Northwest, we get this stuff called Oregon Slime that’s comprised of decaying roof debris and the granules from your asphalt composition roof. This perfect cocktail of man-made and mother nature materials makes for a pesky and problematic disposal process. In short, it takes some force to eject that mess out of your gutters. Inevitably it finds its way into the nearby trees, shrubs, grass and onto your neighbors property.

Natural Wear & Tear

Have you ever been on an AstroTurf field after it was recently completed? How about a rubberized track? For the next month you’re busy running around your house picking up little rubber pieces that made their way into your shoes. That’s the exact what happens with an asphalt composition roof. During the first five years, a new asphalt composition roof takes time to settle and all the excess granules fall into your gutters. If you have an older roof, that’s been neglected or battling erratic weather, you’ll probably find a substantial amount of granules in your gutters too. There’s no way to prevent this gutter debris from piling up and gluing the granules down won’t do you any good; it’s just the roofing materials way of saying, “HELP, I’m getting old and worn out!”

Pressure isn’t a Factor

We dispelled the myth yesterday that our water pressure system wasn’t a contributing factor to Dan K’s complaint about splattering crud. We will admit that the natural degredation of asphalt composition shingles contributed to making a mess on Dan’s home. Another factor is home’s are being built closer and closer together due to our growing population. The closer homes are built to each other, the greater the possibility of splattering crud on your neighbors property.

However, just like a cook in the kitchen, if we make a mess we’ll clean it up regardless of how many homes it affects. We take pride in providing peace of mind to whomever we come in contact with. If you’ve got a stubborn mess of gutter ooze let Roof Life of Oregon take care of the gutter debris mess; we’ll make sure we clean up any of the remains left over. Roof estimates are free of charge and you can call our office during the day, 503-925-0125, our staff is awaiting the chance to serve you and your family.

Today, we’ll talk about why this is occurring and what you can do to ensure this doesn’t happen. We have a DIY gutter repair solution anyone can complete to ensure your roofing system is in tip-top shape.

The photo above shows a gutter filled with debris and moss growing underneath the gutter. The photo below shows why this problem is occurring. Gutter systems that intersect with your roof i.e., are flush with the roofing surface, are more likely to collect debris than any other portion on your roof. Typically, this part of the gutter system is higher than the rest of the system causing it to collect a ton of debris. Having a gutter system that allows water and debris to move freely is the same reason why shake roof keyways are so important. It prevents debris from laying and decaying your roofing surface.

Our DIY gutter repair solution for this gutter problem is to perform a gutter cutback. If you’re not afraid of heights, and are handle with a pair of sheers, then you can preform this remedy. Depending on the size of debris, and a few other factors, you’re going to want to cut your gutters back at least two inches. In this example, the red-line is where we would recommend making the gutter cutback. By trimming your gutters back, so they’re not flush against the roof, it allows the 40 inches of annual rainfall and tree debris to move systematically down and off of your roof. We still advise performing regular roof maintenance, and having your roof blown annually if you have heavy tree debris, to ensure the gutter cutbacks are efficient as possible.

If you or your sweetheart don’t feel comfortable getting on your roof, to preform a gutter cutback, that’s ok. Roof Life of Oregon is ready and willing to serve you for all of your roofing needs. Please call 503-925-0125 or fill out one of our roof estimate forms.

Daniel and I produced this video to show you how the original roof installation roofing contractor skimped on the details, which has led to annoying water stains on this home.

Click here to view the embedded video.

SCRIPT

Today we’re out in NW Portland; we’re up on a roof and noticed right off when we got to the top of the ladder that there is not kick-out on this. We’re going to explain what a kick-out is; typically when a roof has a wall that meets the roof, the water is going to run down the wall and meet the gutter. As it comes down, it gets to the last piece of this, which is called a step flashing, what it will do is run down and get right behind this siding, right behind the gutter right here, and run down the inside. So if you look down low, you can actually see the outer stains on the wall. In some cases, they will actually cut back the siding, the gutter will slightly go into the siding here, and as that happens the water can actually get in behind the siding. It also can climb into these nails over here and start working inside. So what we do when we put a new roof on, we actually take this step flashing and put a kick out on it. That’s going to take all the water here and make it go straight into the gutter; not down the side of the roof.

If you have water streaks on your painting or siding, before you contact our sister company, aPortland siding company, let one of our roof consultants inspect your roof and gutters. We’ll provide you with our findings detailing where your previous roof contractor skimped or succeeded in installing your roof.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If its been a while since you’ve checked your gutters, let Roof Life of Oregon scamper up on your roof to check it out.

To read the scripted video see below.

We’re going to be able to tell this client if the tree debris will plug it up in one year, why don’t we just trim this tail back, it will allow this gutter to, excuse me, this valley to clear out and kind of flow the junk down the roof and allow this to self drain. It’s pretty amazing how this plugs up pretty quick. It also drizzles for a long time after a rain storm and leaves green streaks down the roof just from the green slime that comes out. I’m just going to continually clean this out. This can be solved by trimming this gutter back and it also doesn’t allow the water to go up underneath the shake which can get to the felt paper and wet rot it out. That’s a little something about keeping those gutter returns trimmed back so that the valleys can clear out and it just is a way to make your roof work right and last longer and take care of you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If its been a while since you’ve checked your gutters, let Roof Life of Oregon scamper up on your roof to check it out.

To read the scripted video see below.

This is Patrick Morin, Roof Life of Oregon. We’re on a 19 year old shake roof in Portland, OR and I want to show you a scenario that we have where the gutters were put on this roof and run tight to the roof at the bottom of a valley and what happens is tree debris comes down and gets stopped from clearing out of the valley by this gutter which is trying to drain, you can come up here and see all the water that sits in this gutter system. Our solution to do on this is to trim this gutter tail back probably 3 inches at the high side and back maybe 2 inches down here and that actually will allow the tree debris to, now you see when this was originally installed there’s just this little teeny gap here for water to traverse out and any kind of material is going to cause it to plug up.

Home inspectors check all aspects of your home, while they are useful, you are not always guaranteed an expert in all aspects of the home. A large percentage of home inspectors will never walk your roof.

      We offer REAL ESTATE inspections for pending home or property sales. This is a very thorough and professional statement of the condition of a roof. Since the inspection is made with no expectation of future  maintenance business, we cannot offer them free of charge. Please contact us for pricing information.

If your roof needs a check up or you have questions, call us.  

503-925-0125

Sincerely, Patrick D. Morin

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think it came out well. I hope it gives you a feel for my passion about roofing in Portland!

What do you think?  Are you ready to let us look at your roof?

The trick is to put together quality gutter components that complement each other and then work to together to outperform the competition.

We gently remove your old, worn out gutters to well-placed ground tarps. This eliminates any possible mess to your yard. We break down your old gutters and recycle them. We then start fresh with the best metal or aluminum we can find. We have it pre-painted or primed at the factory. We form it to your desired style on site, using cutting edge metal fabrication machines. Next, we precisely measure each cut to best fit your home. We back caulk every joint with an elastic gutter compound that’s watertight. This creates a perfect seamless gutter system.

We then install the gutters using a hidden clip system and a stainless steel type S 2-inch screw. It has a very aggressive bite and will hold the gutter firmly in place. Metal will expand and contract, pulling and pushing most gutter attachments past their ability to hold. Our design will allow the gutter to move and never stress our attachment. The net result is a lifetime perfect fit and performance for you to enjoy.

In addition to the performance of our hidden clip system, our gutters also offers to you an unmatched profile. A smooth long seamless profile to enhance the exterior of your home.

How about a downspout that resists clogging up? It is so frustrating to have downspouts that do not work. Your Roof Life gutter system features downspouts with fewer metal screws protruding into the spout. This results in a cleaner flow for the rain water and any debris washing down. It also makes them easier to clean.

Rain Gutters have come a long way since yours were installed. Give us a call at 503-925-0125 or fill out our form for a free gutter inspection and replacement estimate today!

When it comes to gutter debris issues we hear it all, as a roof maintenance company, we are called on to do a lot of your dirty work. Cleaning your gutters is just one of them. We don’t mind, until you start complaining about how much you see us! That’s when I knew I had to go out and find a solution.

Good looking, long term gutter debris protection is the solution. I believe Rain Flow USA is currently the best gutter guard on the market. I like it because it’s affordable, out of sight from the ground and of course it works. The manufacturer warrantees it for 20 years and produces different shapes and sizes that will fit any type of gutter you may have, including round, copper, aluminum and seamless.

Call us today to have your gutters inspected. We clean out and replace gutters all over Portland. Call us at 503-925-0125.