It might be the most boring topic in the history of topics but gutters….kinda important. They are like the sinus cavities of the house….you don’t really appreciate them until they back up and cause major drainage issues. Anyone that has ever had a bad case of bronchitis is fist bumping me right about now. I feel you.
So I told you about how we were having a super rainy summer and so a large effort was put into fixing our drainage problems. We installed a french drain, paid for an arborist to come whip the trees into shape and Jeremy shopped around for exactly what our roof needed. In the end, gutters are beyond our skill set and so we called in the pros.
One of the best things we did was take photos during the most recent downpour so that we could explain with pictures what our issues were. We honestly didn’t know if our gutters needed replaced (we have had them fixed before but it wasn’t done by gutter expert…it was just someone that cleaned gutters who wasn’t scared to climb three stories up and nail the gutter back in) or if our gutters needed be resloped or what.
On the front porch, the water poured over the edge. It also filled up three different downspouts and just ran down the face of the house.
In the back, it ran off the roof, literally overshot the gutters….soaking the windows of our living room and creating areas of low spots next to the house foundation. See that area next to the air conditioning unit?
It had just been freshly mulched and the rain pushed all that mulch away and that low spot now was a perfect spot for water to sit and fester. And yes, I will go to any lengths to not have mosquito hot tubs in my yard. I passionate hate those things.
In the front, we had no idea how the underground drainage system was attached. What downspot went where? What water was pushed in what direction? We were more clueless than a toddler in a nuclear physics museum.
Jeremy ended up digging up the existing pipe….it went along the front side of the house (who knew?!) and was sloped back toward the downspouts (smart. real. smart.).
A couple trips to Home Depot later, Jeremy had all the things he needed to fix this one area and he fixed the entire drainage situation. I leisurely sat by and had four small boys rub my feet and whisper sweet nothings in my ear.
Feeling sufficiently prepared with the trees cut back and the underground stuff in place, we called in the pros. We used a local company WaterTight Roofing in the past and referred them to friends and they always were prompt and honest and gave us a fair price so we called them again to see if they could give us a quote on gutters or tell us what we needed to do.
They sent someone out and we quickly realized that due to the pitch of our roof and the square footage that it has (especially on the back side) that we needed a whole new set up. The gutters were too small. Cue the violins.
For those of you in the market for new gutters, ours were $1975 (that included removal of all our existing gutters, 250 ft of new 6″ gutters, 210 ft of downspouts and 18 mitres aka corner pieces).
The process happened really fast. They removed all the old gutters and had the new ones up in a matter of one day.
The gutter dudes told us that they found a huge amount of mud….that it was causing the gutters to pull away from the house. And then also there were wasp nests (which yes terrified me because we try hard to stay on top of those since Weston is highly allergic) that were making their way into the gaps.
Our new gutters were 6″ ones…the largest you put on a residential property. The old gutters were five inch ones…so we honestly didn’t know how big of a difference a single inch would make. But seeing them side by side won all the heart eyes. The old ones were not only smaller height wise but also in width. You can tell the difference comparing the hangers….
Each gutter was formed right there in the driveway and cut to exact measurements.
And then they installed them. We asked if the slope was a part of the issue and he said that in the past, people would eyeball the slope…assuming that the house was also level. But now they use laser levels for everything because the house could be built with a slope or have settling so its necessary to actually ensure that the water would flow correctly by NOT eyeballing it.
One of the other things I noticed was that the old gutters we had painted….but these new ones were a super close match and that was really helpful in the quote. Other folks may not have your color available and then you have to fork over more moolah to hire a painter!
Last little tidbit….the different style of hangers. The old style we had are called spikes and they go through both the front and back of the gutter to attach to the house. The screw head is exposed on the front side. The new one we have is called a hidden hanger and it is supposed to outlast the spike versions because it can hold more weight and is more secure. It also has a cleaner look because the screw head isn’t exposed and it’s easier to repair in the future should anything happen.
So of course, it’s only rained once since we got the new gutters (spoiler alert…they worked great!) but we are looking forward to many more seasons of no more drainage problems. So as boring as all those updates were (yes a $2000 sofa would have been much more fun) it is like paying for peace of mind.
Which leads me to my next question….what is the most boring ‘behind the scenes’ house expense you ever had? Was it gutters? Septic tank cleaning? Rewiring? Because a pretty house is nice….when it’s not swimming in a pool of water. Amiright?!
p.s. Locals & Atlanta peeps – the company we used was WaterTight Roofs and this is our second time using them (once for a new roof for the Monroe house and once here for the gutters) and we can’t recommend them enough! Here is their number 770-769-5755 Happy Friyay!
We had an energy test done on our 1976 townhome because the first winter we suffered through, our electric bills were $300+/month. We spent $1800 on insulating attic, attic door, rim joist in basement, etc. Nothing pretty to show for it other than drastically reduced bills! Worth every penny.
Spending $8000 to have our sewer line in the house repaired and then lined to the street.
Or maybe the $10000 for a new HVAC system.
After our third slab leak we just repiped the whole house. Very $$$ but definitely don’t want any more leaks, this last one was a doozy.
We have one corner over our garage that just dribbles over the side like crazy and now it’s leaking into the attic space, so I fear something similar to this is in our future. As to your question, a septic tank and whole new drain field are the most lame but useful and necessary thing we had to do to our house. And it was for a house we don’t live in anymore.
We spent something like $9 grand to have fascia replaced, house painted, a couple of doors replaced, siding replaced, gutters replaced, etc. It was a blow, but worth it for a functioning house!
My third daughter, Julia is highly allergic to bees too! I feel like the wasps have just gotten worse and worse around here lately. It totally freaks me out.
Cutting down a 80 ft tall old laurel oak tree with a rotting center (there were hollows in the base so you could tell it was rotting, plus the decline of the health of the crown branches). $2500! Better than falling on our house though.
That time I read a post while sick with a terrible case of bronchitis. Yeah, I can relate!!
We just spend $9000 on new duct work and furnace. Turns out the old ducts were made of ONLY fiberglass batting. Not energy efficient at all and dangerous. would have been much happier installing new flooring but hopefully this is money well spent. I joked that I’m going to make all our guest climb into the attic to check out the new ducts. 🙂
Oh boy. We paid 18K to replace our two air conditioners. 18K and I couldn’t drive them! Ugh. But I am glad now that it’s 90 degrees!
I’m planning on getting new gutters this yr too. Curious, why didn’t you get a leaf guard on your new gutters?
My husband and I are dealing with a very similar situation. I had started painting our facia and soffits last summer but got to a point where the peak was too high. So now I have a roof line that’s half poop brown and half white. Do we hire someone to just replace it all (and fork over $$$)?? Or risk my life and continue painting??
After YEARS without gutters at all, I finally bit the bullet. It wasn’t nearly as expensive as I had feared and made such a huge improvement in the look of the house and how my landscaping handled rains.
Of course, the first rain I made all of my kids stand on the front porch and listen to the rain in the gutters.
Cause I’m a total nerd like that! 😀
We just got 6 inch gutters too and honestly I was a big dork about it. I was so excited! We had rain sheet down the front of the house when it rained and I was sick of it. Now, I am in love. The roofing company even angled the downspout perfectly to fit our rain barrel. ☺
I once paid $1,500 to have rats removed from my attic. I was stunned by the price tag but, y’know, rats.
Yup – spending 7k on a French drain system was boring as heck – but we finally had a dry basement! BDry did ours and it was worth every penny. And they give a lifetime warranty on their work. I highly recommend them.
I’m in the process of having my chimney rebuilt. The price tag is OUCH! The mortar and chimney cap have degraded to the point that when it rains water is coming into the attic – not good. I know it needs to be done for the good of the house but I would much rather spend thousands of dollars on new furniture or put it towards a bathroom renovation, not a chimney. The fun of (old) home ownership.
Katie,
My husband and I enjoyed reading this post. His engineer mind totally enjoyed seeing your new gutters. The practical Mama side of me was so happy that you got rid of those wasp! And, the water issue.
Our boring thing to do this week was buy a new water filter for our refrigerator. Now that might not seem like a big issue, but our frig is a little older so we had to drive a good distance to our Lowe’s to get one. We ordered from Amazon, but the ones that were delivered did not work. Sad Face!
So enjoy your blog. I have followers you for years. We have moved from GA to TX, but I still check in from time to time to see what you are doing. Can’t wait to see that baby girl.
having our crawl space encapsulated and new sump pump system installed was certainly the most boring home improvement dollars we ever spent. like having a crown put in on one or your back molars: expensive, necessary but no one is ever going to see it.
Here’s a weird one. We had a colony of bats living in our attic (because when we bought the house we didn’t have a bat inspection. Because everyone has bat inspections, right? Not.) … and because they’re endangered you have to “exclude” them. Cost $4000 for the bat guys to put special one-way pipes on the attic, seal all the potential entrances, and stuff deterrent up under where the bats would hang out on the outside of the house when they weren’t in the attic. Talk about a not-fun expense! The only difference is that now when we sit on the deck the bugs eat us alive because the bats aren’t around to eat them!!
We didn’t get a leaf guard because we don’t have a lot of trees…only two that are even close to the house and they are not supposed to be high enough to get in there. We also just had them trimmed back so the leaf thing isn’t an issue.
xo – kb
I just called them for an estimate! We also need all new gutters, so I am excited to have them come out! I have a few other estimates that seem excessively high!
I just can’t seem to skip a day without reading your blog . Everything in it just fascinates me , specially that you are able to send the message accross very well. Thanks again Katie