I checked the oil tank and saw that it was low.  Hmmm… [...]]]> We woke up this morning to a strange burnt oily smell in the basement.  Years ago we had some trouble with our oil fired water heater and this presented itself as the first possible explanation… though the smell didn’t seem quite right.

I checked the oil tank and saw that it was low.  Hmmm… perhaps the heater was trying to fire but couldn’t draw oil.  The gauge indicated 80 gallons in the tank.  Seems strange that the heater would be having trouble with that much oil in there. Hmmm.  My next thought was that the gauge was not functioning correctly.  We called and arranged an oil delivery.

I assumed that hot showers were out of the question if the heater could not draw oil.  I gave it a shot anyway and to my surprise everything functioned normally.

Later on I went out into the garage and found that the smell strangely seemed stronger out there.  Oh!  It’s the car, I thought.  A few weeks ago we had a power steering fluid leak that was repaired.  The power steering fluid was leaking again… in fact there was a puddle underneath the car.  I got a flash light, popped the hood, and did a little inspection.  Hmmm… the power steering fluid is full.  And the fluid line looks fine.  Ah ha!  There’s the dripping.  But wait, that just looks like water.  I wiggled my hand down to the source of the dripping and got some on my fingers.  It felt like water and smelled like nothing.  Ugh… it’s just air conditioner condensation.  No big deal.  The power steering fluid is fine.

Okay, it must be the water heater.  Another trip into the basement and I could smell the smell, but it strangely diminished near the water heater.  Argh.

I went back out into the garage to throw out some trash and the smell hit me again.  Okay fine, so where is it coming from?  I bloodhounded my way around the garage.  The smell is familiar and unpleasant.  I KNOW that smell.  Some sort of chemical that I use.  I started picking up cans and bottles until… BOOM!  I found it.  A metal spray can of Bombadier lubricant had rusted through and the noxious liquid had completely leaked out.

That was a welcome surprise!  Both the car and the water explanations would have costs $$$, but throwing out and cleaning up after a leaking lubricant can was easy and simple.  It’s funny how my mind went to the big expensive problems and lingered on them.  It surprised me that it took so long to narrow down and location the true source of the problem.

Cheap and Effective from Amerimax

We’ve had our [...]]]> We have previously reported our excellent experience with the DIY style of gutter guards sold by Home Depot and other home improvement stores.  They are an attractive option for those home owners (us!) who balk at arbitrarily enormous price tags for professional gutter guard systems.

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We’ve had our DIY gutter guards in place for 3 years now with absolutely perfect results.  Reader “Davey” writes in with some additional comments.

Hey everybody, I put my Home Depot screens in 18 months ago, and they are holding up well AND we have extra tall oak trees out the wazoo all around the house, when the acorns pop in the fall it’s a squirrel disneyland. Bottom line is I did find one crack after a year, right where someone clearly punched a hammer head shaped hole (could it have been the roofing inspector ‘insulted’ by a DIY job or a hammer wielding squirrel – you decide).

I kept a couple extra vinyl sections, easy to cut out a small section and replace the damaged part I cut out. Just leave about 1/2 inch overlap on each side. The gutter install business is expensive because people who climb heights and walk on roofs deserve the extra hazardous duty pay. But if you can easily DIY, it’s pretty silly to hire some one.

The vinyl used nowadays is much better weather resistent then ten years ago, and easy to swap out any damaged pieces. Listen to those who contest my argument as they use emotive language or other laungusge intensifyers to reflect the fact they know their argument is not well founded in ‘ground truth’.

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From Pastor Scott in Seattle, WA:

I just installed these a week ago, so don’t have a [...]]]> Here is a short review of the very same Do-it-Yourself gutter filter that I installed on my gutters.  It cost me about $50 to install my system.  This reviewer echos my same thoughts.

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From Pastor Scott in Seattle, WA:

I just installed these a week ago, so don’t have a lot to report regarding their effectiveness. There is no reason that I can see why they shouldn’t be successful against leaves and other large debris. Needles and grit from the shingles will get through easily, but my hope is that I won’t be cleaning out my gutters 4 times a year anymore.

They install beautifully and securely. A side benefit is that they prevent shingle curl that results in cracking is allowed to continue. For the money, I am very happy. Leaf Guard wanted $3500, these cost about $60.

I’ve had professional gutter leaf protection system installers tell me I’m crazy for eschewing their $3000 offerings and going for the $50 Do-It-Yourself options from Home Depot.  Don’t fall for their crap!  I’ve had the Home Depot options installed on my gutters for 1.5 years and here are the photographic results so far.

Fall 2009 - all leaves have fallen, this is what the filters look like

Photo #1 (above) – This is a section of gutter that have been protected by the Home Depot do-it-yourself option for 1.5 years.  After the three big overlying Oak trees have shed their thousands of leaves, this is the result.  The wind really does keep the filters clean!  At this time of year, without filters, the gutters would have been absolutely stuffed with leaves and debris.

Note that we’ve already raked the back yard over there.  If we hadn’t, it would be a solid carpet of leaves.

Some of the culprits that conspire to fill my gutters!

Photo #2 (above) – Looking up, we see two of the three very large Oak trees that bury us with leaves each Fall.  Notice that all the leaves are gone.

Peering into the gutter from Photo #1

Photo #3 (above) – Here we can see inside the gutter protected by about $20 worth of materials.  No leaves or any organic debris.  There is only a very fine layer of grit from the roof shingles.  Nothing at all to worry about.

Another section of DIY protected gutters - untouched

Photo #4 (above) – This is another section of our gutters being protected by another $20 worth of materials.  This was the first section to be installed, and I didn’t do such a great job.  You can see how much of a scoop there is to the material after the first section.  Big deal though!  Even though I didn’t do a great job, this is how the filter looks 1.5 years after installation and at the end of Fall!  Surprisingly, there are no piles of leaves stuck to the filters.  Only a few small sticks and seed pods.

Inside we find only a fine layer of grit.

Photo #5 (above) – Inside, the gutter is virtually pristine!  Only a fine layer of shingle grit.

Do you need to spend $3000-$4000 to have gutters that look like this?  No.  Don’t fall for the professional leaf protection installer’s sales pitch.