How to Service Gutter Safely

One of my regular customers texted me a photo right that big storm last week. Her downspout had pulled free from the gutter at the second story, maybe eighteen feet up, and was hanging loose against the side of the house. She asked if I could get out before the next rain. I told her I'd be there in a few days.

When I pulled up, I noticed the downspout was right next to an active power line.

Hidden Ladder Dangers

Some may see a gutter repair and think: ladder, a few screws, done. But a ladder leaning against a gutter at eighteen to twenty feet is not a stable setup. Gutters are not structural. The are often only nailed in to a 3/4 inch facia board which is often rotten. A ladder that feels solid on the ground can shift the moment you transfer your weight at the top. If the loose gutter droops it can cause your ladder to slide. In this case right into a power line.

Two Hands on the Ladder, or Two Hands on the Work

At the top of a twenty foot ladder you might need both hands to realign the downspout and screw it back together.

Experienced roofers and gutter crews work in teams for exactly this reason, one person on the ladder, one on the ground controlling the base, a third sometimes on the roof. They use heavier non-conductive fiberglass ladders.

Why Cascade Started Taking Urgent Calls

This job was the kind of situation that pushed Cascade Home Repair to start handling emergency and urgent repair requests. Not every job is an emergency, but some repairs sit in a window where waiting a week can lead to more problems. Water coming off a roof with no path to grade goes somewhere else, usually against the foundation, into a basement, or behind siding.

Cascade Home Repair provides scheduled and urgent service to Ada, Cascade Township, and the surrounding Grand Rapids area.