Consumer Reports gutter guard ratings and new gutter guard thread
Mo
13 years ago
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13 years agoaerosmith
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Continuing of Ivermectin Thread
Comments (30)Just a note: PLEASE be aware of the decimal point in these various concentrations of Ivermectin. I have yet to use this method, but I am attracted to it because of the immense savings and because I feel manipulated and exploited by the vets and manufacturers for them to be charging as much as they do for the regular heart worm preventative. Do they think we won't know it is important if it isn't 120.00 for six months? Do they not realize that on many budgets this prevents rather than ensures dogs being treated? That being said, the dosage is tricky if you are not familiar with the divisions of a cc, percent concentrations, etc. I urge you to contact your vet regarding the dosage. If your small animal vet is uncooperative try your local large animal vet, they are usually more familiar with the livestock products anyway and every farm usually has a dog. The dosage difference between a .08% sheep drench and a 1% injectable concentration is 12.5 TIMES the concentration of ivermectin. That would be like you taking 25 aspirin! The 1% solution cannot be easily measured/used for average sized dogs without dilution by propylene glycol. Do not use water, as the ivermectin will not evenly disperse, making an accurate diluted measurement impossible. Higher doses are prescribed for things other than heartworm preventative, i.e. mange, etc short term. But though a fairly safe wormer, Ivermectin's function is as a neurotoxin and I would not want to habitually expose my dogs to that higher dose. A good dosage explanation is available here http://www.dogaware.com/health/ivomec.html This link's dosages were well in line with those given to my by my vet. Mine were a little lower because they were calculated for the exact weight of my dogs, (something else I like about doing my own dosage). It also addresses the collie sensitivity. Good luck and be safe....See MoreRe-visiting gutter cleaning
Comments (33)This is a timely thread. I thought installing Gutter Helmet with their Lifetime Warranty would save me from cleaning out that 2nd story gutter. I am 71. But after installation 8 months ago, it got plugged up possibly 2 months ago. Yesterday I found a 4 inch long plug of debris at the entrance to the downspout. The installer said that they do not install strainers ahead of downspouts. Has anyone with Gutter Helmet on this forum installed a strainer ahead of a downspout? Gutter Helmet has no cleanout facility at the gutter, is a closed system except for a small opening much to small for a hand, so how do clogged-up Gutter Helmet gutters get cleaned out? By removing an endcap and raking debris out? I also would need to buy a ladder corner standoff to get better access. In respect to rusty's comment, I have to get the water from the roof away from the house to help my sump pumps in the basement. But I am thinking about a 5 ft wide strip of pond liner covered with several inches of gravel, all sloped into a drain to the lower backyard, which might be my fallback without a gutter. Thanks for help!...See Moregutter gards revisited
Comments (60)Leaf Guard gutters are great at keeping out the debris, but... I HAVE A WARNING FOR THOSE IN SNOW STATES: There is no way to prevent ice formation - no matter how well insulated and ventilated your attic is. If the temperature and sunlight conditions are right, the snow is going to melt, and re-freeze on these "ice maker" gutters. We never had ice damming problems UNTIL WE INSTALLED LEAF GUARD GUTTERS. I am sure it is possible that some ice formed inside our gutters, but the extent of ice formation now is SHOCKING. If you think about it, this makes sence, the hood over the gutter is a thin piece of metal, with air flowing over and under - when water trickles down due to snow melt from our black-shingled (heat absorbing) roof, and hits this air-chilled metallic surface, it freezes - as do the water droplets that hang from the metalic edge of the gutter hood. The opening between the hood and the gutter is quickly sealed off because of this icing, and then you have a perfect storm for ice formation. If you've never seen ice damns on your home before YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY see them after you have these gutters installed. IT GETS WORSE: We had these installed on our Wisconsin home in November, and just a few weeks later we had a few large snow falls and then some very sunny weather - with temps below freezing. The ice formation on our brand new gutters was ASTOUNDING. We called, and they told us that this meant the gutters were working - that ICE is not LIQUID WATER and the gutters are meant to keep out everything except LIQUID WATER. Their response to our concerns so obviously well rehearsed that we soon realized that this was a major problem with these gutters. To be sure, the icicles hanging over the gutters were 2 to 3 feet long - I had to drive through ice to get into my garage. More significantly, the ice forming directly on top of the gutter hood was 4 to 5 inches thick. IT GETS EVEN WORSE: Within a few days of expressing our concerns to Leaf Guard, and being told that the gutters were working, weather conditions got much warmer - the snow on our roof began to melt rapidly, and the flow washed the ice formations (4 to 5 inch thick ice spanning our entire roof line) off of the top of the gutter hood. Fortunately nobody was killed - because had someone been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED. Unfortunately I have a working greenhouse attached to my home. It was demolished. We spent the rest of the winter trying to keep the ice from forming on the gutters using a roof rake. Most of the winter we were okay, but there were mulitple times where the ice formed - and multiple occurances of SLABS OF ICE FALLING FROM OUR ROOF LINE. SUMMARY: Leaf Guard gutters are great at keeping the debris out - we have a wooded lot and just got through spring with the gutters performing marvelously. However, if you live in a state where there is regular snow accumulation (ZONE 4 or lower is my guess), the YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY AVOID BUYING THIS PRODUCT AT ALL COSTS. There are other alternatives that do not prevent water from making it INTO your gutters during winter. AND BY THE WAY - EVEN THOUGH THE WEB SITE AND THE CONTRACT YOU SIGN STATES: "Leaf Guard Gutters neither help nor hinder the formation of ice", YOU CAN BE SURE THAT YOUR ICE PROBLEMS WILL REACH EPIC PROPORTIONS AFTER YOU INSTALL. BUYER BEWARE. NOTICE: If anyone else has has similar problems, please post to this message board....See MoreLeaf Relief Gutter System
Comments (33)I, like most of you have tried several gutter covers. My house has several large trees near it, some are the sweet gum trees that have these prickly balls about 1" in diameter. They will clog your downspout or gutter quickly, it only takes 2 or 3 of them to completely stop the water flow. I have tried some of the reverse flow models but maple tree "helicopters" pretty much eliminated them and I would have had to lower my gutters to make them work properly. I have also tried wire mesh etc. and all have some drawbacks. I installed Leaf-Relief guards on my house myself. They are relatively easy to install. They are very well made, come in 10' lengths instead 3'or 4' and I think they will be the best thing I have tried so far. The lip on the front seems to be a trap for debris but if you watch the cover work, the lip acts as a guide to prevent the water from going over the gutter during a heavy rain. My only issue so far is that my 2-story house has a lower roof over my garage. The builder ran downspouts from the upper roof to the lower roof and the upper roof drains directly onto the lower roof. During a heavy rain the water runs over the top of the Leaf-Relief guards. They can't absorb that much water quickly enough. I e-mailed alcoa and they said that the upper gutters should drain directly into the lower gutters not onto the roof. This is really not that big of an issue, there has to be a substantial rain to overflow this and it is only in an area of about 1 foot. Considering the cost ($3 ft.), I think this will work as well as anything else. There is going to be some maintenance with any of the gutter covers and these will probably be a minimum of effort to maintain. They do still work even if there are leaves on them and they stay relatively clean on their own but will certainly need to be brushed off occasionally, that's better than what I've been dealing with for the last 15 years or so. I hope this helps some of you, I have been dealing with this for a long time, it has gotten so bad for me that I lately have had to clean the gutters everytime rain was predicted in my area. Mike...See Morefurnone
13 years agobobismyuncle
13 years agoUser
13 years agokjmama
13 years agoraee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
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11 years agoJulie Johnson
3 years agoHU-686154964
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