It's a mess all over. I know it's harder for some of you then me here in Dover, DE. We got another 5.5 inches of the white stuff. At least this time it's light and fluffy and not that wet heavy stuff. Had a heck of a time with the snow blower last time. Still hard to get around though as the temp is below freezing and not suppose to get much above it. Can't wait for the spring and summer.

My box gutters had metal lining originally, but when I had a new roof put on fifteen years ago, the roofer relined them with a rubber material--you might find that the new ice and water shield stuff works just as well. My neighbor's house had her box gutters removed, and you can clearly see that the roof overhang was reduced by at least half to 2/3...and I'm sure her foundation is likely wetter than mine. I would not tear off the sunroom, since it is original and would make a nice greenhouse--just that balcony conversion on top...all the way down to the original soffits and fascia. And do NOT let your roofer remove your remaining downspouts, you will not be able to replicate them with any modern materials. To reconnect the gutters to the conductor boxes (those funnel-looking things) you just need to run piping to it from the old outlet so that it empties into the conductor box--those were often used by more than one outlet from the gutter, which is why they are so wide. My house has galvanized round sort of fluted downspouts, which I could luckily still find when I had to replace a leaky section, but my hardware store had to sell me four pieces as it couldn't be ordered singly.

I'd do window film. It's the only solution that won't block the view and may be the most effective at solving the heat problem. Window films used to cause problems with insulated (i.e., double-pane) windows but your 100-year-old windows are certainly not double-pane. Also, the films typically have a warranty against breakage. The solar shades let you kinda view what's outside. I assume "new air conditioning units that attach to the wall" refers to mini-split systems which put the compressor on the outside and an air-handler on the inside. You could do that, but I think preventing the problem with film is better than offsetting the problem with AC. Fans a are certainly a good idea though you'd need "hugger" fans as the ceilings are low. You'd have to disturb the ceiling to run the wires. -- amateur

Bill, YES, they are prehistoric and NO, did not grow them from seeds, but can you believe I have had some of them for 40 years. They grow in flushes, they will look like varnished plastic and then within two weeks sprout a new crown of some 6-20 new leaves. So they are FAST within the period of new growth, and in Florida, can have two growth spurts per season. They also sucker, so there will be more of them for propagation. They are pretty easy but are NOT house plants..., NEED TO BE OUTSIDE. I have serious DEER and this plant is DEFINITELY NEVER gonna be touched by any deer..., maybe a dinosaur. When the leaves first emerge they are very vulnerable to damage and by the end of week two they are indestructible, unless you are a dinosaur. Not sure of hardiness..., maybe 15 F and I am going down to 25 F but they are valuable now, and plants in containers are never as hardy in a pot as in the ground. One of my gardening themes is paleobotany (prehistoric plants), thus, the cycads, ferns, magnolias, Japanese plum yews (Cephalotaxus), Araucaria (Monkey Puzzle), Gingko biloba, and Dawn Reds (Metasequoia). I guess the modern world ain't really doing it for me, LOL. My Japanese Bloodgood Maple is one of our favorite trees and it too drops leaves very late toward the end of November. But at least THIS year they turned red and did not linger on the tree as frozen brown leaves for the winter, they do that some years if it's too warm in Autumn, which it was this year, but they did not freeze. My gingko goes from solid green to yellow debris it seems in a day. I hear you about the Sweet Gum, never had one but my neighbor is still bitchin' about his after decades of separation from it. Here is a pic of one of the C. revoluta plants. Also grow Zamia, Encephalartos and Dioon among the cycad genera.