Walk into any big-box hardware store and you’ll see an entire aisle of hammers. You’ve got wooden handles, fiberglass grips, 22-ounce framing “beasts,” and lightweight titanium options that cost more than a cordless drill. To a DIYer, it looks like a simple choice. To a pro who has spent 30 years with a tool hanging … Read more
If you’ve been in the gutter business for more than a week, you know the “End Cap Headache.” You’ve seen the jobs where a guy tried to get by using standard pliers or, heaven forbid, just a heavy bead of sealant to hold an end cap in place. The result? Leaks, sagging, and a callback … Read more
If you’ve ever tried to join two sections of downspout only to find they are exactly the same size, you know the frustration. You try to squeeze the corners with standard pliers, or worse, you try to “force” them together, resulting in a jagged, leaking mess that looks like a “Silicon” amateur did the work. … Read more
If you’ve lived through a Tennessee spring, you know the “Yellow Dust.” Between the heavy pollen, the oak tassels, and the maple “helicopters,” our gutters don’t just face rain—they face a sticky, grimy sludge. Most homeowners are talked into “Solid Hood” or “Surface Tension” guards. You’ve seen them—the ones that look like a helmet for … Read more
The Contractor’s Take: I’ve spent 30 years replacing the old “spike and ferrule” systems that have backed out of fascia boards like a loose tooth. When a spike pulls out, the hole is wallowed out and ruined. These Bulder hangers are the “fix” and the “future.” They use a heavy-duty #12 screw with a Type … Read more
If you want to know if a gutter installer is a pro or just a guy with a ladder, look at his miters. If you see the heads of hex-screws (zip screws) sticking out of the corners, you’re looking at a failure waiting to happen. In my 31 years in the business, I’ve held a … Read more
The Contractor’s Take After 31 years, I’ve seen homeowners try to sink hidden hangers with a standard 1-inch bit and a prayer. It doesn’t work. To drive a hanger home through a heavy aluminum gutter into the fascia, you need reach and you need precision. This is the exact setup I carry in my Milwaukee … Read more
When most homeowners walk into a big-box hardware store, they are immediately drawn to the 18-volt or 20-volt tool section. The logic is simple: More voltage must mean a better tool. They imagine themselves driving 6-inch deck screws with a driver that looks like it belongs on a construction site. But after three decades in the gutter … Read more
After 31 years in the gutter business, I’ve seen a lot of guys try to “muscle” their way through a job with the wrong tools. If you’re using standard straight-cutting snips (the kind you find in the bargain bin at the big-box store), you know the routine: twisting the metal, grunting to get through a … Read more
While my crew and I focus on keeping the water away from your foundation, I spent my “after-hours” over the last year solving a different kind of home protection problem. I realized that most “smart” security systems today are just as flimsy as those plastic sectional gutters you find at the big-box stores. They rely … Read more