Wishful thinking ... but at least this time they were smaller, like snails, that went down the downspout rather easily. I did find one rather curious creature!! A lion!! How in the world did THIS get in the gutter?? Gingerly I grabbed an ear and threw it to the ground. KIDS!!! From shooting out my Direct TV transponders to breaking my windows to lions in the gutter!! What fun!!!
The good news ... the front gutters were relatively clean, not requiring hours of de-sanding and washing!! YAY!!! Now to figure out a fix for the sagging gutter in the back. I can definitely relate to sagging, and try as I might, I couldn't resolve the problem without another clip or two to provide some support. I wish they had clips for humans!!
As I backed out of the garage and turned into the street, what should I see but a HUGE X in the sky!! Yikes ... aliens are landing!! Never in my 60-something years have I seen anything like this!! It was interesting to say the least, but I'm on a mission, so off I went to Home Depot looking for those thingies that hold your stuff up. While there, I also looked for 1-3/4 inch screws to hold the handles on my RV drawers. No, they aren't installed yet ....... there were some technical difficulties with the screws!
Do you know how many different types of gutter clips here are? LOTS ... and I'm not the best guesser when it comes to stuff like this. Not being a chemist, I had no idea that you can't use galvanized clips with copper gutters. Who in the world knows THAT?? The guy at Home Depot knows .... oh well, these look like the ones I have ... and I purchased four. Back home, I made a very interesting discovery while perched on top of my ladder. All my beautiful, amazing, gorgeous copper gutters and downspouts aren't really copper!! Shhhhhh don't tell anyone!! They look real enough, right?? They're painted ..... what a letdown!!!! At least there won't be any chemistry going on over my head dissolving the gutters into goo!!
FINALLY ... the gutters are all repaired and in good shape for the next four years. I'm in the market for a honey who can do my honey-dos, preferably young and familiar with gutter clips!!
On to the next project on the list .... this will be the third time I've bought screws since there is no way to get an accurate measurement of the required length. How can such a simple task be so aggravating!! With no 1-3/4 inch screws available, I tried to make the smaller ones work, at least until I can acquire some correct ones. By switching the handles and screws around, I was actually able to get two installed. NOT these two at first ... because the holes here were not drilled wide enough apart. Instead of putting it off for another day, I grabbed my trusty Makita drill (amazingly still charged) and drilled .... and drilled ..... and eventually got the holes wide enough to install two more handles. The rest will have to wait for longer screws!!
You would think that would be enough for one day, but no ... I'm a glutton for punishment ... and I wanted to get those plants in the ground before they died. Cooper helped me ... well not so much .... he kept nosing the ball into the hole I was digging. I think his brain is permanently stuck at two years old!!!
You're amazing. I don't know many women that would tackle that project.
ReplyDeleteJan, if I could find a good maintenance man, I wouldn't be tackling it either!!! As much discomfort as it causes, it's a good feeling to have completed such a big project and not have to worry about it for a few years!!!
DeleteCongrats on the gutter repair. You've proved again that necessity is the mother of invention. Regarding your handles. Take a paper clip, unbend it. Place it in the hole. Using one hand inside the drawer, see that the paperclip is at the end of the hole. Pinch the paper clip at the end of the drawer and measure from you fingers to the end of the paperclip. If you can use a bolt that fits to handle, screw it in, pinch where the bolt goes into the handle, unscrew and measure that. Add the two dimension and that is the length of the bolt you need. Take the handle with you to the store to make sure the thread is correct on the bolts you buy. That should do it. If you still can't find the right size you can buy a wood bit for you Makita, a half of an inch wider than the head of the bolt. From the inside of the drawer, drill in the depth you need to make the screws you have work. Adding a washer inside the drawer might be a good idea. Add a piece of masking tape or duct tape to the drill bit to tell you how far to go without going to deep. This didn't start out to use words that could have more than one meaning but it sure got there. Good luck with your drawers and handles. One more thing. When you go to Home Depot you need to ask for a bolt, not a screw. Jim
ReplyDeleteOMG how easy is that!! Thank you, Thank you Jim! I will get right on it with a paper clip!! I hope I can find the right "bolts", because there isn't enough room to fit the drill in the drawers!!!
DeleteIt’s great that you’ve finally dealt with the gutters. It does take a few trips up and down to get everything out, but at least you won’t have to do it again anytime soon. Anyway, snails do get caught up on gutters, and might even clog them. I was very surprised about the lion though; if you find some giraffes there soon, don’t forget to blog about it. Haha! Anyway, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMeghan Bowers @ Gutter Dome