The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

The Practical Website Of Painting And Wallpapering

However, success of the job depends on careful preparation of the gutter. Fiberglass will not adhere to a surface that is not clean. Therefore, all loose material, such as leaves and granules that fall into the trough from roof shingles, must be cleaned out. The trough should then be scraped clean with a wire brush, and all particles must be vacuumed away. If the inside of the trough is damp, wait for it to dry before applying fiberglass.

Now, coat the trough with the fiberglass resin and allow it to become tacky. Line the trough with the cloth and finally, brush on a final but liberal coating of the resin.

PATCHING HOLES

Suppose a gutter does spout a hole. You can repair it by first wire-brushing the area around the hole and cleaning away loose particles. Apply an even, heavy coating of plastic roof cement over and around the damaged area, and press in a piece of heavy household aluminum foil. Follow with another liberal coating of cement. This repair can be used for both wooden and galvanized steel gutters which have rotted in a spot.

Downspouts can clog up because of debris trapped in the pipe. This could cause water to back up into the gutter and overflow. Keep downspouts free by inserting a hose nozzle into the opening from the top (gutter-side) and allowing a forceful stream of water to run through the pipe.

Avoiding Exterior Paint Failure

Diagnosing, curing and prevention of various deterioration ills

A paint surface on the outside of a home can fail for one of two reasons—

1. The home is damaged in some way or has a condition that causes paint to fail.

2. The paint was applied under conditions when paint should not be applied.

In any event, each type of deterioration denotes a cause, effect, and cure. The purpose of the discussion that follows is to enable you to recognize the types of paint failure you might encounter, what causes them, and how to correct (or prevent) them so they won't recur when new paint is applied. Paint surfaces can deteriorate in several ways, as follows:

BLISTERING AND PEELING

This type of damage occurs primarily on wood siding. The cause of blistering is usually moisture which is trapped beneath the paint film and pushes the film up, producing "bubbles" which grow and grow and grow and finally burst. Paint peeling is an extension of blistering and occurs when blisters burst. The loosened paint film begins to peel away from the house.