SEATTLE — You’ve probably seen it, or perhaps even experienced first-hand: a waterfall of rain overflowing a clogged or damaged gutter.
Here’s the thing – to borrow a phrase – that rainwater isn’t just pouring over the front edge. It’s also backed up to the structure the gutter is attached to, and that wood is soaking it all in.
“Imagine if you had a bowl of water and you put a paper towel in it,” said Paul DeMars with the premium gutter company PineBlock. “You would be able to see that water wicking up through that paper towel, and it's basically the same thing happening with your roof.”
Not good. And potentially very costly to repair. That’s where PineBlock comes in.
“PineBlock is actually a permanent solution to gutter cleaning,” DeMars said. “Most of the time people call us out because they just don't like the chore, mucking out gutters and dealing with that. But we have a way by which we can keep all the water in the gutter, away from the wood of their structure and prevent what could be a very expensive roof repair.”
PineBlock can attach to existing gutters in good enough shape. It’s installed at the same angle as the pitch of the roof, allowing only water to enter the gutter while at the same time allowing debris to slough off the roof.
DeMars and his team can also replace gutters if needed, all part of a comprehensive evaluation of your storm drain needs.
“That's one of the things that we help people understand is their gutter condition,” he said. “If we need to replace gutters, we do beautiful and custom-fit gutters on-site. Part of what we do is educate homeowners and how to shop for this, whether they use us or not, at least they'll be able to make a smart purchasing decision.”
Understanding your product’s warranty is part of being an informed consumer. DeMars says many competing products have loopholes that get them out of replacing or repairing a failed installation.
“We actually warrantee that the water will go into the gutter, down the downspout and away from the house,” he said.
And just because you may not have much shrubbery or trees on your property, don’t think you’re immune to gutter clogging issues.
“Fir needles will actually float sideways across the street,” DeMars said. “I've seen that happen many times, and so you could be just in the wrong receiving end of the prevailing winds, or your neighbors love their trees and have a gazillion of them. You can't really assume just because you don't have any trees that that's not necessarily going to be an issue. But we help people figure that out as well.”
For more information, visit the PineBlock website.
Sponsored by PineBlock. Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.