At Home In The Woods

[Dishpointer]

No I didn't paint the underside of the bell as it's protected somewhat from the weather. There is a little surface rust but it very minor. If you're concerned, you could shoot a light coat under there.

 

[Obed]

No I didn't paint the underside of the bell as it's protected somewhat from the weather. There is a little surface rust but it very minor. If you're concerned, you could shoot a light coat under there.

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=290958"/>

Very nice. http://www.prindlestation.com/maintain.html describes how to restore a bell. They mentioned that you can put a coat of WD40 on the underside of the bell once a year to protect it. I'm trying to decide whether to paint the underside or use WD40.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Here is a picture I have already on the computer...not real good ...when my camera batteries recharge I'll take a better one...but this will give you an Idea....By the way, I have used the hammered paint some here are referring to...it really is nice...gives a great effect...black hammered would look great and paint has never effected our bell's sound at all...If you notice...your bell is much bigger than ours and mounts to the post in a different way, you should really get some loud gongs out of that bell !

That is a tiny picture.

 

[brin]

That is a tiny picture.

I know but my bell looks identical to dishpointer's bell picture above...I mean identical...I am having a hard time right now with my camera and photo shop program on the computer..

 

[patrick_g]

Paint will change the bell's sounds but how and how much depends on the paint, its thickness, etc. It will still ring, even painted, just not the same.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

Paint will change the bell's sounds but how and how much depends on the paint, its thickness, etc. It will still ring, even painted, just not the same.

Pat

 

[ruralruss]

Very nice. Cast Iron Bell Mainatinence describes how to restore a bell. They mentioned that you can put a coat of WD40 on the underside of the bell once a year to protect it. I'm trying to decide whether to paint the underside or use WD40.
Obed

I would suggest Fluid Film instead of WD40. WD40 can be a bit corrosive.

 

[ENG18LT]

^^^^ agreed, fluid film.

 

[Obed]

It's gutter cleaning time again.

Shortly after climbing up to the top the fully extended ladder, I felt something. I looked down and saw that my little girl was starting to climb up the ladder. We quickly rectified that situation.



I got to try out my new ladder levelers. I LOVE THEM! These levelers are really easy to adjust. The combination of the levelers at the bottom and the stabilizer/standoff at the top made the ladder very stable. I found myself adjusting the levelers even when on the "level" ground. A 1/2" dip in the ground can make a big difference 24' up the ladder. After using these levelers once, I wouldn't own a tall ladder without them.



Cleaning the gutters around the big dormer on the back side of the house was not fun. I had to climb down the roof to the dormer and pull the leaves out the gutters with a broom handle. I left 2 feet of leaves in the farthest end of the gutters. It just wasn't worth the risk to try to reach them.

 

[brin]

It just wasn't worth the risk to try to reach them.

Obed, Please rethink cleaning your gutters yourself, your house, like mine is very high and a fall would result in very serious injury and maybe death....around here for $40.00 I can get all my gutters cleaned...

I am sure it would not cost you more than that and even if it was $50 whole dollars...isn't that worth it vs. the risk you are taking...one slip and it is over...you do not work on roofs for a living...other do...and you hire them...

OK ~ That's all I have to say about that....LOL

 

[Obed]

Obed, Please rethink cleaning your gutters yourself, your house, like mine is very high and a fall would result in very serious injury and maybe death....around here for $40.00 I can get all my gutters cleaned...

I am sure it would not cost you more than that and even if it was $50 whole dollars...isn't that worth it vs. the risk you are taking...one slip and it is over...you do not work on roofs for a living...other do...and you hire them...

OK ~ That's all I have to say about that....LOL

Bob,
Yeah, if I died, I would probably have to end this thread.

I may ask around to see what the going prices are. It took me 3 or 4 hours to clean all our gutters. We have over 200 ft of gutters surrounding our house. If I can find someone with insurance who will clean them for $50, I'll do it.

Obed

 

[brin]

Bob,
It took me 3 or 4 hours to clean all our gutters. We have over 200 ft of gutters surrounding our house. If I could find someone with insurance who would clean them for $50, I would do it in a heartbeat. I may ask around to see what the going prices are.
Obed

Obed,
I found my gutter cleaner on Craig's list...there were a few of them...he was a young wiry guy and it took him about 1 hour to do ours and we have about the same amount of gutters as you do...he knew what he was doing and was all over the roof...I watched him and watched the leaves and pine needles come down...He did a great job...I don't know that he was insured...I have home owner's liability and an umbrella policy so I am not to worried about that...If you are real insistent on that it may stop you from finding someone reasonable..this is one of the basic labor jobs unskilled folks have to make money...the ones with insurance , which may be valid or not, I mean just because they show you an insurance card means nothing...you would need a policy to read and be sure his activity for you would be covered and then you would have to verify with the company that his premiums were paid up and it is still a gamble....So I just insure against any event...Umbrella policy...Obed, I am saying no matter the cost ...it is not worth the risk...one slip...think about it.

 

[Otto Syracuse]

You should also consider gutter covers, so you won't have to worry about it AT ALL!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Bob,
Yeah, if I died, I would probably have to end this thread.

I may ask around to see what the going prices are. It took me 3 or 4 hours to clean all our gutters. We have over 200 ft of gutters surrounding our house. If I can find someone with insurance who will clean them for $50, I'll do it.

Obed

Insurance is the key. Most will not have it and will sue you for everything and then some.

I just use a leaf blower to take care of my gutters. Works good. I have a small electric one that I prefer but I also have a gas unit. I made a extension that is about 7' long out of some stepped down PVC pipe and 45deg angle end and never get near the edge of the roof. Blow them out on the ground then mow over them to mulch them up.

I have lots of trees near my home and barn, both with gutters. There is 140' on the barn and about 200' on the house and I can do them all in about 20 minutes. That includes moving around the ladder.

Chris

 

[lutt]

You should also consider gutter covers, so you won't have to worry about it AT ALL!

Previous owner of our place had already installed these, well screens, we have big oaks all around our house. Those screens work great. LUTT

 

[Obed]

Now that I have my ladder set up, the only part of cleaning the gutters that really made me nervous was cleaning the gutters on the sides of the large dormer in the back of the house. I had to climb down the step 8/12 pitch roof to get to the gutter. I suppose I could put gutter gards on the gutters on that dormer so I would not have to get up on the steep roof.



I'm not excited in general about gutter guards. I've seen a lot that just don't work well. I heard lots of gutter guard owners complain about the oak tree fuzzies and other trash that still get into the gutters. The last thing I want to do is to have to remove a gutter covers on a 24' high roofline in order to clean the junk out of the gutter.

 

[brin]

Bob,
Yeah, if I died, I would probably have to end this thread.

I may ask around to see what the going prices are. It took me 3 or 4 hours to clean all our gutters. We have over 200 ft of gutters surrounding our house. If I can find someone with insurance who will clean them for $50, I'll do it.

Obed

No Obed, If you die by falling off the roof cleaning your gutters...we will keep your thread alive talking about you...and how you should have done this or that...so it will not end...It will serve as a reminder to do what you can safely do and pay for what you can't

 

[Obed]

Insurance is the key. Most will not have it and will sue you for everything and then some.

I just use a leaf blower to take care of my gutters. Works good. I have a small electric one that I prefer but I also have a gas unit. I made a extension that is about 7' long out of some stepped down PVC pipe and 45deg angle end and never get near the edge of the roof. Blow them out on the ground then mow over them to mulch them up.

I have lots of trees near my home and barn, both with gutters. There is 140' on the barn and about 200' on the house and I can do them all in about 20 minutes. That includes moving around the ladder.

Chris

Chris,
I can definitely see how a small lightweight leaf blower could certainly speed up the process. Your blower modification sounds like the ticket.

I'm assuming some of your roofs are flat enough that you can walk on them.

From my ladder, I can reach about 12' of gutters (6' on each side) using my broom handle. So to access 200' of gutters, I have to move my ladder over 20 times considering all the house corners. Moving the ladder and climbing up and down it 20 times plus cleaning the junk out of the gutters just isn't going to happen in 20 minutes at my house or anywhere close to it, even with a leaf blower.

Obed

 

[Obed]

No Obed, If you die by falling off the roof cleaning your gutters...we will keep your thread alive talking about you...and how you should have done this or that...so it will not end...It will serve as a reminder to do what you can safely do and pay for what you can't

Maybe I could win a Darwin award?

 

[Tororider]

Obed,

I used to own a landscaping company and while I didn't do a lot of gutter cleaning when I did I took a backpack blower onto the roof. I could stay 4 or 5 feet back from the edge and get all the leaves out.