Seasonal Roof and Gutter Maintenance for Milwaukee Homeowners

Locating Roof Leaks

Many leaking roof sources are not located directly above the wet spots they cause. When water sneaks in your home through cracks in the roof, it often trickles along the underside of sheathing or rafters until it hits a nail, a knot in the wood or other protrusion, and then falls.

If you have an unfinished attic you can locate leak sources by looking where the water is dropping down from and tracing the wet water track with a flashlight until you find the source. On sunny days, you can turn off all the lights and look across the entire attic for any pinholes of sunlight shining through. Mark the spots with chalk or spray paint. You can fill the hole with silicone caulk (from the attic side of the roof). Then cut a 3/8” thick plywood patch at least 3 times as large as the hole. Coat the patch with white glue (from the ceiling side) and fasten it to the ceiling with ½” nails to keep it in place while the glue dries. This will stop the leak at least temporarily, although any leak is a sign that a new roof or at least a serious roof repair is needed.

OR you can skip all these steps and just call Milwaukee Handyman today at 262.439.8620 to get your leaky roof patched and to find out exactly what you need done to completely repair your roof. Roof leaks can do costly damage to your home over time, let our handymen save you time and money! It’s your call.

Gutter Cleaning

Damp, decaying leaves packed inside gutters and downspouts block water from moving and can cause gutters to sag, bend, or break. In addition, certain leaves and pine needles release acidic chemicals when they rot, eating through the metal of your gutters.

The 4 most common ways of cleaning gutters are:

• Get up on a ladder and remove the leaves and other debris by hand.
• If you can safely reach the gutter from a window, dislodge the buildup with a broomstick.
• Buy a special gutter cleaning attachment for your garden hose, which will create a powerful spray you can aim at the blockage.
• Call Milwaukee Handyman and forget about it.

You know how much your time is worth. You can hassle with these household problems, or call Milwaukee Handyman today at 262.439.8620 to have someone who deals with roof repair and gutter cleaning on a daily basis come and make these problems go away.