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Category Archives: Home Improvement

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Author Alloy Gutter Categories Home Improvement Posted on

For Reduced Energy Costs, Try a Reflective Roof Coating

A reflective roof coating is applied to roofs to help reflect more sunlight from the surface, thus reducing the amount of heat absorbed by the structure. On top of that, they also aid in creating more comfortable indoor environments, and play a role in prolonging the life of roofs and roofing materials. Reflective Roof Coating: How a Reflective Roof Coating Works Cool roof coatings work to keep your home cool in two distinct ways. The first is by solar reflectance, or the coating’s ability to reflect sunlight away as soon as it hits your structure. Instead of absorbing the sunlight and heat like a traditional roof, a cool roof reflects the light and heat away from your home, keeping your home cooler in the process. The other way that cool roofing helps to keep your home cooler is through thermal emittance. These roof coatings are now made with special materials that increase your roof’s thermal emittance level, or your roof’s ability to radiate absorbed heat back into the atmosphere instead of down into your home. It’s this potent combination of high solar reflectance and thermal emittance that make these roof coatings so effective at keeping your home cool and your energy costs and usage down. Reflective Roof Coating and Energy Savings What kind of energy costs and usage savings are we talking about here? Significant ones. Your local climate, and whether you use air conditioning or not. However, if you live in a hot climate that experiences warm temperatures and sunny days for a substantial portion of the year, you can expect energy savings of up to 70%. If not, your energy savings from applying a reflective roof coating could range anywhere from 20% to 70% when it?s all said and done. The most important decision you’re going to make when shopping for cool roof coatings is the color. Reflective coatings come in white, a variety of darker colors, and in high reflection coatings. What you decide on here can make a huge difference. Highly reflective coatings, which most often resemble a paintable aluminum coating, come in second with reflectance levels in the 60% to 70% range. And if you decide to choose looks over performance, colored coatings significantly reduce the reflectivity ratings to 15% to 35% (which is still better than no coating at all). When you make your decision, keep in mind also that if your new roof coating reflects enough light and heat (65% for flat roofs and 25% for sloped roofs), it will also qualify as an Energy Star rated roof and will earn you tax breaks on top of the high energy savings. Application and Other Improvements These coatings can be applied on your own, you can hire a professional to do the job for you, or you can look for roofing materials that have reflective coatings already baked onto the surface. Improving traditional insulation in your attic, installing reflective attic insulation, and improving attic ventilation are all smart steps to take, along with applying reflective coatings, in order to get maximum energy efficiency out of your home. KEY TAKEAWAY:
  • White coatings are by far the most effective, and reflect anywhere from 50% to 90% of the sunlight and heat that hit your roof.
  • If you’re serious about improving the energy efficiency of your home, talk to an energy auditor or general contractor about other modifications you can make to improve your efficiency ratings.
  • It’s important to realize that the amount of benefits you get from your reflective coating will vary depending on the shape of your home, the coating you choose, how energy efficient your home already is.
"Also known as cool roofing, these roof coatings are available in a number of colors, surfaces, and thicknesses and can make a huge difference when it comes to saving money on energy costs and usage." Original Source: http://www.homeadvisor.com/r/reflective-roof-coatings/#.WYzFZlGGPIU
Author Alloy Gutter Categories Home Improvement, Home Maintenance Posted on

How to Properly Set Up a Fence Post

For years, it has become a tradition to set up or fix old fence posts by millions of families worldwide. Today, it has become easier to set up fence post. And no, it does not require expensive tools and very uncommon skills. However, before starting your fence post, it is important to think of long term goals to avoid wasting your time in doing such. KEY TAKEAWAYS:
  • Select the best type of wood to make more sturdy.
  • Don't make post holes too small.
  • Employ a base gravel layer to delay wood deterioration.
  • Apply caulk to fence post to safeguard your fence wood.
It’s a bona fide do-it-yourself classic: Every summer without fail, legions of homeowners grab their toolbox and head outdoors to erect a wood fence. The good news? Setting a fence post doesn’t require uncommon skills or expensive tools, and doing it right doesn’t really take much longer than doing it the slapdash way.
A well- constructed fence can protect your family's privacy and provide a curb appeal to your property. Whether the purpose for setting it up is  the former or the latter, it is important to do it in the best possible way. Original Source: http://www.bobvila.com/articles/setting-fence-posts/#.V3IldPl97Dc
Author Alloy Gutter Categories Home Improvement Posted on

7 Handy Tools for Refinishing Furniture

.l,bnm,While some furniture withstood the test of time, others may have just lost its regal presence. However, it's such a waste to throw furniture away when it can be easily restored - good as new. You may need more than just a simple scraper and paint to properly execute this though. But no worries, we are here to give you some quick tips. Add more tools to your kit with a few life hacks and you'll be able to transition worn out furniture to its former self. These are 7 tools that come in handy when you are trying to refinish your furniture: Carbide Scraper Contour Scraper 3-in-1 Wire Brush Painter's Pyramid Painter's Assistant Dust Free Sponge Sander Tack Cloth KEY TAKEAWAYS:
  • Refinishing a wooden table, chair, or dresser with paint is an economical way to breathe new life into old yet still functional furnishings.
  • The process of refinishing may expend all your energy without proper tools to use for it.
  • You can achieve an elegant finish to your favorite furniture after refinishing it.
Gone are the days of having to juggle painting tools while you teeter on a ladder in quest of a perfect paint finish. This compact carpentry companion can outmaneuver traditional hand sanders, even in small spaces, narrow channels, or tight corners, without leaving any gritty evidence behind.
Whether you simply want to refinish your furniture or transform it to a regal piece of wood, you can put an elegant finish to it with a little help from these tools. Original Source: http://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/beyond-the-brush-7-other-tools-you-need-to-refinish-furniture-50172  
Author Alloy Gutter Categories Customer Service, Gutters, Home Improvement, Seamless Gutters, Uncategorized Posted on

Nobody’s Perfect

Once upon a time there was a customer; we’ll call her Mrs. Smith. She hired a contractor to install seamless gutters and downspouts on her house. Mrs. Smith was very particular about everything. She carefully picked her colors, discussed every last detail with the crew, and sat in her lawn chair with her precious little toy poodle Taffy to oversee their workmanship. 9054982 The job progressed smoothly while Mrs. Smith and Taffy barked out requests and orders as they saw necessary. As the men were finishing, Mrs. Smith had to go inside to take a phone call, leaving Taffy to supervise. The crew members went around the back of the house to start the clean-up process, making sure to leave the job site spotless. Taffy remained in the front of the house curiously poking around the men’s tool belts. She found a tube of gutter sealant, pulled it out of the tool pouch, and proceeded to roll around in fresh caulk. 282210 Mrs. Smith exited the house at the exact same time that the workers came around to see the site. To the shock and horror of everyone involved, Taffy was covered in the very difficult to remove sealant. Mrs. Smith went CRAZY!!! She was absolutely furious, crying that her poor baby would never be the same. 7889987 Long story short, we here at Alloy Gutter paid for the puppy spa so that Taffy could get a proper clean-up and haircut. Mrs. Smith was satisfied with our willingness to do so, and in the end was quite pleased with our work to boot. 5036029 The point is, we all make mistakes. The important thing is that we take responsibility for our mistakes and satisfy our customers to the very best of our ability. We’ve been striving to do what’s right for 35 years now. Play your cards right and give us a shot; you might get a free cat pedicure out of the deal.