It’s Your Last Chance - Get Ready for the Leaves

Enjoy the gorgeous foliage while it lasts because before you know it, all those colorful leaves will be clogging up your gutters and covering your lawn. Yes, we all love the picturesque change of seasons, but the clean-up can be a killer. So this weekend, get your house prepped to make the job as easy as possible and save your lower back some pain and suffering.

In the winter months, gutters perform the very important function of carrying melted ice and snow away from the roof. They prevent ice dams and other wet weather issues that can cause leaks in your home. The problem is that if your gutters are clogged up with leaves, the water can’t properly drain, which means it will end up in one of three places. If it’s very cold, the water will freeze into dangerous, heavy icicles which can pull your whole gutter system down. If it’s warm enough for the ice to melt, it will end up seeping into your roof, causing leaks in your attic, ceilings or walls, or it will overflow over the gutters and pour down into the foundation, causing leaks in the basement. None of these scenarios are cheap to fix, but they are all entirely preventable.

If you get a lot of falling leaves on your property, I recommend having gutter shields installed on your home. Gutter shields can be made of metal mesh or plastic and can either work as a filter or a complete gutter cover. The type of guard you choose will depend on your home and needs, and installation can be done by a professional contractor in one day. For those of you who are handy around the house, you can even install them yourself -  provided you have safety equipment and feel comfortable on a roof. It’s important to note that if your gutters are very old or have been not been maintained properly, you may not be able to cover them.

If gutter shields aren’t an option for you, you can also get your gutters cleaned, which should be done at least four times per year.  Many homeowners tackle this job themselves, but it can be both difficult and dangerous. I suggest hiring a professional, who can not only clean the gutters but can also do a quick inspection to ensure your gutters are in good working order and ready for the winter. Whenever I do a gutter cleaning or gutter guard installation, I always look for leakage warning signs and report them back to the homeowner so they are aware of any potential problems before they happen.

Once your gutters are ready for the leaves, you can think about your yard. Raking is one of my least favorite jobs around the house, so I use my sit down mower to go around the yard, sucking up the leaves and chopping them up into mulch that we use in our garden. If you don’t mind doing the job manually, make sure you get a good ergonomic rake to protect your back and don’t fill your bags up to the point where you’re struggling to lift them. An autumn cleanup isn’t worth a trip to the emergency room.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Don't Let Winter Be a Time for Rodent Infestation

I recently received a question from a reader that I thought I’d share with all of you. She asked, “When the colder weather sets in, I sometimes get mice or rats in my house. I assume they are looking for a warm place to settle in and find food, but they aren’t welcome here! How can I deter them this year?”

My reader is right - her rodent problem absolutely has to do with the little buggers looking for a nice warm place to hide out from the winter weather and to grab a meal while they’re at it. Here are a few simple tips to reduce the chances of them making a home in yours.

Firstly, seal off the premises. Make sure doors and screens are always closed tight, and look for breaks, rips or holes that lead outside Generally caulk is a good sealant, but weather stripping around windows and installing new door sweeps on doors will keep insects and small animals out and will do double duty by helping to insulate your home for winter.

For bigger areas such as the chimney, you can use a thick wire mesh to keep the critters out, just make sure the material is thick enough that it can’t be chewed through. Believe it or not, a mouse can get through a hole the size of a dime, so be diligent in your search for entry points.

Another tip is to make sure you don’t leave any food lying around. Mice and rats are pretty resilient to the cold, but they have to eat to survive and looking for a meal in your house is a lot easier than trying to find one outside in the cold. Many pet owners leave animal food out for long periods of time, which makes a delicious meal for a rodent. If a mouse can get into your house, the last thing you want to do is give them a reason to stay. Keep that food, pet or otherwise, sealed up tight.

If you have a garden that thrives through the autumn, that’s most likely where your rodents are coming from. They are smart, and they’ll be waiting to dart through your door at a moment’s notice. As a general rule of thumb, keep edible plants at least a few feet from any door, and the same goes for your garbage bins.

If your home is susceptible to rodents and you’ve tried to get rid of them with no luck, you might want to consider having the problem dealt with by a pest control professional. There are plenty of traps, sprays, and natural solutions on the market, but using the wrong deterrent might drive pests up into the walls where they can start chewing on wires and causing longer term, more expensive damage.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Get Prepped for Autumn with These Trusty At-Home Hacks

With autumn coming fast, now is a great time to tackle the at-home projects that you may have ignored while enjoying the summer sun. Here are a bunch of my favorite fall hacks to get your property ready for the change in temperature.

After dozens of summer barbecues, your grill might be looking a bit worse for wear. Cleaning a grill can be a messy and tedious job, but did you know that you can get rid of almost all those baked on food particles with a simple coffee soak? That’s right, just brew up a few pots of the cheap stuff and put it into a large, shallow, plastic tub. Drop your grill grates into the tub of joe for an hour and then rinse clean for a good as new finish.

With all the humidity we experienced over the summer, you may have noticed black, streaky stains on your roof. While it may be just cosmetic today, leaving mold and mildew to grow can lift your shingles, allowing for melting ice and snow to get in and cause leaks. Hire a pro to give your roof a good cleaning to ensure any unsightly stains don’t grow into a bigger, much more expensive problem.

Remove any window air conditioning units and inspect all windows for damage or potential air leakage. It’s better to get leaky windows repaired now than wait you have to combat the deep freeze by cranking up the thermostat.

Get your fireplace ready for use with a professional inspection and clean. Stock up on firewood before the cold, wet weather begins and make sure you store it safely in a dry place away from your house. Remember, woodpiles are a breeding ground for termites, you would love nothing more than to feast on your home.

Fix up your flowerbeds by clearing out any dead or dying plants and give the soil a good aeration. Then spread a thick layer of mulch over the beds to help keep the temperature even through the winter freeze. If you’re planting bulbs, I like to use evergreen branches to keep the ground a bit warmer and give the bulbs some protection from the snow. If you enjoy vegetables, keep some poly spun garden fabric handy to lay over your boxes after the fall harvest.

Lock in a reliable plowing professional. Most people wait until the first snow and then panic because they can’t get out of their driveway and can’t find anyone to do the job in a pinch. Start calling around now to get quotes and book in a professional who is reliable and can get the job done quickly.

What are your favorite ways to get ready for the colder weather? I’d love to share your ideas. Send me a message on Facebook.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.