I just paid Spider-Man $75.00...

[kevhed72]

to clean my gutters. OK, not really but a guy came by and offered to clean them for 75.00. Seeing as my deductible for a hospital stay is more than that, I said sure. This guy got the the roof, which is 3 stories up in some areas and at about a 45 degree angle, and blew the gutters out with a backpack leaf blower and no ropes or anything. I was amazed...the house is average size and he finished in less then a hour. Human ingenuity at its best.

[tonyb]

You paid 75 bucks to have leaves blown out of your gutters ? Can I come work for you ? The going rate around here is 20-30 bucks.

[mantis]

I wouldn't do the job for no less then 120.00 per hr.

[mrbigbluelight]

You paid 75 bucks to have leaves blown out of your gutters ? Can I come work for you ? The going rate around here is 20-30 bucks.

Yes, but what kevhed didn't make entirely clear

blew the gutters out with a backpack leaf blower and no ropes or anything.

was that that's all the handyman had on: a backpack leaf blower.

Yes, this week it was "Spider Man".
Next week it will be "The Hulk".

Not that that's a bad thing.

[kevhed72]

You paid 75 bucks to have leaves blown out of your gutters ? Can I come work for you ? The going rate around here is 20-30 bucks.

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I wish I would have taken a pic of this guy and my roof...I may have him come back and install the gutter guards. Any recommendations on types / brands of gutter guards out there?

[rooftop59]

I do this every few weeks on my house, with a blower. Its not three stories, but a large house with pretty steep angles. Price seems a little steep to me...

[tonyb]

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I wish I would have taken a pic of this guy and my roof...I may have him come back and install the gutter guards. Any recommendations on types / brands of gutter guards out there?

Be interested in that too as I am surrounded by trees. I see the cheap Home Depot stuff, and the expensive more elaborate stuff, nothing inbetween.

[thuffman03]

I don't care what the cost of cleaning gutters. I will not get up on a ladder or on my roof. I am deathly afraid of heights.

[bobman1235]

[HTguru1982]

Hmmm, what would have happened if he fell and hurt himself or worse? I'm thinking that hospital deductible doesn't sound so bad.

[treitz3]

"Spider Man" was/is stupid. He may think he's a man but the first time he falls, may be his last. Best case scenario? Death. If he isn't lucky enough for death, the words vegetable and paralyzed come to mind. If OSHA knew how he was doing this, they would have a field day on him and his company.

As for the rates, they can vary from state to state, height and angle/rake of roof so while $150.00 one place may be the norm, $30.00 may be the norm elsewhere.

[DaveHo]

My neighbor a few doors up had a new roof put on last week. They cleaned the debris from the gutters the same way, only the roofer's helper used a non-backpack blower. Talk about unbalanced! Better him than me.

-Dave

[muncybob]

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I wish I would have taken a pic of this guy and my roof...I may have him come back and install the gutter guards. Any recommendations on types / brands of gutter guards out there?

Here's some info:

http://www.leaffilter.com/waterfall.php

No affilition but I'm also looking at something for my house.

[mdaudioguy]

If OSHA knew how he was doing this, they would have a field day on him and his company.

If he even worked for a company.

a guy came by and offered to clean them for 75.00.

Was he insured? Licensed? Personally, I think you took an unnecessary risk there, Kev. No way would I pay a guy to do any work for me unless I contacted him first.

[scottyboy76]

mdaudioguy is right, but isnt it a shame we have to worry about things like that.

poor hard working people have a harder time throwing tools in a truck and bettering themselves, because of the scumsuckers that prey on homeowners and others trying to give some work to the little guy, by suing for anything.

Believe me, workers comp, insurance and bonding, ontop of the double taxation of the increasingly higher business license fees as you make more money instead of a flat fee to regulate business can make it impossible to"pull yourself up by your bootstraps"

[scottyboy76]

as a struggling startup landscaper with zero dollars to my name, but a degree in horticulture, a love of gardening, a love of hard work, and goals in life, i learned to make the negatives into positives.

one i came up with but never used was, We arent bonded, We arent insured and we pass the savings on to you"

Hang in there little guys, its better than sitting on your couch, waiting for a check from others hard work

[kevhed72]

If he even worked for a company.



Was he insured? Licensed? Personally, I think you took an unnecessary risk there, Kev. No way would I pay a guy to do any work for me unless I contacted him first.

He was insured...that was the first thing that came to mind. I spoke to the guy a bit first...he was also a roofer. I don't know...him and his buddy seemed like they did this 1000x's before, so I said go ahead. They also seemed a bit hard-up for work, so I gave him the business. Your probably right, if he would have fell, I would have to get rid of the body pretty quickly, and that would have ruined my whole weekend...............................bad joke. Anyway, it was surreal watching this guy scale the roof. I just need to get the gutter guards put on and be done with it forever....any gutter guard first hand experience out there?

[ken brydson]

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I wish I would have taken a pic of this guy and my roof...I may have him come back and install the gutter guards. Any recommendations on types / brands of gutter guards out there?

We had a "Leafguard" guy come by last year. Wanted $8K for gutters for the house. He came down into the $6K range with all of their BS discounts. Kicked him to the curb. Picked up a system called "Rainfilter" from Costco. It's kind of a wedge shaped foam material that is easily installed into the gutter. We have lots of trees and so far I'm very impressed. Cost about $200 for the whole house.

[mdaudioguy]

Your probably right, if he would have fell, I would have to get rid of the body pretty quickly, and that would have ruined my whole weekend...............................bad joke.

Maybe so... but I really did laugh!