Most people wait until it’s too late to prepare their gutters for the rain. Instead of simple cleanings and minor repairs, we get calls for emergency services and damaged gutter systems.
So here are 4 EASY & QUICK tips to make sure your gutter system will get the job done.
1. Ensure water flows away Follow the path of your gutters to the downspouts where water drops down the side of your home. Does it spew out downhill and away, or does it puddle, pool, or even drain back toward the foundation?
Remember that 90% of damage is caused by what you don’t see. A small puddle on the surface could mean a huge soggy mess below the ground.
2. Check the connections Inspect the brackets that hold each section of gutter to your house. Are screws loose? Are gutters sagging or falling away? When water starts flowing, the pressure and weight will build. One minor detachment creates much bigger problems, but can be easily prevented.
3. Address damage now, no matter how small Minor drip in the corner? Small section starting to fall away from the fascia? These things are easy to fix but are very concerning. Proper maintenance will ensure you don’t face big challenges when the sky falls!
4. Look for growth and debris In the Pacific Northwest more than anywhere else – gutters NEED to be cleaned annually. Pine needles, leaves, and other debris roll down the roof and fill the gutters, clog the elbows, and prevent the downspouts from doing their job. (Just watch the video below).
If you see any plant growth, whether inside your gutter system or around downspout exits, you’ll need to take care of this now or risk expensive repairs.
Out Magazine calls Southeast Portland “the Capital of Cool”. They might just be right. Southeast Portland is HUGE! It spans from the river to Gresham and Burnside to Happy Valley. While Northwest Portland is considered the most traditional of the Portland sextants, Southeast is the hippest and coolest.
“The obsession with small-batch living didn’t begin in Brooklyn, as some might have you believe. Oregon’s Portland deserves all the credit, starting with its craft-beer movement in the 1980s. Since then, PDX — locals refer to the city by its airport code — has always been three steps ahead, championing handmade commercialism in all facets of life, from food to home goods. The most enthusiastic flag-bearer of that spirit: its southeast quadrant. With cheaper real estate, a new public transportation link to the west side, and a large sprawl to redevelop, this area is the sweet spot for entrepreneurs and a test site for some of PDX’s established brands.” Out Magazine
Fodors says, ” Packed with shade trees, Craftsman-style houses, and backyard chicken coops, this neighborhood is industrial close in (the river to 7th)—an increasingly trendy food and retail district known as the Central Eastside, which has also lately blossomed with top-quality artisanal distilleries and urban wineries—and middle- to upper-middle-class residential farther out (8th to 82nd)…”
On the Willamette River, the (former mayor) Vera Katz Eastside Esplanade connects the east side with downtown over several historic bridges – the Hawthorne, Morrison, Burnside, and Steel Bridges. The Esplanade features public art, native plants, and a hiking loop from the eastside to the west and back again.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)is a kid-centric science museum with plenty to do for adults. Large, traveling science exhibitions visit regularly, the USS Blueback (a decommissioned, Barbel-class submarine) and the planetarium make OMSI a fun day for all.
Science-focused people will also enjoy the park atop Mt. Tabor, an extinct volcanic cinder cone and reservoir. TravelPortland says, “This popular park features expansive views, picnic areas, natural-surface and paved paths, a dog off-leash area, a playground and a performance stage, plus tennis, volleyball and basketball courts.”
The Leach Botanical Garden is not a secret, but it isn’t crowded, either. The Leach Gardens are considered a “gem” in Portland’s crown. Nestled in Lents, the green paradise is home to more than 2,000 different species of plants. With a fascinating history, the gardens provide a backdrop to the stone cottage and Manor House (and gift shop). Visitors may stroll along the paths and also rent the Gardens for events.
From the river to about 10th is an industrial area with gems of its own, like Free Geek, sprinkled throughout. Artisanal distilleries and breweries abound in the Southeast, especially close to the river.
From the river to Woodstock and Mt Tabor is considered “Inner Southeast” and has the hip vibe all locked up. In this area are several discrete, trendy, and eclectic shopping districts secreted in residential areas, such as Division/Clinton, Hawthorne, and Central Eastside and several standouts toward Sellwood. Boutiques, galleries, and thrift and antique shops make Southeast a shopping haven.
Toward Gresham to the east, Happy Valley to the southeast, and Milwaukee to the south, Southeast Portland is tree-lined suburbia with homes of wildly different price points. Laurelhurst and Eastmorland top the charts and Foster-Powell and Lents being on the more economical end. Many of these homes, on both ends of the spectrum, are very old, some from even the 1800’s when the original settlers/owners came to Oregon in wagons. Further out, newer homes were built, growing younger as one travels further east until meeting older Gresham. Touring the area, dip into the smaller side streets to find pockets of little gem neighborhoods!
Don’t get all wet. Prepare for the rainy season while it’s dry.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
We know. The last thing you are thinking about at the summer barbecue is preparing for the stormy season. But it really is worth taking a look around your house during fair weather, because finding out you have a problem during inclement conditions is at best inconvenient and at worst very costly.
Check your rain gutters. Clear them out and make sure they are in good working order to prevent damage to the roof or house.
Look at your roof. If you see loose or damaged shingles, get them repaired. Look for tears and buckling on flashing. Check the chimney and look for damaged bricks, cap or cracked joints. Don’t forget the flashing there too.
Check indoors for signs of roof leaks. Look for discoloration and peeling paint on ceilings and walls. Check in the attic for damp rafters.
Check the trees. Trim back branches and cut sections that could fall in a rainstorm.
Check doors and windows. Make sure they are properly insulated with weather stripping.
Look for water collecting at the base of the house. Redirect water with trenches or drains.
Keep sandbags on hand. If your area is prone to flooding, keep them filled and at the ready.
Check for erosion. This is important if you live near a hillside. Shore them up if necessary.
Fall is here. Which means the “holiday season” is creeping up on us.
Which, when you’re a real estate agent, inevitably brings questions about whether it makes sense to even list a house for sale, or start looking to buy a house at this point, or…
“Should we wait ‘til Spring?”
If that’s ever crossed your mind, you’re not alone. Lots of people think that way.
But why?
The most common reasons sellers give: there are less buyers looking.
The most common reason buyers give: there aren’t as many houses for sale.
Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy…but, also kind of a myth.
I don’t have any proof, but I have to wonder if this mindset wasn’t started by part-time real estate agents who wanted down time during the holidays to shop, bake, and go to parties.
It’s a myth I wish truly existed. Because, while there’s certainly busier times of the year, as a full-time agent, I know there’s always great houses being sold and bought. Not just during the season, but even on holidays.
(I’m lucky to enjoy just a few hours on an actual holiday without some amount of work for my clients.)
Spring is a long ways away. And there are plenty of houses to buy…and plenty of buyers to sell to between now and then.
The days are getting noticeably shorter, and maybe there’s a nip in the air – sure signs that fall is on its way. Now is the perfect time to put these ideas on your to-do list and get your home in shape before winter rolls in.
Seal it up: Caulk and seal around exterior door and window frames. Look for gaps where pipes or wiring enter the home and caulk those as well.
Look up: Check the roof for missing or damaged shingles. Although you should always have a qualified professional inspect and repair the roof, you can do a preliminary survey safely from the ground using binoculars.
Clear it out: Clear gutters and eaves troughs of leaves, sticks, and other debris. Consider installing leaf guards if your gutters can accommodate them – they are real time savers and can prevent damage from clogged gutters. Check the seams between sections of gutter, as well as between the gutter and downspouts, and make any necessary adjustments or repairs.
No hose: In climates with freezing weather, shut off outdoor faucets and make sure exterior pipes are drained of water. Faucets and pipes can freeze and burst, causing leaks and potentially serious water damage.
Warm up time: Have the furnace inspected to ensure it’s safe and in good working order. Most utility companies will provide basic inspections at no charge, but there can often be a long waiting list come fall and winter. Using a clean filter will help the furnace run more efficiently, saving you money and energy.
Light that fire: If you enjoy the crackle of a wood-burning fireplace on a chilly fall evening, have the firebox and chimney professionally cleaned before lighting a fire this season. Creosote, a byproduct of wood burning, can build up to dangerous levels and cause a serious chimney fire if not removed.
Since 1931, Portland has been a town of quadrants: Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest, and North, which didn’t fit but was still the fifth “quadrant”. At the time, few people lived in the area now called “South” so it just became a part of Southwest. In 2006, several Southwest Portland neighborhoods banded together and called themselves “South Portland” but it was, by no means, official.
In 2018, however, the city council and the Portland Bureau Of Transportation (PBOT) decided that a sixth area be added to the street designations. The reasoning was that many addresses in the Southwest actually began with a 0 because buildings were erected after the address numbering had stopped. This was causing confusion and delay for deliveries and, more importantly, emergency response units.
According to PBOT, the “former area of Southwest Portland east of SW Naito Parkway and SW View Point Terrace. Due to the eastward curvature in the Willamette River, east-west addresses in this area were previously addressed with a leading zero address to differentiate them from addresses west of this dividing line. About 8% of Southwest Portland addresses prior to the creation of South Portland were in this leading zero addressing area.”
Per the city’s Public Broadcasting Station, OPB “The new South Portland occupies a strip of land shaped like a pointer finger along the west bank of the Willamette River.
The area includes roughly 10,000 addresses and properties in the South Waterfront, Collins View and Riverdale neighborhoods…The river is the eastern boundary of the South District, while Southwest Naito Parkway and the Tryon Creek State Natural area are the western boundary.”
The Pamplin site points out that “Two major institutions are affected. Oregon Health & Science University South Waterfront outpost will be at 3301 S. Bond Ave. rather than Southwest Bond Avenue. Lewis and Clark College will no longer be found at 0615 S.W. Palantine Road, but at 615 S. Palantine Road.
Along the banks of the Willamette, several high end, high rise condominium complexes have been affected by the change, as well as diverse residential neighborhoods to the south. The entire South Waterfront district is now in South Portland.
Starting in May 2020, the city’s addressing plan will take the next five years to switch out all of the street signs in question. All applicable street signs marked Southwest will be replaced by 2025. The US Postal Service will still deliver mail to those affected by the address change, even if they use the old numbering system.
“This will probably not stop many Portlanders from referring to this area as the sixth “quadrant” of the city, even though a quadrant signifies one of four parts. It’s a designation that the Portland Bureau of Transportation acknowledges.
“Many Portlanders do prefer to call the city’s address areas quadrants regardless of the total number,” the agency announced in a press release. “In this spirit, PBOT will also informally recognize sixth quadrant as a designation for the new part of the city,” states Oregon Live the website for Portland’s newspaper, The Oregonian.
Per Wikipedia, “Sprawling Southwest Portland is home to Downtown’s upscale dining, food carts, and indie boutiques, plus the Portland Art Museum, with Native American and contemporary work. Washington Park has polar bears and elephants [at the] Oregon Zoo, rose beds in the International Rose Test Garden, and Mount Hood views from the Portland Japanese Garden. Woodland trails run through forested Tryon Creek State Natural Area.”
Once visitors pass through the Vista Ridge Tunnels, Southwest neighborhoods resemble the United States’s version of stereotypical suburbia. They often feature streets that wind up and down hills with no sidewalks, well-established landscaping in large yards. Diverse communities like Burlingame, Bridlemile, Collins View, Multnomah Village, and Hillsdale consistently score high in the lists of Portland’s hottest neighborhoods with some unique homes and defined commercial districts.
Most of Portland’s governmental, judicial, business, and cultural resources are located downtown giving what may not be considered to be a booming megalopolis, a definite cosmopolitan air. The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall hosts traveling Broadway shows and concerts.
Portland State University is also located downtown and totally accessible by public transportation.
Of architectural note, the Wells Fargo Center is the tallest building in Oregon (546 feet [166 m]). The Portland Building was designed by Michael Graves and is considered to be the first Post-Modern office building. It is the setting of the famous Portlandia statue. The white Jackson Tower, built in 1912, is the backdrop of the Portland Christmas tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square during the holidays and it on the National Register of History Places. Also on the National Register of History Places is the Richardson Romanesque Pittock Mansion displaying what luxury at the beginning of the 20th century looked like. Pioneer Courthouse was built in 1875 and is now the heart of downtown. Architect A.R. Doyle designed both the U.S. National Bank and the Multnomah County Public Library in 1916 and 1918 respectively. Elegant Union Station, built in 1896, boasts a sharp neon sign instructing passers-by in Old Town to “Go By Train”. The most visible highlight of the Portland skyline is the US Bancorp Tower, also called “Big Pink” which was built as a parallelogram, looking either short and squat or tall and lean depending on the angle it’s viewed from, say Tracey and Michael.
Oregon Health & Science University is connected to downtown by the Portland Aerial Tram, which the Seattle Times says offers “A staggering view”. “Pill Hill” (Marquam Hill) not only hosts the university but also a level 1 trauma accredited general hospital and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is a children’s hospital that specializes in pediatric medicine and care of children with long-term illness. The university maintains a number of outpatient primary care facilities including the Physician’s Pavilion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Health_%26_Science_University).
Parks abound in the southwest sextant. Tom McCall Waterfront Park hosts concerts and splash pads for summer relief. The South Willamette Riverfront is a Portland gem with cherry trees, walking and bike paths, and newer condominiums, as well as the OHSU tram entrance. The South Park Blocks and the Pettygrove and Lovejoy Fountain Parks also offer a respite from the heat of summer. The Skidmore Fountain area hosts the Saturday Market, a seasonal arts and crafts showplace and sale for local artisans.
Old Town and Chinatown cross the Northwest/Southwest border of Burnside. Old Town ghost tours cover shanghai tunnels and some of the most “haunted” places in Portland. Chinatown is closed to cars on the weekends and is the home of one of Portland’s infamous Voodoo Doughnuts shops.
Most Portlanders describe the west side as more traditional than the other sextants. It’s where you’ll find many of the city’s art galleries, public art, and oldest homes. The history of Portland began on the west side, so you’ll find some of the city’s oldest historic buildings there.
Northwest Portland has some of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods, including the Pearl District, Alphabet District, Kings Heights, and Willamette Heights.
US News and World Report says: Portland concocts shopping streets as only the Northwest can: Quirky, fun and chic. The best example of the region’s commercial eccentricity is NW 23rd Avenue. Don’t expect the skyscrapers of Michigan Avenue or the Italian designers of Rodeo Drive. Here, you’ll find homegrown talent — case in point, shop owner and Portlander Lynn Medoff, who creates fabric wonders in her dress boutique Lena Medoyeff. There are also special-interest boutiques, …. Plus, Portland’s easygoing attitude makes shopping along NW 23rd Avenue much less stressful.”
The Northwest quadrant of Portland is where the city was founded. As the area’s website Northwest District Association states:
In the 1850s sea captain John Couch laid out his land claim in the 200 x 200 foot blocks that became the southern and eastern part of our Northwest Portland neighborhood. Danford Balch settled north and west of the Couch donation claim farming his land. Danford however became famous for publicly murdering his unwanted son-in-law at the Stark Street Ferry and was the first person hung for his crime in Portland in 1859. By the 1870s, the eastern half of the Balch donation claim was subdivided and completed the Northwest neighborhood that we know now.
Because of its age, Northwest Portland is considered to be the most traditional area of the city and where so much of the area’s improvement has been focused, starting with the historical buildings and some of Portland’s hottest neighborhoods including the Pearl District, Alphabet District, Kings Heights, and Willamette Heights. Art galleries, public art, trendy shops, and an eclectic collection of new and old homes make Northwest a fascinating area.
Per PortlandBridges.com, “NW Portland has been given the official name the “Alphabet District” …. It signifies that the streets in NW run alphabetically, starting with Burnside, Couch, Davis…up to Wilson Street. The area specifically around NW 23rd Ave is technically called Nob Hill….”
The Northwest quadrant is home to Forest Park, more than ten square miles of native forest with seventy miles of hiking trails. It is one of the largest urban parks in the United States with more than 112 bird and 62 mammal species. The trails connect Forest Park with The Audubon Society Sanctuary, Pittock Mansion, and Washington Park. Several other smaller parks are in the quadrant as well.
