Anyone have any experience with gutter filters? These are foam "space fillers" that let water drain through but keep leaves and other stuff out. I'm considering using them unless I hear negative reports. Thanks, Jim
Wouldn't the foam essentially "fill-up" the volume of the gutter and, although the water will move through the foam, it will move a LOT slower than free-running water. I think the foam-filled gutter will not be able to carry a sufficient amount of water per minute. Also, if the surface of the foam is essentially at the height of the top of the gutter, I think the momentum of the water coming down the surface of the roof will largely flow right over the foam and over the outer edge of the gutter. All the more so when the foam becomes quickly saturated with water.
From one 300 square foot section of my roof, I watched a 55 gallon drum fill in five minutes. I figure that 11 gallons per minute spread over 300 sq ft is a rate of more than two gallons per hour falling on each square inch of roof surface. Granted this was a typical summer downpour, but it was rather disconcerting to have to run outside in that downpour to remove the pipe carrying water from the downspout to the drum and reconnect the pipe sections which dump the water into the underground pipe leading to the storm sewer.
Like all other systems it may work under some conditions, but not others. I would tend to believe it's problem would be fines. The small specs of stuff that would get into the system and over time fill it up. Also as Bill noted, unless the design made allowances for it, it is likely that it would have a difficult time handling high flow events.
The one thing that does work is Leafguard gutters with a builtin cover. Unforturnately in some areas of the country they cost 3 times more than regular gutters. I had add-on "helmets" added to existing gutters in my previous house. They were worthless. Leafguard works well. Even during the heavyest rains where they cannot handle all the water, they shoot the excess out about 6 feet from the house wall. But for the most part most of the water goes down the gutter the way it should and it stays clean.
"space
stuff out.
You can get perforated metal guards added to standard seamless aluminum gutters. I had this done for a section of my gutters that was getting filled with leaves. They work well, and the cost was low.
They don't work with pine needles and some the green things that come off early on oak trees.
aluminum
getting
Recently, "Art Begun" created this masterpiece for the newsgroup archives:
Nothing works perfectly with pine needles. With any gutter protection, there has be a large enough space for water to pass through, and anything large enough to let water pass through will also allow pine needles to pass through. Gutter covers (hoods) are no exception. Just about any gutter protection will slow the accumulation of pine needles, but eventually, they get through.
BE
In my experience Leafguard gutters do not let the pine needles in. The top completely covers the gutter and the water only gets in because it adheres and goes around and under the cover via surface tension and drops into the gutter. The needles cannot do it. However, like I said previously, in a torrential storm they can be overloaded but in that case the water they cannot handle seems to shoot out 6 feet or so from the foundation of the house.
protection,
needles,
Recently, "Art Begun" created this masterpiece for the newsgroup archives:
Yes. Therein lies the problem. Completely covering the gutter drastically reduces the gutter's efficiency in heavy rain. Keeps a lot a debris out, but then the gutters don't work well when you need them the most... in a downpour.
In a perfect world, maybe. Liquid adhesion works ok in light to moderate rains, but in a downpour, forget it, especially if you have a steep pitch roof.
Bull crap. That's nonsense. They can, and do. Gutter hoods will reduce, but not eliminate, pine needles in the gutters.
That's fine, IF all that water drains away from the foundation. If not, that $15 per foot was a huge waste of money, and you'll be pumping out the basement when the rain stops.
I've seen dealers demonstrate the product you mention at home shows and watched the pine needles (much to the dealer's embarrassment) follow the water right into the gutter. Not only will pine needles get IN the gutter, but they sometimes clog the narrow opening that the water is supposed to go through, rendering the whole mess rather useless. But, hey, the look good!
I suppose we all have opinions on these products, but I submit that competitive products, such as premium quality gutter screens, offer similar gutter protection against clogged downspouts and maintain open gutters for better rain carrying efficiency, while costing a fraction of the price of high-end covers.
BE
I had a product called "Gutter Helmet" put on one of the houses I own. For two reasons:
Recently, "David Babcock" created this masterpiece for the newsgroup archives:
surface
fraction of
cheap........he
I'm glad you're happy with the product. It would be a shame to pay the high cost of that product and not be happy with it. My whole point, really, is that the same results could have been achieved with a premium quality gutter screen (Steelco, for example) at a fraction of the cost.
But, if money is no object... ;-)
I installed GutterFilter myself over a year ago, so I have now been through all seasons, and we had a lot of pine straw this year... No clogs, it must be flowing really well even in the big storms, and I have been watching it.
I have to agree with Art. These devices that rely on surface tension work very well. I've seen them on peoples homes who are satisfied with them. I've tried the retrofit version, which aren't even as good, and even those work pretty well, with none of the problems you claim. Even in a heavy down pour, the water goes around the curved edge and into the gutter. I'm sure you could come up with a cloud burst that might come once every 10 yrs and last 10 mins that would be too much for it, but so what, nothing is perfect.
I've seen lots of people discredit the screens as being ineffective, particularly for pine needles or other debris that eventally clogs them. IMO, of the alternatives available, the devices that rely on surface tension are by far the best. In fact, some of the companies here offer lifetime free cleaning of the gutters if necessary.
How did you do it yourself? The dealer claims it has to be installed be a dealer/contractor at 10.00(us) a foot. Where did you buy and how much does it cost to manufacture?
snipped-for-privacy@m> I installed GutterFilter myself over a year ago, so I have now been
Home Depot sells the stuff, a buck or two a yard.
I asked three home depot's in my area (upstate NY) no one has this product. They sell a roll of foam, approx, 1/2" x 5" wide. This will sag over time. I like the gutter filter, but a dealer has this market... Hal brewster roofing, 10$/foot. I find lots of web site for "gutter stuff", but none will sell to a homeowner. Sounds like a great mail order business... :-)
TP
Roger Shoaf wrote:
At 10 bucks a foot that pays for a lot of gutter cleanouts. Go back to your hardware store and look for screen material. Nor window screen but galvanized wire with spaces 3/8 to 1/2 inch. Cut this into strips a little longer than your gutter is wide and bend down any sharp points and stuff one edge under your shingles, and hang the other end over your gutter. You might snip loose a wire every 4 inches or so and tuck that inside the gutter.
In a previous posting, Usenet was endowed with the following text from snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net:
They may work well for certain applications, but the "surface tension" concept is NOT a panacea. They work best on low pitch roofs, but the high cost and difficulty in maintenance are a significant drawback. There are other products that work about as well, don't reduce gutter efficiency and make it easier to service the gutters, should they need it.
And I have removed them from the roofs of homeowners who were not at all satisfied with them.
The laws of physics in your neck of the woods must work quite differently than those in my part of the world.
IF the screens have a weak point, it is pine needles, but that all depends on what you expect. Pine needles are also a problem for gutter covers. The difference being, getting them out of gutters with covers is a major pain in the ass. Not so with screens. There is only one manufactured screen that I would use, and that the ones I discovered a few years ago, Steelco screens. In my view, they are the most practical gutter protection from several different perspectives.
That comment sounds suspiciously like something a gutter cover dealer would write in a news group...
There's another great clue. First, they tell you your gutters will never need cleaning again, then they sell you a bunch of overpriced covers and promise to come clean them out when they get clogged up. LMAO !! What a con job!
RC
In a previous posting, Usenet was endowed with the following text from "Roger Shoaf" :
Better yet, just order from
RC
Ronald Carter wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
You are ignorant of them.
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