Gutter covers - anything work?

[RichK]

HI All,

Wondering what the "state of the art" is in rain gutter covers. A couple years ago, we had the roof shingles installed, but the roofing guys could not recommend a good gutter covers.

Originally, the gutters were covered with a nylon mash type cover, but it was flimsy and buckled up in many places. I installed a white, flat plastic covers from Home Depot. It looked like they should keep the leaves and maple seeds out - but it did not work too good. Fair amount of water makes it past it. How - don't know.

What should I try next ??? :-) Don't enjoy climbing anymore.

Rich

[Goedjn]

Take the gutter off. Install another fascia attached to the first with spring-loaded hinges. When you need to clean the gutters, reach up with a gaff, and pull down on the gutter until it flips upside down.

--Goedjn

[PipeDown]

Spring loaded hinges? Has anyone ever actually done that? Sounds like I could pay someone to clean them for me 5 years in a row before I could pay for new facia with funky "micky mouse" spring loaded hinges.

When the downspout clogs and the gutters fill up, do they suddenly flip open and dump the water all over.

I don't know of any that are perfect.

[MLD]

Have you ever seen gutters filled with ice? The weight of the ice made them almost tip on their own without hinges. Your way, while creative, would be nothing but trouble. MLD

[Doug Miller]

Forgot about the downspouts, did you?

[joe]

not in the south.:)

[RichK]

I have an unusuall problem. There's only one downspout and it seems to be at the higher end of the house. There's is always some water at the oposite end. Debrish, whatever makes it past the cover, slowly accumulates at that end.

Not sure if the house has settled over time, or the gutters have. There does not seem to be way to lift the existing gutters up, or bend them up.

Rich

[Walter R.]

You can buy an attachment for your leaf blower that reaches into the gutters and blows them out. Sounds interesting. Anybody try these gizmos?

[Dan Espen]

Yeah, blows the crap right on your head.

[John Keith]

Wear a hat :-) At least the gunk is not in the gutters.

I've had expended metal screens over mine for the past several years and while they worked early in their life their performance is getting unaccepable now (I was just up cleaning the other day.) The screen is getting bent, it is hard to reinsert under the shingles and I'm still getting a lot of gunk coming in under the screen, which means the screen needs to be lifted to get to it, which makes its effectiveness even worse. I'd be willing to try the blower attachment.

John Keith [e-mail]

[Dan Espen]

Maybe I don't clean my gutters enough, but I'd have to throw the hat out, along with all my clothes.

(No, I'm not going to clean my gutters naked.)

I have the screens with similar problems.

My neighbor swears by his system, there is no gutter at all just these deflectors. The water runs off the roof, hits the deflectors and the water sprays out over a few feet instead of dropping directly on the ground.

Leaves fall right thru.

[Michael Nickolas]

I'm lucky, I have a Mansard roof and have restored the old wood gutters. The are located just below the dormer style windows. So I bring the leaf blower into the house, lean out each second floor window and blow all the crap out!

[Phisherman]

I have the flat vinyl covers with diamond-shaped holes in them. I'm sure you can drill more holes if you have a problem. Mine are 15 years old and going strong. Still, once a year I'll slide one off and clean out the gutter with a garden hose. Pine needles get inside and I'm not about to cut down 50' pine trees.

[Ronald Carter]

In a previous posting, Usenet was endowed with the following text from "RichK" :

The plastic screens have a wide, flat mesh. They actually cover most of the rain gutter opening. That's why so much rain water makes it over the gutters

Take a look at

Their screens are easily installed, very rigid, and don't restrict rain water going into gutters. Theoretically, most anything that gets through the mesh will wash out in a good rain, except for some minor sediment.

RC

[Ronald Carter]

In a previous posting, Usenet was endowed with the following text from John Keith :

The expanded metal screens are junk. Take a look at Steelco screens:

Galvanized steel, reinforced edges. Quality product. Whatever settles in the gutters can easily be washed out with a water hose without having to remove the screens.

RC

[Bobby_M]

No one mentioned Gutter Helmet?

Conceptually, this is the only product I imagine working. I don't have any deciduous trees tall enough to get leaves in my gutters, but if I did, I'd install gutter helmet. The problem with screens is they get clogged.

[Ronald Carter]

In a previous posting, Usenet was endowed with the following text from "Bobby_M" :

LOL The problem with Gutter Helmet is that it's more of a gimmick than a solution.