Gutter covers - yes or no?

[Liz]

After 34 years of cleaning our gutters, my DH has decided to call it quits and check into gutter covers/guards. I remember reading somewhere that they're good for trapping leaves but no good for keeping out the small tree debris that falls from some trees in the spring. On our property we have two humungous oak trees that drop that tree crap in the spring, and in addition we also get the stuff that falls from our neighbor's linden tree (also known in this house as the tree from hell). Can anyone give me some feedback on whether these guards are a good idea? And if so, any recommendations on one brand over another?

Thanks.

[Tim Killian]

I've used these:

They work as advertised. If you are replacing gutters, see if there is a Leafgard dealer in your area. They sell a one-piece, extruded aluminum gutter with the same type of solid cover. Gutters with covers will overflow in heavy rain and at valleys, buy hey, nothing is perfect.

[Liz]

Thanks, Tim. I opened the link you sent...unfortunately these won't work for us...at least not on our entire roof. One section covering what was once our back porch does not have shingles...it has a silver-colored coating instead. (The pitch of the roof isn't as steep as it should be and we had problems with ice clogging the gutters resulting in leaks in my office and the silver stuff solved the problem.) Do all of the gutter covers go under shingles?

Liz

[Art]

I had gutter helmet and they were crap. THey go under the shingles and whether they work depends on the pitch of the roof. Leafguard work great though only they are expensive. They do overflow in the toughest corners in the worse storms but they act like a ski lift and the overflow ends up far from the foundation. Mine are absolutely clean on 8 years. My father had them too with large oaks on his property. They worked perfectly. But, like I said, expensive.

[Puddin' Man]

If/when one needs to clean or re-nail or add fasteners to the gutters, how difficult is it to temporarily remove Leafguard to get access?

Thanks, Puddin'

[Liz]

Thanks for your feedback, Art. Expense is not our primary concern if they work. But if Leafguard needs to go under shingles, we wouldn't be able to use them on the whole roof. I'm wondering if it might be just as economically feasible to just hire someone twice a year to clean the gutters...at least for another 12 years or so when our 3 1/2-year-old grandson can take over!

Liz

[mm]

You don't have to use the same system on the whole house. And your porch/office is probably only one story high, and probably only has a gutter along one wall. So far, I have no leaves, but Harbor Freight had a sale on the chepaest cutter screens I've ever seen. Even at ful price they are cheap. Don't know if they work but they just clip inside the gutter. I'm sure they don't let stuff in the gutter, but how one gets the leaves off the plastic screen, I don't know. When they dry up enough maybe they blow off by themselves.

They also sell a J-shaped attachment to the garden hose the sprays a strong stream into the gutter. If my house were not 2-stories plus, or if I had room for a taller ladder than 6 feet, it might work fine. I guess it loosens things up and lets them go down the downspout. Is that good enough?

I wouldn't let a 3 1/2-year-old do this. He probably won't even be able to set up the ladder.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[mm]

I don't mean Harbor Freight. I mean Lowe's. It seemed very well made, but I just couldn't reach my 2nd-floor gutters with it.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[Liz]

Thanks for your response. As it turns out, DH purchased from GutterGuard as he was happy with their presentation and their price. And you're right, they do make different products to fit as needed. I left my office to go in to ask a few questions of the salesmen including asking about the small stuff that falls from the trees in the spring. They assured us that they've never had a problem with this and if they did they'd send one of their installation crew out to clean them out. I called three people on their 15 page customer list last night and got good reports from all of them, one of whom had the product installed 4 years ago with no problems with silt backing up to date. Anyway, they're to be installed on Thurs. the 10th. I'll be sure to report on this NG if there's ever a problem with them.

LOL! I guess you didn't see where I wrote "another 12 years or so" - like when he's 15 1/2. I may be getting desperate for some help but not THAT desperate!!!

Liz

[yellowbirddog]

Read this article:

Save your money.

[Rich256]

My son in law put these on. I really don't need gutters except to keep from cutting a line in the ground, but am considering doing the same. You have to put in some sort of diverter if you have gutters over your doors.

[yellowbirddog]

Rich256 wrote: ....

1. These look like they'd get wet-plastered with leaves, muck, and debris just like anything else.
2. All that water from your roof is getting dumped fairly close to your foundation. It may cause you to need a plastic-lined(on bottom) gravel bed with a perforated drainage line (in the center) to carry water away to a safe area.

[Rich256]

I don't think he has had any problems of anything sticking up there. If there are foundation problems requiring getting the water far away they would not be practical. And they are not cheap.

It sprays the water out away from the house. The grid is wide open. I think if leaves happen to land on them you can blow them off. They are just little scoops that direct the water outwards and works pretty much as they show:.

[yellowbirddog]

Rich256 wrote: ....

Downspouts connected to underground drainage lines that either go to daylight or to a pop-up emitter in a safe area are common, practical, and cheap.

I'd be especially worried about this rainhandler in an area where two roof planes come together to form an angle. You'd have a large quantity of water running down the intersection and right through this grate and near the foundation.

[John W Gintell]

What kind of plastic material is this? This sounds like a good solution.

[TP]

Has anyone used this gutter stuff..?

inserts. Ridiculously expensive, around here they want 10$ foot installed. They won't sell it to DIY.

TP

[Rich256]

I already have that problem with rain gutters. Sometimes the rain comes down with such force it goes right over the gutters.

I have sandy soil so no worry about water. Will take all I can get . And my roof sticks out such that the rain gutters are already over two feet away from the walls and foundation. I don't have any idea of what is average.