Hello everyone I have a 2 story house on a hill that would require a 35 foot ladder climb to clean the gutters of leaves. I hate heights and the risk of injury doesn't seem worth it. I have been paying someone to do this for me over the past several years ($400 per year) and wondered if the gutter guard cover/screen/concept is as good as its manufacturers claim. Any comments or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Gutter Guards
- Thread starter JimmyJazz
- Start date
My parents got them installed on their home, 2 straight runs of about 40 feet each....$1800!!
I think they are a rip-off.
Sure they keep leaves out of the gutters but at that price, I would be looking for a different method.
I think they are a rip-off.
Sure they keep leaves out of the gutters but at that price, I would be looking for a different method.
My older neighbors where I used to live loved them. But, they still had leaves and needles on the roof that had to be removed.
funny you say this, I recently had a contractor give me a quote to install new 5" gutters on the house. The gutters were $2500 and "stainless steel lifetime guards" were an additional $2800
more money than the gutters themselves. The aluminum mesh screen was a lot cheaper but unsure how effective as the holes were pretty wide...I tried "gutter stuff", and it had very poor performance during heavy rain. I ended up using the cheap plastic guards from the box store that come in 4' sections. They aren't great, 3 years in some are collapsed, or in need of replacement, but they are cheap and better than nothing. Gutter guards are one of those things, no ideal solution exists, and the good ones people really get taken advantage of.
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I have some. Not sure off the brand. They are aluminium with a rubber type flex edge that tucks under the drip rail. I would say they work but aren’t perfect. i live on a wooded lot. House is surrounded by trees. Weather dependant most leaves blow off. I usually still need to clear the inside corners and valleys of leaves…especially if they get wet. Pine needles can get stuck in the holes and some make it thru to the gutter. After having installed for 7 or so years I needed to do some corner caulking and removed some of the filters. Some areas of the gutter were very clean. Another area had about 2 inches of muck consisting of dirt and the fine gravel from the asphalt shingle. I think this situation was created by poor drainage and fall on the gutter syste. Thus my caulking job turned into a bigger project by adding more downspouts 
.
Another downfall in my opinion…with the right combination of rain snow and fluctuations in temp, the filter will freeze over causing ice dams..especially in the inside corners and valleys.
.Another downfall in my opinion…with the right combination of rain snow and fluctuations in temp, the filter will freeze over causing ice dams..especially in the inside corners and valleys.
I installed the screen type 7 years ago. Last year I checked them thinking they would need some cleaning. I was pleasantly surprised that all there was at the bottom was a fine layer of dust. These are the type with the micro mesh over the top of expanded metal. Can’t remember the exact name of the product.
I have the cheap screen type from a big box store. They last 8 to 10 years and work rather well except for pine needles sticking thru them. The pine needle problem only causes me a problem on one gutter next to a pine tree. I see no need to pay the big bucks for the highly advertised type that might not work as well.
waste of money here. Gutters are a waste too, usually. My place has gutters and I like them most of the time.
When we get a heavy rain, it is too much for the gutters to handle--they sag, neighbor's fell completely off due to teh weight of water in them. Then they'll sometimes freeze. Leaves of course is always an issue. I had the gutter guy come by and look at mine and he said they're fine not much else you can do with them.
Mom and Dad's house, they took the gutters off, which I might end up doing too.
When we get a heavy rain, it is too much for the gutters to handle--they sag, neighbor's fell completely off due to teh weight of water in them. Then they'll sometimes freeze. Leaves of course is always an issue. I had the gutter guy come by and look at mine and he said they're fine not much else you can do with them.
Mom and Dad's house, they took the gutters off, which I might end up doing too.
Last winter we had some freeze thaw cycles which led to large "glaciers" forming on the roof.
These chunks of slowly moving ice/snow eventually crept onto and over the roof edge and when it finally broke off took 20 feet of rain gutter and leaf filter with it.
I don't necessarily blame the leaf filter but they probably did not help.
Magicman
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Gutters may have their proper place in some situations but I personally have never found that place. That $400 per year may very well be reasonable.
something i forgot to mention. Most of the time the gutters are nailed or screwed into the ends of the faschia boards, or in my mom's case the roof trusses. They are not usually sealed. Water gets in there and rots out the wood and trusses over time. On the West side of mom's place the truss ends were completely rotted, the gutters could just be pulled off by hand, pulled the screws right out with very little effort. They had to go in and repair (add material) them so they'd hold up the faschia boards. Worth mentioning. It's not hard to fix the stuff but the damage is there and it bothers me.
How clogged do your gutters really get? After 25 years mine are still clean, but I don't have any trees towering over my roof as I keep the branches pruned and I'm out of the drip lines.
Gutters are essential if you want a dry basement.
Gutters are essential if you want a dry basement.
Lots of trees. A very "leafy" neighborhood. I may buy the ladder after reading the responses. Its an issue for most here and most pay to have them cleaned.
NCL4701
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Instead of climbing a ladder, I use a pipe extension with a manually adjustable joint on the end to blow the leaves out of the gutters on the three houses on the family compound here. Highest point is about 25’. It looks like this: (not me, just some guy on the internet with pretty much the same setup). It’s better than climbing a ladder.
We thought about getting K-guard gutters or something similar but doing all three houses would be around 560’ of gutter so it just isn’t worth it. Clay soil plus basements, we have to have gutters and French drains. People east of us in sandy soil, doesn’t matter whether they have gutters or not.
We thought about getting K-guard gutters or something similar but doing all three houses would be around 560’ of gutter so it just isn’t worth it. Clay soil plus basements, we have to have gutters and French drains. People east of us in sandy soil, doesn’t matter whether they have gutters or not.
Magicman
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What you said:
I have a good friend that wears a 'bag' and walks with a limp because he did not heed his own advice.
There may be an opportunity to work out some sort of deal for gutter cleaning by talking with all your neighbours and doing a bulk buy. The contractor might give your neighbourhood a break if he knows he has 10 houses to do.
Steep roofs and 35 foot drops make $400 sound reasonable.
Gutters are not a cure for a dry basement 2 ' over hanging eaves, and stone and under drain pipes and good grading away from buildings is cheaper in the long run and a cure for dry basements
Lil Foot
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Would I be correct in assuming these guards would be pretty much useless with ponderosa pine needles?
I live surrounded by trees, gutters need cleaned multiple times a year. Tries about every "cheap" gutter guard out there. The screen ones are ok till fall then it's clog city and less work to clean the gutters out then fuss with getting damp leaves from collecting on them. I've actually several times thought about ditching the gutters altogether. Like mentioned above drainage around the house is just as if not more important then gutters thay dump the water right next to the foundation anyway. My place is built in the side if the hill and basement is a walk out. Everything is tapered to run away and around the house.