Any leaf gutter system recommendations?

[NorthernVA]

I just got off the roof and there has to be a better way. Anyone have a good experience with a moderately priced gutter system. Something i can add to my existing gutters to keep the leaves out.

Thanks in advance

 

[rshadd]

Several years ago, I had Gutter Helmet installed at my place and I have been very pleased with the results. My house sits under a couple of huge swamp maples and between the leaves in the fall and the seed pods in the spring my gutters would clog up often. I tried screens and most of the other gutter gimmicks and gutter helmet is the only thing that has kept my gutters clean and been trouble free.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I have http://www.leafguard.com/ gutters on my house and they work great. However, they are a complete replacement for your existing gutters.

 

[Bill Bowman]

^^^^^This, IMHO is the best, however, very pricey. Bill

 

[jlhog]

I put these on my gutters last fall and they did a great job and even came thru a hard MI winter OK.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax-Home-Products-6-in-x-36-in-Hinged-Gutter-Guard-Unpainted-85280BX/100002884

 

[usa#1]

Alcoa use to make a leaf guard system that was essentially a flat piece of formed aluminum that capped an existing gutter. The front edge was formed so that you just used zip screws to attach it to your gutter. The flat part that covered the gutter had numerous holes in it; holes were about 1/8 inch or so. The concept was that the leaves etc would lay on top of the cover and the water would drain through the debris and through the holes into the gutter. Once the debris dried, the wind would blow it off. It seemed to work, it was much cheaper than gutter helmet or other like that. I think the price uninstalled was about $2.00 a foot. I think "LYFTYM" still sales the stuff. I believe Alcoa sold the product to a different company. One benefit was that from the ground you couldn't see it.

 

[Zippercat]

I have http://www.leafguard.com/ gutters on my house and they work great. However, they are a complete replacement for your existing gutters.

Just had leaffilter installed on our house last week, after researching and pricing lots of others. It is NOT a complete replacement. Leaffilter installs on top of your existing gutters. They clean, seal and reinforce the existing gutters before installing.

http://www.leaffilter.com/

The website quoted above shows the details. BTW, they will negotiate a better price. We ended up about 20% less than the original price quote.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I put these on mine last year, and they work very well at a reasonable price!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax...r-Guards-25-Pack-86670/202091140?N=5yc1vZar5e

 

[Stuart in MN]

Just had leafguard installed on our house last week, after researching and pricing lots of others. It is NOT a complete replacement. Leafguard installs on top of your existing gutters. They clean, seal and reinforce the existing gutters before installing.

Are you sure you got Leafguard? From their website: "The hood is not an add-on, but an integral part of the gutter itself." That's the way mine are built, it's all one piece.

 

[SALIV8]

My gutter guy used the aluminum painted expanded metal that has approx. 1/4" - 1/2" openings. Works awesome and yes it deals with a lot of leaves... It was cheap too.

 

[Zippercat]

Are you sure you got Leafguard? From their website: "The hood is not an add-on, but an integral part of the gutter itself." That's the way mine are built, it's all one piece.

You're correct...I edited my post. I had LeafFILTER installed, which is a hood/add on. They warrant your gutters won't clog or overrun for the life of your home, and the warranty is transferable to buyers.

 

[rct]

When we lived in a treed neighborhood, we had Gutter Stuff added to the original gutters. Worked well for the 8 years we lived there and no winter ice problems with it either.

 

[Stuart in MN]

You're correct...I edited my post. I had LeafFILTER installed, which is a hood/add on. They warrant your gutters won't clog or overrun for the life of your home, and the warranty is transferable to buyers.

There are a bunch of different gutter products, and they all have similar names so it's easy to get them mixed up.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I bought the 36 " long x 6 " wide extruded aluminum gutter screen with .250 x .250 openings in it, from my local aluminum /vinyl distributor. Tucked it under my shingles and then aluminum sheet metal screwed the formed lip on to my gutter. It works great. We have the big old sugar maple trees that drop seems like tons, of the "Whirly Bird" seeds every spring. The screen sheds all the leaves, but a lot of the maple seedlings get stuck in the holes but they do rot off eventually. jmo

 

[NorthernVA]

I put these on mine last year, and they work very well at a reasonable price!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax...r-Guards-25-Pack-86670/202091140?N=5yc1vZar5e

Did you have any problems with this product flapping around in wind? Im worried they wont sit flat. However, I just picked up a few to try tomorrow.

 

[NorthernVA]

Just had leaffilter installed on our house last week, after researching and pricing lots of others. It is NOT a complete replacement. Leaffilter installs on top of your existing gutters. They clean, seal and reinforce the existing gutters before installing.

http://www.leaffilter.com/

The website quoted above shows the details. BTW, they will negotiate a better price. We ended up about 20% less than the original price quote.

Im in Virginia, and i see the service my area, i'm going to give them a call and get a quote. Thanks

 

[southalabama]

I've got the ones shown above from Home Depot. Once they are in they don't blow out even in hurricanes. They work pretty good but do need cleaning once a year. The problem I have is pine needles. Kinda hard to keep them out. I've only got 30 feet or so and it's single story so not to bad to clean. Takes longer to dig the ladder out.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Did you have any problems with this product flapping around in wind? Im worried they wont sit flat. However, I just picked up a few to try tomorrow.

Not at all. The one lip attaches tightly under the shingles, and it keeps pressure on the outside edge of the gutter. No movement at all.

 

[NorthernVA]

Not at all. The one lip attaches tightly under the shingles, and it keeps pressure on the outside edge of the gutter. No movement at all.

Thanks Jim, ill try it out tomorrow.

 

[themiller]

Thanks Jim, ill try it out tomorrow.

I've put something similar (round holes with screens, maybe the older model from HD?) on 90' of gutter which I used to have to clean 4x yearly. Not once in the last 5 years have I had to get on the roof to clean. I still pull one up every year and shine a flashlight down to check but there are never any leaves under there. Think I might be done checking for a few years.

 

[usa#1]

The Alcoa product I posted about is called "leaf relief" made by Ply Gem

 

[Twiggss]

I put these on mine last year, and they work very well at a reasonable price!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax...r-Guards-25-Pack-86670/202091140?N=5yc1vZar5e

I've got the ones shown above from Home Depot. Once they are in they don't blow out even in hurricanes. They work pretty good but do need cleaning once a year. The problem I have is pine needles. Kinda hard to keep them out. I've only got 30 feet or so and it's single story so not to bad to clean. Takes longer to dig the ladder out.

This is what I used. even have about 15ft under a pine tree and it kept the needles out.

 

[WQ59B]

I've had poor results from both the screen type and the helmet type. In the woods, with a row of monster white pines on the one neighbor's line, and it appears I can't win. I have a ranch, but a hip roof minus 1 gable end means something like 200+ feet of gutter to clean manually. I started to replace the downspouts with 3x4", and that makes a noticeable difference. But the 'helmet' style on my shop I think I'm going to rip back off because the heavy moldy growth now pouring over the gutter isn't very attractive, plus a squirrel has a nest on one end.

 

[GRN96WS6]

I have this in mine and so far I haven't had any clogging issues or issues with debris laying on top of the foam.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GUTTERSTUFF-5-in-x-48-in-K-Style-Foam-Gutter-Filter-GS-K5-SPAN/203318223

 

[Beemer533]

I put these on mine last year, and they work very well at a reasonable price!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax...r-Guards-25-Pack-86670/202091140?N=5yc1vZar5e

Huh, i tried these out last year on a new gutter I installed on a low pitch roof and I had a lot of water that flowed over them...
They were definitely in solid, but they did not lay flat for me. Not sure, but I pulled them out for now. The gutter works fine now, I just need to clean it out every fall.

 

[Slowbra]

My home is on a very wooded lot surrounded by mature hardwood trees of all kinds. Having never owned a house with these types of trees I am a bit new to all of this. I've spent more time than I want to admit researching gutter systems.

After getting multiple quotes and talking with my builder I will be installing downspout strainers today. These are the cheap $2 aluminum strainers you put in the gutter downspout.

This will not prevent leaves/saplings/debris from getting in the gutters, but will keep my downspouts and underground pipes from getting filled/clogging (even more of a headache to clean than the gutters themselves). I've come to the realization that I will just pay someone to clean the gutters twice a year ($130 x 2).

I really would like a permanent solution to avoid this if one existed. There doesn't seem to be one that is reliable and trouble free for brown gutters with the volume of water that comes off my extremely large roof (at least that is what I believe based on my research).

What also causes problems for me is that I have areas on my roof that essentially collect debris/leaves/saplings. No matter what I do for the gutters I will have to clean this twice a year.

I am looking forward to hearing from others on here to see of anything fits the bill.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Huh, i tried these out last year on a new gutter I installed on a low pitch roof and I had a lot of water that flowed over them...
They were definitely in solid, but they did not lay flat for me. Not sure, but I pulled them out for now. The gutter works fine now, I just need to clean it out every fall.

My roof is pretty high pitch, which I would assume would increase the speed of the water flowing on it, and there is no water flowing over them except in a really heavy storm, then only minor.

Mine laid flat. Maybe it is your roof tile type?

My roof lines, I have the gutter guard on the garage and house.

 

[Kevin54]

Several years ago, I had Gutter Helmet installed at my place and I have been very pleased with the results. My house sits under a couple of huge swamp maples and between the leaves in the fall and the seed pods in the spring my gutters would clog up often. I tried screens and most of the other gutter gimmicks and gutter helmet is the only thing that has kept my gutters clean and been trouble free.

If I'm correct, I saw them advertising the Gutter Helmet at the Canfield Swap Meet, but isn't it heated so you won't have ice dams in the winter? That's what I need on out house. With dark shingles, the sun in the winter will start melting the snow, but when it hits the gutter, it freezes. A couple years ago, people were losing their gutters all over town. Luckily I have the hangers that are hidden and screwed in. They're tough, but don't stop an ice dam.

 

[rshadd]

If I'm correct, I saw them advertising the Gutter Helmet at the Canfield Swap Meet, but isn't it heated so you won't have ice dams in the winter? That's what I need on out house. With dark shingles, the sun in the winter will start melting the snow, but when it hits the gutter, it freezes. A couple years ago, people were losing their gutters all over town. Luckily I have the hangers that are hidden and screwed in. They're tough, but don't stop an ice dam.

I never had an issue with ice damming and mine are not certainly heated. I don't think that was even an option when I bought.

 

[Stuart in MN]

There is one brand that is available with electric heating as an option, I'm not sure which one.

 

[Kismetfarmer]

Maybe try one of these

http://www.irobot.com/us/learn/home/looj.aspx

 

[Beemer533]

My roof is pretty high pitch, which I would assume would increase the speed of the water flowing on it, and there is no water flowing over them except in a really heavy storm, then only minor.

Mine laid flat. Maybe it is your roof tile type?


My roof lines, I have the gutter guard on the garage and house.

My roof is only about a 4/12, nowhere near yours.. I will have to take a look when I get home.. I am not sure why mine didn't lay flat though.

Either way I would like to get something back on there. I didn't throw them out, so maybe I'll give them another shot.

That roof is only 12 ft or so high so not a big deal for me to get up there.

 

[CoopVA]

Im in Virginia, and i see the service my area, i'm going to give them a call and get a quote. Thanks

I've got LeafFilter coming out tomorrow to do a whole gutter replacement and add the filter in... I'll let you know how it goes... I thought the price was pretty reasonable.

 

[SALIV8]

My roof is only about a 4/12, nowhere near yours.. I will have to take a look when I get home.. I am not sure why mine didn't lay flat though.

Either way I would like to get something back on there. I didn't throw them out, so maybe I'll give them another shot.

That roof is only 12 ft or so high so not a big deal for me to get up there.

My cheapie aluminum expanded metal pieces are screwed on to the gutter.. Maybe try that.

 

[JimR1998]

+1 for Leaf Relief. It's basically a sturdy aluminum plate with a bunch of holes that attaches to the top of your gutter. Works for me, and I'm under two tall pines with TONS of needles. It keeps debris from ever getting in then coming down to clog my underground pipes. Water flows just fine from a low-slope ranch roof.

1-2x year I clean the area directly under the trees where needles accumulate but it's a quick job as I'm just cleaning the top of the plate. I don't need access to inside the gutter.

Mine came with my gutters but there is a retrofit version you can get if your gutters are in good condition. Attaches with sheet metal screws and can't seen from the ground.

That said, my neighbor has a closed top gutter cap/helmet/guard system that uses surface water tension or some such. Not exactly sure what brand but bees love to nest inside and he has to connect a hose to clean out the inside since he has no access.

 

[Dbn107]

I agree no gutter leaf system is perfect. The best solution I have found is to use 6" half round gutter installed with the proper pitch and 4" or 5" round downspout. Self cleaning and more complete emptying then standard k.

 

[Gerald O]

Best solution I have found is a chainsaw...

 

[ozyborn]

I do not see the point of the gutter guards or whatever you call them. On both my own home (1 1/2 story) and my neighbors( full 2 story) I just use metal pipe extensions with the nozzle on the end. 20 minutes later all the gutters are cleaned out. No ladders needed.

 

[Slowbra]

I do not see the point of the gutter guards or whatever you call them. On both my own home (1 1/2 story) and my neighbors( full 2 story) I just use metal pipe extensions with the nozzle on the end. 20 minutes later all the gutters are cleaned out. No ladders needed.

Are you simply power washing the gutters clean? I am considering this option, but will need some tall extensions to make it work.

 

[StingRay]

Are you simply power washing the gutters clean? I am considering this option, but will need some tall extensions to make it work.

I have an extendable wand for my pressure washer that will get to the top of my two storey and its a tall one. The big problem is you need a nozzle that shoots sideways both directions so the forces are balanced. Any kind of regular nozzle will ultimately push a really long wand one direction or another and it takes almost nothing to blow a 20 foot wand over. It's uncontrollable. I made a T nozzle up myself that works OK. You find them on line too. You also have to tape over any kind of quick connect on the end of the wand or the nozzles will get uncoupled in the trough.