Gutter guards

[katmat]

I just installed some vinyl gutters on a one car garage, two 18' runs. I'm looking for a inexpensive product to keep the leaves & debrie out of them.
Any GOOD ideas?
Thanks,
Matt

 

[scott37300]

Every one of the cheap ones at the box stores are garbage. I have either tried or someone in my family has tried them and they have never worked for me. I found it is more of a pain to have to remove them all to clean out what gets under them. I have a tall tree with those little "helicopter" seeds that get stuck in the holes of the gutter gaurds and plugs them up. I just clean the gutters more often.

 

[tdkkart]

I've got these on about 3/4 of my gutters:
http://www.guttagard.com/

I still need to install them on a couple more sections, but in IMO they DRAMATICALLY reduce my gutter cleaning. I have approx 40' across the front of the house, with a silver maple(helicopter tree) directly over it. It looks like about once a year I will have to lift one end of the guard and clean a small pile of debris out of the gutter, that's it. The other sections that I have it on I have not had to clean out at all in 2 years.

 

[HemiRambler]

I bought a set of those cheapie plastic ones and installed them per the directions - they were very annoying to say the least. The problem was that during light and moderate rain the water would zig zag down the plastic and run over the gutter. The only time they worked well was during a downpour. My solution was to install them upside down. They have a offset built into them to snap onto the gutter and when installed upside down this offset allowed all the water to enter the gutter instead of running over it. Doesn't snap on near as well, but that hasn't posed much of a problem.
I know there are better ones out there, but I had alot of distance to cover so I went with these cheapies - over all I'm happy with them. YMMV

 

[Rickster55]

They have a offset built into them to snap onto the gutter and when installed upside down this offset allowed all the water to enter the gutter instead of running over it.

Hmmm! Interesting - I may have to try that. I did buy one section from HD and installed it. It has been in for about a year. It actually seems to work fairly well. They do warn that the initial shine to the plastic has to wear off before they work properly tho'.

 

[Track t-4]

The local Home Depot had the plastic ones in white. I asked if they could get them in brown and was told they were only made in white. I took one home thinking I could paint it brown. Decided to email the manufacturer and ask about brown. Their response: "Unfortunately we don't have the solid gutter covers available in brown. They would not hold up very well in the sun."

I've looked at the GuttaGard but believe the gap between the cover and the gutter will let too much of the stuff that comes out of my trees into the gutter. I'm still looking for a gutter guard that is sold to the public and works well.

 

[tcianci]

I know you said you were looking for an inexpensive gutter guard. I tend to agree with the post about how well the things DONT work. I don't even have much in the way of gutters on my house but as a contractor, I have had ocassion to see nearly every scheme ever invented to keep gutters clean. Unfortunately the only one I've seen (in stores, not in the field) that looks like it would work is a solid foam type of gutter "filler", you stick this stuff in the gutter and it takes the shape of the gutter profile. Since the gutter is filled with this very open, pourous foam, it can't be filled with leaves, pine needles or the dreaded "helicopter" seeds. The cost is stupid, but it looks like it would really work. I'm sorry I dont have a trade name for the product but I saw them at an ACE hardware store.

 

[mpire]

See, I don't have these issues because I have PALM TREES.

You know you are jealous.

 

[jabberwoki]

Do you find that all the debris just flows over the guard and down over the walls instead? Thats what happed when i tried those guards with doug fir needles.

 

[MichaelP]

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/showthread.php?t=41550

 

[Bear]

See the foam here
http://www.gutterstuff.com/

I installed some this fall so will see how it works. Costco had it for good price.

 

[nutjob]

How well they work depends on what type of trees you have. I needed something that would work with pine needles and oak trees.

The reverse curve type IMO does not work with anything small.

Take a look at the LeafRelief® by Alcoa Home Exteriors.

I installed this: http://www.leafsolution.com/

It has worked very well. I had the company install all new gutters so that they would be pitched correctly at the same time as the screen install.

Here is a good selection of stuff: http://www.guttersupply.com/p-screens.gstml

Kevin

 

[Herb]

I have some of the solid, white vinyl guards with the perforated edge on my shed dormer. They have been up for 4 years and really work well keeping out the maple spinners and oak droppings along with all leaves. The only draw back I've seen is that mold builds up on the fascia board behind the gutter. I think that is because of lack of airflow behind the gutter. My mudroom addition has some heavy duty perforated metal mesh guards I installed 2 years ago. These also have done extremely well at keeping out any and all tree droppings. The nice thing about this style guard is that you can look through the mesh and see if there is any build- up of debris. There also isn't any mold build up at all, and yes it is on the same side of the house as the dormer, the south side. These worked out well enough that I just finished installing another 140 lf on the rest of the house and garage. My gutters are 6" half round aluminum gutters that I purchased from Classic Gutters 6 or 7 years ago and they had these screens to go with them. I've found that with either style guard some debris can get through the openings, but that is alright with me since it is so small that it easily washes out with any rain. It may help that I only have one downspout for every run of gutter ( 30 feet) and they are installed with a lot of pitch, around a 2 1/2 drop, so the water velocity is pretty high. My gutters have never even come close to overflowing or backing up in any kind of down pour.

 

[SweetD]

This product gets great reviews locally, although I have not installed it (yet):

http://gutterbrush.com/index.htm

Also, MADE IN THE USA.

Dave

 

[rodnok1]

Really depends on your trees IMO, dealing with big leaves from a chestnut and pine needles I used the cheapo plastic grate style from Lowes/HD. I had them for 4 years and the last year I had to replace 2-3 because the warped. They worked well overall, easy to remove to clean out also. They would **** with maple trees around...

 

[Falcon67]

A ladder and a good set of gloves.

 

[Pompous]

If the gutter cover is appropriate for your surroundings, like the type of trees, then it'll work perfectly. The main goal of gutter covers is to minimize and make cleaning effortless.

You can check out Hallett Gutter Cover, their reverse curve mechanism works well for a fairly good price. I think their address is... hallettguttercover.com

 

[josall]

I installed 300' of this style last summer and have been very happy, no caving in, no buckling (and we did have snow and ice). I have the k style gutter. The company name is Amerimax and it comes in 3' sections and I think I paid $1.30 each. It won't stop pine needles. Don't buy the brown if its in the sun it will buckle and twist, they replaced with the white. I was amazed at how high the price was on alot of the styles.

http://www.amerimax.com/productdetail.asp?iProductId=58&iSubCatID=14

 

[SuperSocket]

See, I don't have these issues because I have PALM TREES.

You know you are jealous.

That's ok. I will be in my BASEMENT with the home theater I just bought because I saved so much on my ELECTRIC BILL

You know you are jealous.

 

[JMURiz]

I have gutter-stuff...not really sold on it. The oak trees with the pollen pods really fill it up, and the birds peck at it trying to eat up the seeds.

I think for oak and maple trees there really isn't anything that works. I'll have to get up on a ladder with a leaf blower and see if I can blow a years worth of crud off the top.

I should have gone with leafguard 5" gutters...oh well.

 

[clkimmel]

See the foam here
http://www.gutterstuff.com/

I installed some this fall so will see how it works. Costco had it for good price.

I just bought some of this at Sam's Club the other day, I don't remember how much it is but it wasn't much. I still have not installed it so I can't say if its worth it.

 

[jeffwinger]

I have the concrete-designed by Hallet Gutter Cover and I never have to worry the problems that mesh type gutter cover entails. I have friends and neighbors that have mesh gutter covers and I can see that during rainy and winter season, the holes on the mesh covers ice up and get snowed in . Compared to gutters covers with no holes, the snows just melts in time and the gutters are fully protected. No icings, no buildups. With kids at home I am concerned for their safety, that’s why it is important that my gutters does not create ice dams and I never have to experienced that with the one I’m using right now.

 

[rburke65]

Jeff...what does that mean...you have concrete gutters? I don't understand. Thanks!

 

[Buford T. Justice]

This is what I installed:

http://www.leaf-relief.com/

This has performed flawlessly for me and I am surrounded by maple trees and their billions of seeds.

 

[slickgt1]

I put in the Home Depot metal ones with the two clips. They have a nice arch in them, I kept that arch, and drove some self tapping screws through them into the gutters. Have not had a problem for over 6 years. Actually climbed up there last summer to clean them, but when I got up, they were clean as a whistle.

 

[rieferman]

I have the "leaf relief" as seen two posts above, and they have worked very well for over 4 years now. We get a lot of snow in the winter, and did not have any ice damn issues either.

 

[drof]

I purchased Gutter Guards for my entire home about 3 years ago. I don't believe any leafs got past the guard and into the gutter. The problem was that anything less than light shower the water went right over the guard and into my yard. I had them replaced this year with 4 inch gutters. Never again on a gimmic.

 

[anglinajolie]

hey! i just want to tell you that last year i also suffered from same kind of problem regarding guards and gutter covers. But i found the good source that really helps in preventing regular cleaning. As the home owner i want to suggest you that, if some one suffer from this kind of problem please visit this source http://www.ultimategutterguard.net/. It will provide you happy solutions.

 

[mslisaj]

I've got these on about 3/4 of my gutters:
http://www.guttagard.com/

I have these on my home now. Yes I had a leaf problem but mostly after I installed the metal roof the snow would slide off and take the gutters off the house with it. I put these up and they solved all my problems. In a real gully washer, yes the rain will flow right over the top. But the trade off for me with the snow and the gutters was worth it. Solved my leaf problem too of course.

Lisa

 

[Ray-CA]

I had these on the house we sold last yea: http://www.smartscreenusa.com/

Worked great, but we didn't get snow and ice where we lived (but lots and LOTS of rain.)

Ray

 

[Cryptic1911]

I installed 300' of this style last summer and have been very happy, no caving in, no buckling (and we did have snow and ice). I have the k style gutter. The company name is Amerimax and it comes in 3' sections and I think I paid $1.30 each. It won't stop pine needles. Don't buy the brown if its in the sun it will buckle and twist, they replaced with the white. I was amazed at how high the price was on alot of the styles.

http://www.amerimax.com/productdetail.asp?iProductId=58&iSubCatID=14

We have this same stuff from Amerimax.. got it at Lowes for like $2 a section I think? It snaps in solid, so I don't think it'll ever go anywhere. Seems to work good so far

 

[darkk]

It won't stop pine needles. I was amazed at how high the price was on alot of the styles.

We have a few pine trees near one corner of our addition and these gutter guards do a fine job of stopping the pine needles. Sometimes they will pile up a little, but a good rain washes them right off. When we had the gutters done, the installer wanted more for the guards than the original install. We are more than happy with these *cheapies*