Gutters And Gutter Guards

Mitch M

I am doing some work on this house. The gutters have not been cleaned out in a while. Some of the house has gutter guards and some do not. I have come to the conclusion that for the most part, gutter guards are not worth it. For several reasons. 1. If the guard gets clogged up like the attached picture then it is no good anyway. 2. Depending on the type and installation, if there is debris in the gutter itself it is almost impossible to see it much less clean it out. 3. Cleaning out the gutters on a regular basis allows you to examine everything else to make sure no holes, nail pops, missing shingles, etc. and 4. Some applications just do not work. The gutters are too high to the roof and therefore causes the guards to be level therefore holding leaves, etc

I also think it can create a false sense of security to the HO because it is touted as "maintenance free".

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nlgutters

That is just a badddd installation with crap material. They work well if you install them right and use them in the right applacation. With trees that close nothing will work perfect. I have some on the back of my house that have been up 4 years and have never touched them. I have installed almost 100k ft of them and have only had 1 call back where they clogged.

I would cut that bush back a touch and put up a solid style guard.

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Patrick

I agree, We install thousands of feet of gutters and premium gutter guards every year, and they work, because we install them correctly. We are honest with people, if we go to a house and they have roof issues, or some issue that would prevent us from doing a quality job, we flat out dont do it, we wont try to make something fit that will just cause problems down the road, like in this case.

And let me just add, VINYL is not a suitable material for gutters, or gutter guards

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Originally Posted by Celtic
Like I said...I'm sure you are very good at what you do ~ whatever that is and where ever it happens.

Mitch M

I can agree to a point. I have some that I bought from Lowes and installed on my house. They work great. I only have to clean off two lower less pitch roofs a few times a year. That is because of the pine trees that I have.

The problem is that people make so many assumptions and the installers are taking advantage of it. I had some helmet gutter guards installed for a client and if it is raining hard it does not go into the gutter at all.

P, why do you say that about vinyl?

Mitch M

here is a short video that I did with one working incorrectly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyzRlM-nXXM

and here is the same after I clean it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iShtZu2woo

nlgutters

Again. The installers probably did a crappy job. It dosent matter how hard its raining or how light it is raining water still comes off the roof at the same speed? It's just more volume. I have looked in a absolute down pore and it never ever shots off my guards.

I find a lot of people say that but what they are seeing is the rain hitting the front lip and running down the face of the gutter.

It is true a lot of these sales people lye to the homeowners. nothing in the world is 100% maintence free especially on the exterior of a home. they should spray down the front of the gutter once or twice a year.

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Coastal Pros

Gutter pro is the only leaf product that works for your gutters. No matter what pitch you have water will run into gutter.

Ed the Roofer

Your webiste link to the Idea Center on the bottom of your rewards page has a virus.

Ed

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Patrick

It cant withstand Ice and snow build up we use only solid aluminum covers, we use one similiar to what coastal pros shows, but it is perforated. Heres a link to our site http://www.patrickkubala.com/gutters.html

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Originally Posted by Celtic
Like I said...I'm sure you are very good at what you do ~ whatever that is and where ever it happens.

SeamlessGutters

A cheaper option I have had good luck with is a steel screen. I like them because they don't clog that much and you don't have to worry about over flow. But yes, as stated earlier in the post, this leaf protection was not installed correctly. For these kind to work right the angle has to be the same as the roof, which usually means you hang the gutter considerably lower on the fascia.

Tom Struble

i use Leaf Relife they work well and are reasonably priced

Patrick

What a nightmare, well let me clarify,

If you are using leaf relief as a retro fit on an exsiting gutter, thats cool its a good product.

But the one you install at the same time as the gutter is such a horrible design, no bracket, and you can never remove that cover unless you take the gutter down.

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Originally Posted by Celtic
Like I said...I'm sure you are very good at what you do ~ whatever that is and where ever it happens.

Tom Struble

they have different types Patrick,i dont use the one with the built in gutter bracket

Lefty H

Hi,

It is better to have the clog on top of the gutter, then in the gutter.

The clog on top of the gutter will not rip your gutters off the house. The clog on top of the gutter will not fill you gutters with ice.

You have shown a very bad install. To judge a product by a bad installer is misleading. I do not install Waterfall gutter guards anymore. It is about 10 years since the last one. They are still up and working fine. One job I go back every 3 years to clean out one section. If he did not have this installed he would have to clean out his gutters every year.

I also remove a 1,000 feet of Waterfall a year and replace it with the other systems I use. This is because of bad installs not the product.

Ed the Roofer

Welcome to this site Lefty.

I didn't see you sign up.

Good to have you here.

Ed

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aegisroofing

Definitely looks to be a shoty install job but IMO I'm not happy with any gutter guards protecting against pine needles.

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AeGis Roofing
Roof Repair or Replacement

Capital Gutters

Have to agree with everyone that said this was a bad product and bad install. In addition to cutting the bush back, a reverse brush on a pole works well for cleaning debris off a gutter guard. This can be easily done from the ground.
Madison Gutters
Madison Gutter Guards

Ghostbeard

In those pics, is Waterfall Brand Vinyl gutter guards. PURE CRAP, as with any guard that uses the 3" slotted hole method. As you can see, doesnt work with pine straw.

CrescentGutter

Does anyone make a gutter guard of some sort that will work with vampire or strap type hangers?
I've used Speed Screen from Lynch Aluminum but it's not the best looking job to try and notch around a strap type hanger. The longer I'm involved with the business, the more I tend to agree with Grumpy that the things just aren't worth installing. But some customers insist on some type of screen/protection and when you're dealing with angled fascia and crown moldings you pretty much have to use a strap type hanger.

CrescentGutter

To answer my own question from above, it appears that the only solution for strap type hangers is the foam type guards.
I just don't see a practical way to install screen types over, under or around strap hangers. At least not any way that doesn't compromise the way the screen is supposed to be secured.