What are the best choices for gutter guards?
There seem to be dozens of products for covering your gutters. Which products are the best?
Factually, there is no ‘best’ choice. We always recommend NO screens or guards — guards make cleaning more difficult.
I’ve cleaned out hundreds, if not thousands, of gutters on different homes, seen lots of different kinds of guards.
None fully stop the leaves from getting in. They still get in and you still have to clean out the gutters, one way or the other. Screens/guards add more labor to the cleanout. If you select one of the designs below, you might simply have a lower amount of cleanouts needed.
But to answer your question, some of the better choices come down to two basic designs:
1) a sunken metal cover for the top of the gutter which has small perforated holes in it.
2) a louvred plastic cover with 4-6 slats tightly configured.
These two designs let the fewest leaves in (and other debris such as nuts, twigs, seeds).
Design #1 does the best job of keeping things out of the gutter, but the sunken design still catches debris and you have to still get up there and clean off the top of guard, because the slightly sunken-in design will hold debris on top.
Design #2 allows a little more in than the first, but rarely collects anything on top. This design is usually snapped on, can sometimes blow off more often than the first design. Being plastic, it isn’t quite as durable as design #1.
The downside of both these designs is that they sometime do a poor job of water collection during extremely heavy downpours as compared to screen-type designs and designs with larger openings. (Meaning water simply flows right past and off the roof.)
I would NEVER invest in screen-type guards — they aren’t very durable or effective, compared to the two designs above, if you are looking at reducing cleanouts.
One of my contractors that I do work for does like one type of screen in certain situations — screens that are secured to the outside of the gutter and can be easily flipped back out of the way (to allow for cleanout still). This type can reduce clogging issues. I personally don’t care for them because they often get damaged or blow off.
Often I recommend that trees get cut down, moved, or changed to a larger leaf type. A more permanent solution, but not always practical.
Keep in mind that whatever design you pick, you have to take into consideration the type of trees around your home or building. If there are a lot of trees with small leaves or seeds, or pine needles, skip the guards and screens altogether and just do annual or semi-annual cleanouts, you’ll save money. Also keep in mind how many HEAVY downpours you get in your area and how this will interact with the guard design and your ground around the house. And keep in mind what kind of goal you are trying to reach by adding guards. (What is more important — reduced personal expenditures, reduced personal labor, reduced clogging, etc.)
3 responses so far
try using gutter screens?
References :
Factually, there is no ‘best’ choice. We always recommend NO screens or guards — guards make cleaning more difficult.
I’ve cleaned out hundreds, if not thousands, of gutters on different homes, seen lots of different kinds of guards.
None fully stop the leaves from getting in. They still get in and you still have to clean out the gutters, one way or the other. Screens/guards add more labor to the cleanout. If you select one of the designs below, you might simply have a lower amount of cleanouts needed.
But to answer your question, some of the better choices come down to two basic designs:
1) a sunken metal cover for the top of the gutter which has small perforated holes in it.
2) a louvred plastic cover with 4-6 slats tightly configured.
These two designs let the fewest leaves in (and other debris such as nuts, twigs, seeds).
Design #1 does the best job of keeping things out of the gutter, but the sunken design still catches debris and you have to still get up there and clean off the top of guard, because the slightly sunken-in design will hold debris on top.
Design #2 allows a little more in than the first, but rarely collects anything on top. This design is usually snapped on, can sometimes blow off more often than the first design. Being plastic, it isn’t quite as durable as design #1.
The downside of both these designs is that they sometime do a poor job of water collection during extremely heavy downpours as compared to screen-type designs and designs with larger openings. (Meaning water simply flows right past and off the roof.)
I would NEVER invest in screen-type guards — they aren’t very durable or effective, compared to the two designs above, if you are looking at reducing cleanouts.
One of my contractors that I do work for does like one type of screen in certain situations — screens that are secured to the outside of the gutter and can be easily flipped back out of the way (to allow for cleanout still). This type can reduce clogging issues. I personally don’t care for them because they often get damaged or blow off.
Often I recommend that trees get cut down, moved, or changed to a larger leaf type. A more permanent solution, but not always practical.
Keep in mind that whatever design you pick, you have to take into consideration the type of trees around your home or building. If there are a lot of trees with small leaves or seeds, or pine needles, skip the guards and screens altogether and just do annual or semi-annual cleanouts, you’ll save money. Also keep in mind how many HEAVY downpours you get in your area and how this will interact with the guard design and your ground around the house. And keep in mind what kind of goal you are trying to reach by adding guards. (What is more important — reduced personal expenditures, reduced personal labor, reduced clogging, etc.)
References :
master slate roofer
i think butter guards a garbage if you have a nice down poor the guards act as a slide and roll right off the roof so the gutters don’t even get to do their job just clean your gutters once a year gutter guards are a waste of money
References :
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