Experience with Gutter Guard systems

[Vancat]

Hey gang. I'm tired of the gutter cleaning thing. Anyone have any experience/comments/comparisons/praise/complaints about gutter guard systems?
Are they worth it? Are they really maintenance-free? I know some involve entire gutter replacement, some don't. I just want something that works good. I tried the cheapy things you put on yourself and they were more of a pain than keeping the gutters open.

 

[Kathy]

Hey gang. I'm tired of the gutter cleaning thing. Anyone have any experience/comments/comparisons/praise/complaints about gutter guard systems?
Are they worth it? Are they really maintenance-free? I know some involve entire gutter replacement, some don't. I just want something that works good. I tried the cheapy things you put on yourself and they were more of a pain than keeping the gutters open.

I put on Gutter Helmet in 2020 - my gutters were only about 18 months old at the time. Have had no issues and no cleaning needed.

 

[sledog]

The fmexh in Gutter Topper may let particles from roof shingles into gutter and eventually get into any thank used for gutter drainage,

I used Gutter Topper w a grey color to match the house trim paint color. Amazed to find that the color faded and turned white after 3-4 yrears. Apparently no warantee.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Following this for I am having issues with water running behind gutters when we have these heavy rains and the ominous erosion line in below mulch

 

[outlaw]

relevant - have a clog that I cant reach with a ladder.. any recs in the Farmington/Bristol area for cleanings?

 

[cohenzone]

no longer a home owner but my last house had a lot of oak trees in the back and a few in front. We had Leafguard installed. Worked very well

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Following this for I am having issues with water running behind gutters when we have these heavy rains and the ominous erosion line in below mulch

I'm out of my element with regards to handy man advice but this just happened to me so relaying my experience.

Apparently the previous owner didn't have a roof drip edge installed (think behind the gutter) and when I had my roof done all the roof sheathing was rotted, which also caused some damage on the interior sheetrock.

So while during heavy rain some water hit the sheathing, some went into the home, the rest all hit the mulch close to homes foundation. That pooling of water exacerbated a (vertical) crack in my foundation.

A new roof, gutters, and a passing review from a structural engineer of the crack and i think I'm all set for now.

That's my roundabout way of saying keep an eye on the sheathing and also any foundation issues that additional water could be causing.

Probably a long winded post giving you some unsolicited comments but figured I'd share...id wager your situation isn't likely as bad as mine was.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I'm out of my element with regards to handy man advice but this just happened to me so relaying my experience.

Apparently the previous owner didn't have a roof drip edge installed (think behind the gutter) and when I had my roof done all the roof sheathing was rotted, which also caused some damage on the interior sheetrock.

So while during heavy rain some water hit the sheathing, some went into the home, the rest all hit the mulch close to homes foundation. That pooling of water exacerbated a (vertical) crack in my foundation.

A new roof, gutters, and a passing review from a structural engineer of the crack and i think I'm all set for now.

That's my roundabout way of saying keep an eye on the sheathing and also any foundation issues that additional water could be causing.

Probably a long winded post giving you some unsolicited comments but figured I'd share...id wager your situation isn't likely as bad as mine was.

Much appreciated! Typical settling crack on another area but no other concerns. It’s right above our sump pump so that helps

 

[uconn13]

Hey gang. I'm tired of the gutter cleaning thing. Anyone have any experience/comments/comparisons/praise/complaints about gutter guard systems?
Are they worth it? Are they really maintenance-free? I know some involve entire gutter replacement, some don't. I just want something that works good. I tried the cheapy things you put on yourself and they were more of a pain than keeping the gutters open.

We have had gutter helmets for quite some time now, over 15 years, I believe. They are excellent. The newer versions have a temperature regulated heat tape built inside that automatically adjusts to combat ice/snow build-up. Of course your electric panel must support the amperage required, so that would be an additional cost. But in my opinion, it is well worth having those modifications done to accommodate the auto heat tape feature.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Much appreciated! Typical settling crack on another area but no other concerns. It’s right above our sump pump so that helps

Funny - I think my sump just died on me the other day. Cannot get a call back from any place I've reached out too!

 

[polycom]

I have them on my house. I still have to clean the leaves off the guards because there are trees all around my house.

 

[NJHusky]

We had them installed after a leaf induced water backup caused some internal water damage. It was 5 years ago and I haven’t cleaned the gutters once. Dont know the brand as just used a local contractor

 

[Samoo]

We had gutter guards; they didn't work and we got rid of them when we reroofed. Our particular situation - live in Oregon, single story with shallow pitched roof and multiple valleys, and have a number of 60–150-year-old Doug firs around our house. The falling needles would slip in the small slots in them and clog the gutters with no simple means to clean them. We replaced our gutters with oversized 6" K style gutters - now I blow them out when needed with relative ease.

 

[RichCTBB]

Following this for I am having issues with water running behind gutters when we have these heavy rains and the ominous erosion line in below mulch

I had this issue as well….large roof with a not so steep pitch so the water wouldn’t be moving fast enough. I ended up putting flashing underneath the drip edge and over the gutter so there’s no way it goes behind the gutter now.

 

[alphasigko]

I had leafguard too... I agree w/"stupid expensive". They worked fine, except after a snow strong while the sun melted the snow, the screens would freeze over and the melting now water would run over the top of the leaf guard and drip over the edge onto the ground or walkway and cause puddles that would also freeze overnite. After a huge hail storm ruined my roof along with a number of feet of the leafguard, I had all of the covers removed and trashed. The gutters then continued to properly drain the melting snow. I sold the house wiring a year of replacing the roof.

 

[Devland]

I had a self installed gutter guard (couldn't tell you the make). They worked pretty well until they disappeared 2 years ago when I had a new roof put on.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Bought a house in Mass two years ago with some kind of gutter cover and haven’t needed to clean them. My prior house in NJ we cleaned annually

 

[Yardigan]

relevant - have a clog that I cant reach with a ladder.. any recs in the Farmington/Bristol area for cleanings?

What I do is....Take a wire coat hanger (if you can even find one) and concoct it into something you can use to move debris around in the area of the clog, whilst hanging perilously out of an open window, maybe with a child hanging on to you to make sure you don't fall out. Of course, you can only do this during a raging downpour (when else would you bother?) and that always ratchets up the wifely anxiety, and who doesn't need a little more of that? Oh...now I totally get why you're looking into this.... must read to end of thread....

 

[uconnfan68]

I put on Gutter Helmet in 2020 - my gutters were only about 18 months old at the time. Have had no issues and no cleaning needed.

Long story short. Be care who you’re dealing with. Our Gutter Helmet didn’t really survive a reroof, by a company that also installs Gutter Helmet (not the ones that originally did it). They had no clue what they were doing, but I managed to stop the destruction after about 10’ on the garage. They still don’t handle really heavy rain. I just pretend they work. It’s 3 stories in back, and I don’t like heights.

 

[Scrutineer]

I'm out of my element with regards to handy man advice but this just happened to me so relaying my experience.

Apparently the previous owner didn't have a roof drip edge installed (think behind the gutter) and when I had my roof done all the roof sheathing was rotted, which also caused some damage on the interior sheetrock.

So while during heavy rain some water hit the sheathing, some went into the home, the rest all hit the mulch close to homes foundation. That pooling of water exacerbated a (vertical) crack in my foundation.

A new roof, gutters, and a passing review from a structural engineer of the crack and i think I'm all set for now.

That's my roundabout way of saying keep an eye on the sheathing and also any foundation issues that additional water could be causing.

Probably a long winded post giving you some unsolicited comments but figured I'd share...id wager your situation isn't likely as bad as mine was.

Gutter guards are good. Make sure you get the kind that have aluminum frames and stainless steel screens. They won't sag from the weight of leaves, etc. and they won't rust.

There are other companies, but Leaf Guard is one well known national brand. I got estimates from two other companies with comparable quality gutters and guards and then worked the Leaf Guard sales guy to get their price down. If you don't like dealing with car salesmen you won't like them because the guy started 40% higher than the others but touted their special internet discount which brought it down to about 20% over the best of the other two. When I told him he was still too high he went into all the quality BS and I told him I knew the quality of the other one and he took out his calculator and said he'd cut some other costs and got his down to about 10% over the best one I had and I thanked him but said with all the other projects I had going on I couldn't go with him. He wasn't happy but was civil about it. It was $500 so it wasn't hard to say no to him. That'll buy some of the shrubs we'll be adding around our patio.

We're also doing some grading to get water away from the foundation. In heavy rains it was pooling near the house and caused some settling of the golf cart garage that had to be fixed by jacking it up. All it needed was a few inches of top soil added to the area within four feet of the garage and then graded away from the foundation.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Following this for I am having issues with water running behind gutters when we have these heavy rains and the ominous erosion line in below mulch

My neighbor has them and they did block the leaves but they also block so much of the surface area above the gutter that in very heavy thunderstorm rainfall the rain is coming off the roof so fast that it rolls right over the gutter, making a waterfall all around the house. They do work though in moderate or light rainfall. He now has stoney trenches gouged out by the water all around his foundation. Might be cheaper to just hire a tree guy to cut down any branches or trees close to the house.

 

[Dove]

We bought some kind of leaf filter system a few years ago. We were at work when install happened. To this day I have no idea if there is a new system up there. We just assume!! The company cleverly sprinkled a few pieces of old-looking gutter screens around for convincing.

 

[Vancat]

So far the only one I have not heard complaints on is the Gutter Helmet.

 

[Kathy]

So far the only one I have not heard complaints on is the Gutter Helmet.

I had leaf guard in CT, like gutter helmet better