I need to install gutter guards on my 2 story home and wondered which are the least problematic. I don’t mind a little maintence trip to the roof every so often but don’t want to install something that requires trips up there several times a year.
Thanks,
Brad
Replies
I've had pretty good luck with the plastic things you get at Home Despot, about 3 feet long with a diamond grid and something like fiberglass screen on top of that. They fit my aluminum K-style gutters pretty well, though it's necessary to notch out the pieces where the nail ferrules are, so they will snap on cleanly. (A pair of plain old wire cutters work for notching.) Since they're in short pieces you don't have to wrangle great lengths of the stuff while installing, and if you get the joints tight there's little trouble with stuff leaking through. And it's fairly easy to remove a section when you need to clean below.
I think this is what I've used:
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There are also versions of these things without the screen on top. They work pretty well but the grid loads up with maple seeds fairly quickly.
What type trees?
If Alder, d fir or hemlock, nothing I've ever seen keeps alder polen out nor hemlock needles, a few do keep 80% of fir needles out.
This spring, alder pollen so thck there was 1/2" deep sludge in bottom of gutters, all a gutter guard wold do is make it harder to clean.
The plastic screens I described have a fairly fine screen on top. Does a fairly good job with pine needles, though I'm not familiar with the attributes of hemlock.
Hemlock has a lot of short 1/4" long, fine, flat type needles. They will follow water flow around the edges of the overflow type protectors and go thru anything more coarse than window screening.
Pollen here will go thru window screen even. The pollen is only a 2-3 week spring time event, it there is a wind before a rain it will all blow off the roof, otherwise washes into the gutters.
I like my trees (about 25 ea 100 to 160 ft tall D Fir within 30 feet of house), so have deck 100% along wherever there are gutters with 2x4 step on railing to be able to reach gutters for easy cleaning.
Nope, in 43 years, have never had one fall on house.
No to plastic!
First of all, gutters are an invention of satan :) Plastic screens are lousy, and the screen material glued on will delaminate all too soon. Squirrels love to chew through the plastic. Birds peck at it. Forget it!
Try a fine-filtered screen made entirely of galvanized metal or aluminum. Menards sells both. Yes, they cost quite a bit more than plastic. The comments made by others regarding the kind of trees nearby should not be disreguarded. There are some trees whose droppings even the best guard can't handle. A minimum yearly check-up/cleaning is advised. Remember, no matter what Gutter Helmet and other manufacturers claim, there is no such thing as a maintenance-free gutter!