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Discussion Forum

Gutter guards

SBerruezo | Posted in General Discussion on September 1, 2006 12:39pm

Hello folks, sorry if this doesn’t belong here, but I thought I’d ask anyway.  Has anybody installed any kind of gutter/leaf gaurds?  How effective are they, and how was the installation?  There is a Coast Live Oak (for leaves, think holly–kind of small and pointy) at my mom’s place, and she wants to do something to prevent them from filling the gutters.  It’s only on one corner of the house, so it  doesn’t seem like everything needs to be done.  Any thoughts on brands/styles and installation, or anything else I may need to know?  Should she just pay someone else to deal with it?  Thanks

 

Young, poor, and eager to learn

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Replies

  1. sungod | Sep 01, 2006 02:12am | #1

    Go ahead and do it for her. Just make sure you have a good ladder. Any plastic one is OK

  2. User avater
    Sphere | Sep 01, 2006 02:42am | #2

    We are using a new system, that is like a scotch brite pad in 3' lengths, it curls into the gutter..either K stlye or 1/2 round.

    I just slapped in 300' and don't even know the name of it, but it seems to be working real well...

    See You can name it.

    Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

    " If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"

  3. cliffy | Sep 01, 2006 04:47am | #3

    I put in 40 feet of plastic guard about 4 years ago and it is still there.  I just put in and used a few dabs of silicone to hold it down. I have not had to clean out that gutter since.

    Have a good day

    Cliffy

  4. sleddriver | Sep 01, 2006 04:48am | #4

    Leaf guards have expanded my vocabulary (sp?) in the negative direction more than anything else I've tackled.

    First, I tried plastic. Worked ok for awhile, till the squirrels chewed holes in them so they could drink out of the gutter. UV from the sun took care of what was left.

    Next I tried metal. Bent it into an upside down U and stuck it in there. Filled up with leaves all around it.

    Then I tried thin metal panels, glued down one edge with silicone, quite tough to tuck under the shingles.

    I too have oaks around my house. The tassles are the hassle! They go through the holes and then stuff starts to grow in the gutter.

    I need em due to poor drainage around my foundation, but what a pain in the @$$ they are.

    I'm always open for a better solution.

    Good luck.

    1. JMadson | Sep 01, 2006 06:21am | #5

      I'm always open for a better solution.

      Bigger downspouts, washes all the little stuff right on out.“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

      1. SBerruezo | Sep 06, 2006 08:06am | #16

        Thanks for all the responses.  I talked to mom and told her that the Leafguard seemed to get the best responses, but she doesn't want to replace 3-4 year old gutters.  So we are on to plan B, whatever that may be.  Ice is of no concern around here.  I'll cruise through the local supply yards and big boxes, and see what they have in stock.  I remember seeing some in the past.  Looking at the design of the Leafguard, though, it seems like a product like GuttaGuard or GutterHelmet would be the best--Solid metal with a curl tucked close to the outer lip of the gutter.  Any concerns with roof penetration/voiding whatever warranty she might have?  Thanks 

        Young, poor, and eager to learn

        1. bldrbill | Sep 06, 2006 06:29pm | #18

          No roof penetration with Guttaguard.

  5. User avater
    ProDek | Sep 01, 2006 07:47am | #6

    I put leaf guard gutters on my house because I have lots of Maple trees in my back yard and I don't do ladders.

    http://www.leafguard.com/home.asp

    Now these suckers are pricey. The trick is the 5" down spouts with clean outs.

    Most other guards plug with debris and force water back to your roof sheathing causing premature rot.  

    "Rather be a hammer than a nail"

    Bob

  6. mizshredder2 | Sep 01, 2006 07:55am | #7

    This is another endorsement of Leafguard gutters.

    I have a 2112 sq ft house on a 1 acre lot with 50' tall white oaks...

    I had the "few" existing gutters removed and the entire perimeter got the Leafguard gutters.

    They've been great.  Marked off permanently from my to do list:  'clean gutters'.

    Great written, and transferable, warranty too. 

    DUM SPIRO SPERO:  "While I breathe I hope"

    1. seeyou | Sep 01, 2006 01:58pm | #8

      >>>>>>>>This is another endorsement of Leafguard gutters.They freeze up badly around here. I've seen 2 story tall ice stallagtite/stallagmites coming from them on the shady side. Hopefully you don't have prolonged below freezing periods coupled with lots of snow. 

      "Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.

      GRANTT LOGANN - THE LEXINGTONVILLE COPPERWRIGHT

       

      http://grantlogan.net/

      1. Stuart | Sep 01, 2006 04:21pm | #11

        I have Leafguard gutters as well.  They work great for keeping the leaves, seeds, etc. out, but as mentioned I seem to get more icicles than I did before they were installed.  I haven't had any two story tall ones, but on occasion I have had them two or three feet long in certain areas around the house.  Fortunately, when they do occur they're in places where I can easily knock them down by hand.

        I'm in Minnesota; the icicles usually don't show up until March, when we get more freeze/thaw cycles.

      2. mizshredder2 | Sep 01, 2006 05:46pm | #12

        In the four years I've been living here in central AR...we RARELY get any snow at all! (much to my despair as I'm a snow bunny - a "shredder" in the snowboarding sense of the word!)

        One year since I've been here, we got a light "dusting" of snow... I ran outside all excited like!  and took pictures right away!  and was a good thing as coupla of hours later after sun came out, it had all melted away...

        So yeah, not much potential for what you describe happening, round here.DUM SPIRO SPERO:  "While I breathe I hope"

      3. BryanSayer | Sep 06, 2006 10:34pm | #19

        StalacTITES hold tight to the ceiling (roof) and stalagMITES might reach to the ceiling if they keep growing.

        1. seeyou | Sep 07, 2006 12:17am | #20

          >>>>>>>>>>
          StalacTITES hold tight to the ceiling (roof) and stalagMITES might reach to the ceiling if they keep growingOk, I spelled 'em wrong. Thanks for correcting me. The point is the ice was continuous from the gutter to the ground - thick on the top and bottom and thin in the middle. 

          "Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.

          http://grantlogan.net/

          1. BryanSayer | Sep 07, 2006 09:35pm | #21

            I wasn't correcting your spelling (I had to look it up too). I was pointing out that they are all stalactites, not stalagmites. Stalagmites grow from the bottom up (from water dripping down), hence they are wider on the bottom.That cute little mnemonic was taught to me on a tour of the Lurray caverns.

          2. bldrbill | Sep 08, 2006 12:04am | #22

            Here's another wa to remember it--tites come down.

          3. BryanSayer | Sep 08, 2006 12:16am | #23

            Only if you are lucky...

          4. seeyou | Sep 08, 2006 01:03am | #24

            >>>>>I was pointing out that they are all stalactites, not stalagmites. Stalagmites grow from the bottom up (from water dripping down), hence they are wider on the bottom.And that is exactly what I witnessed. The melting ice was refreezing on the ground creating a stalagmite and growing back up to the stalactite hanging from the gutter until they connected, damnit. That was why I described it as I did originally. 

            "Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.

            http://grantlogan.net/

          5. BKCBUILDER | Sep 08, 2006 04:10am | #25

            I'm an actual Geologist as well as a GC....and when wearing either hat, we call them Icesicles period. No matta up, no matta down....ICESICLES!

          6. seeyou | Sep 08, 2006 04:23am | #26

            Jeez - a picture would have been worth a thousand words - I was trying to describe what the icesicles looked like. 

            "Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.

            http://grantlogan.net/

          7. BKCBUILDER | Sep 08, 2006 04:50am | #27

             Youz guys crack me up.

          8. User avater
            Sphere | Sep 08, 2006 05:03am | #28

            Ok smarmy pants.

            What cave system has organ pipes embedded?

             HUH? Huh?

             

            Be being the tuner of such...

            Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

            " If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"

  7. BKCBUILDER | Sep 01, 2006 02:16pm | #9

     I've been installing "Waterfall" gutterguard by Crane for about 10 years and love it. Did one house in the woods for free, just as a test and those folks are now one of my best testimonials.

     It runs about $1.75/ft for the material.....installed you can get $7-9/ft. Comes in 8ft sections, 250 ft to the carton, white and clay color.

  8. danski0224 | Sep 01, 2006 02:34pm | #10

    I installed the white plastic ones sold at HD- not the ones with the diamond shaped holes.

    I tried the mesh and the plastic ones with the diamond shaped holes. The mesh caused major ice dams and the holes let too much stuff through.

    The smooth top setup works well, very little gets through. I also trimmed them a bit so each piece has 2" of overlap. No UV brittleness or yellowing yet, and they have been up for 5 years. You can get brown ones from the manufacturer.

    I do get icicles, though. That is the one major drawback. Fortunately, I live in a ranch.

    Took about a day to install them.

  9. bldrbill | Sep 01, 2006 08:27pm | #13

    I have used the wire guards and the plastic ones from HD.  Both clog up with oak tassels and pine needlesand other tree debris.  I now have a product called Guttaguard that is working well.  Its cheap and easy to install DIY, made of a light guage aluminum.  You can find it with a google search.

  10. DanH | Sep 01, 2006 11:41pm | #14

    I tried some of the roll screens and they didn't do much good, but then I found some stuff that comes in 4-foot sections (fairly stiff) and snaps onto K gutters. Put that up about 4 years back on the most problem gutter section and haven't had problems since.

    I did find I had to notch the snap-on edge around ferrules, to get it to fit right.

    Saw something different at the MN state fair a few days ago, though: It's a plastic screen that's folded into a sort of 3-sided box shape (maybe 3 inches on a side) and set open-side-down INSIDE the gutter. Gutter still fills up with leaves and such, but the screen maintains an open channel for drainage. Come a dry spell and the leaves blow out and into your neighbors' gutters.

    At least that's the theory.

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  11. DanH | Sep 01, 2006 11:45pm | #15

    BTW, with any sort of plastic exposed to the sun avoid white or transparent and to for brown/black if you possibly can. The pigments in the darker colors help protect the plastic from UV damage.

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  12. TOOS | Sep 06, 2006 02:46pm | #17

    Here in the SF bay area, we have it pretty easy.  No ice or snow.  My problem is mostly needles from Monterey pines, with some CA oak leaves.  I used the stuff from Harbor Freight:  10' x 6" (or thereabouts) plastic mesh with plastic clips for attachment to the gutters.  Very cheap, only tool needed is scissors, go up in a couple of minutes, and mine have worked fine for about 3 years now. 

    Of course, needles get stuck in the interstices of the mesh, but that doesn't interfere with the water getting through the mesh and into the gutters, and the gutters stay nearly 100% free of needles or leaves.  The needles can be brushed or vacuumed out of the mesh, though I don't bother except during fire season.

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