![]() ![]() You could spend up to $30 a foot on an installed system. High-quality gutter guards are great, but they’re expensive. Either purchase a high-end system or have a high-end system professionally installed. If you’re going to do a gutter guard, do it right. They might work fine when they’re initially installed, but I know from experience that they clog and collapse into the gutters over time. They rated one particular DIY plastic guard as a Best Buy, but I don’t agree with their findings. No system is perfect.īack in 2010, Consumer Reports did a report on gutter guard systems. I’ve seen failures on the high-end systems too, however. I’ve seen tons of outright failures on cheap DIY systems. This works well with normal rain but can overflow with heavy rain, despite what manufacturers claim on their websites. Solid ‘shield’ type of gutter guards rely on the capillary properties of water to get water into the gutters. If this isn’t done, water can overcome the gutters.Īdditionally, there is no perfect system. No matter what you install, someone will still need to get on the roof or a ladder to clear off debris. Let me repeat, there is no such thing as a maintenance-free gutter guard system. Even the best systems can be completely overcome by debris on the roof, as the valley trees below clearly illustrate. There is no such thing as a maintenance-free gutter guard system. They will, however, help to give melting snow and ice a path to the ground. These systems won’t prevent ice dams, because ice dams begin to form above the gutter. One such product is the Helmet Heat® system from Gutter Helmet. If you go for the really high-end systems, you can even get heated gutter guards to help with ice dams. I’m a fan of properly installed, high-quality gutter guards. If you have big trees in your yard, gutter guards really will save you time and nasty work by helping to prevent your gutters from getting clogged. Gutter guards can do a very good job of keeping gutters flowing freely. That’s what I’ve always done, and it has worked well for me. There’s no perfect solution, but proper use of a ladder is a safe option, as far as I’m concerned. But still, none of these potential problems could be as bad as falling off of a roof. I haven’t tried any of these methods, I’m not endorsing them, and I can foresee problems with all of them. ![]() Safer methods involve using tools such as pressure washer attachments, leaf blower attachments, or maybe even robots, such as the iRobot Looj, shown below. He reached too far, his ladder tipped over, and he took a nasty fall. I actually had a client bring his own ladder to an inspection once, so he could clean out the gutters at the distressed home he was buying. The traditional methods are to either work off a ladder or walk on the roof, but I can’t decide which one is more dangerous. If you have large trees near your home, you need a plan to keep your gutters clean. This leads to water intrusion, rotted soffits, rotted fascia, and all other kinds of bad stuff you don’t want at your home. You’re better off with no gutters than clogged gutters because clogged gutters will cause overflowing gutters. To start, here’s a video discussion on the topic:Ĭlogged gutters are a big deal. Install this awesome system on your roof and you’ll never have to clean your gutters again! That’s the promise, but how accurate is this? Do these systems really work? Are they worth the money? Maybe. Gutter guard manufacturers promise to make your life easier. ![]()
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