Gutter Guards - whats the cost?

[Sunroof]

My old gutters are beat and I only have the pop in Home Deport leaf guards which blow off and really are not that effective. So, here in Atlanta, GA the adds for "Gutter Guard" and "Leaf Guard" amongst so many others show up in fliers, TV ads and the like.

You call and no one wants to give you an estimate over the phone! How much per foot installed? Everyone wants to get in your face and sell hard. Lots of incentives from dinner for two to Visa pre-paid cards if you order now!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I have to replace approximately 100 feet of gutter with a built in leaf and debris shield gutter. Cost savings would be nice. I am sure their must be dozens onboard who have had it done, but at what cost please. Is their a wide price range with these systems (aluminum versus plastic, seemless versus welded, etc)? Whats the best for less?


Thanks
Bob

[onewhippedpuppy]

My house had aluminum gutter guards installed when I bought it. They seemed high quality and never blew out, the cover section was a fairly tight weave. We did new gutters last year and elected to trash the guards. It seemed like they didn't really keep much of the tree debris out, but they made the gutters really difficult to clean.

[Rot 911]

I wouldn't get any type of gutter guard if you have pine trees. Pine needles will just clog them up.

[Sunroof]

Thanks Matt.
I have to wonder how effective these guards are. We live in a heavy wooded area and the amount of leaves and debris that rain on our roof is huge. The mesh type pop in guards we have now trap everything! So what really works?

[Sunroof]

Georgia = southern pines = needles!!!!!!!!!!

[Eric 951]

The residential roofing contractor which we partner with for certain applications advises that they are a waste of money. While they may keep out the larger debris (leafs)--pine needles and smaller debris still get iunto the guitter and also clog the guards compounding the problem. Thier advice is to save your money and clean the gutters twice a year (spring and fall).

[Sunroof]

Eric.............thanks

I will take your advice. I do pay a contractor every spring to clear out the gutter junk caught during the fall and winter. I figured that over the course of so many years it might pay to just have the guards! I have LOTS of pine tree debris.

Bob

[recycled sixtie]

We had new eavestroughs(gutters) installed about 5 years ago with gutter guards. I really like them as we have pine trees on our yard. The needles that sit on the gutterguards can be brushed off or picked off with leather work gloves.

What does end up in the actual eavestroughs is a fine dust which turns to a mudlike substance plus the crud that comes off the shingles. So the end caps of the gutter guards have to be removed once a year and a hose inserted to flush the crud out.

Can't remember what we paid for the gutter guards but whatever it was was well worth it. Leaves, pine needles etc have a hard time getting through.

Cheers, Guy

[Sunroof]

I cannot reach my gutter without a three story ladder, so using my work gloves to brush away debris let alone remove the guards and flush does not make it worthwhile for me. The guys who come out every year to blow them out are on safety ropes. Its like watching a high wire balancing act!! If the overall opinion is that they are not very effective on smaller debris (needles, twigs, etc), then I would opt out.

Looks like their is plenty of need for a better "mousetrap" if you have to remove the caps and still flush them out. Someone needs to invent DEBRIS FREE FOREVER!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Sunroof

Georgia = southern pines = needles!!!!!!!!!!

My trees are two big maple (I think) and one pine in the front of our house. The biggest offender by far is the pine tree. I hate it, but I won't cut down a nice big mature tree.

[Sunroof]

Southern (sand scrub, yellow) pines are disliked down here because they are not deeply rooted and will come down when covered with frozen precipitation. Pines and our infamous ice storms do not mix. When tornados hit down here the pines always go first!

[stomachmonkey]

Had them on my house in the NE.

As noted above pine needles and fine particulate will pass through the guards and form a "muck" that does require yearly cleaning.

We also had a heavily wooded lot.

For me that meant during the fall the gutters would fill with leaves weekly and with high rain amounts they would overflow into the stairwell for the utility basement and the drain just could not keep up with a wall of water pouring down there resulting in a flood.

I had them simply to keep the gutters clear during the Fall.

Cleaning once a year was better than having to get up there 10 times a year.

[MBAtarga]

Bob,

We had Leaf Filter guards installed on the front gutters of our new house last year. They have a unique system that prevents even shingle grit from entering the gutters - so pine needles don't even penetrate it. They can install with your current gutters and are lifetime guaranteed.

LeafFilter

I want to say the price was about $10/foot - it might have been as much as $15.

Mark

[Sunroof]

Thanks Mark. I was looking for prices here because no one will give anythingon the phone. They all want to come out dazzle you with the protect andhave you sign the contract beofre looking at any competitor. At least you mentioned $10 $15 per foot. I thought that would be a reasonable figure.

[wdfifteen]

I live in the woods, with oak, maple, hickory, and cottonwood trees all around. The house came with 4" gutters and no covers and every time it rained there was water spilling out near the downspout. I complained and the builder said every home owner knows you have to clean the gutters. I won't go into the conversation that ensued, but I gave up on him and had 6" gutters with surface tension type gutter guards put on. It's been 15 years and the gutters have been clean ever since. That's not to say they've been perfect. If you have a valley where two roofs come together and dump their water load in one place it will overwhelm the surface tension type. You do have to clean dirt off of the surface once a year. I do it with soap and water with a brush on a stick.

[Bugsinrugs]

I have pine trees all around my house. Most of the gutters are easily accessible. My roof is metal and debris from the pines means I clear my gutters at least ten times a winter. I put up some cheesy guards on the hard to reach part ant it is totally clogged with needles. Oh well,part of living in the woods I guess.

[Ned, NYNA11]

I got black anodised aluminum mesh gutter protectors from Rain Gutters and Gutter Downspouts: GutterWorks.com. They have done a great job for at least 10 years. We have oak and maple, no pine.

[Halm]

Our home is surrounded by dozens of old growth hardwoods. The leaves were filling up the mesh protection the previous owner had installed. We might as well not have had gutters.

But we needed them for water control. So I went with Gutter Helmet. They work well but like every other system they have a draw back. The drip edges get dirty and cause the water to run off, and they totally don't work if there are lots of leaves on the roof. I end up on the roof 10-11 times a year with a blower cleaning the roof, plus twice a year I have a gutter cleaning service take care of the drip edges and general cosmetics.

If the house wasn't for sale, I would start the process of looking for a better system.

[Bugsinrugs]

I am in the process of getting estimates for a new metal roof on my garage. It seems that if I contract to have gutters put on than a guard system must be put on by code. One contractor suggested that I wait to put the gutters up until after the inspector has approved the job.

[71scgc]

I had a roof/gutter guy try to sell me $1200 of gutter guard for a $600 gutter job. When I pointed this out he said, "I'm told by my boss to push this stuff".
I went with another company, for the roof and the unprotected guttering.

Carter