If you were to recommend to a friend or install on your on home what gutter cover, screen would you advise or install?
I have experienced 2 types on my homes that are not very good.
Gutter Brush and Crane waterfall.
I like the simple metal screens that flip and clip and the aluminum/metal with lots of small holes. Most covers need maintenance and some are way to expense like gutter helmet and leaf guard.
The sponge types I feel are inferior as well, like the one on Nachi TV
I have gutter covers like Leaf Guard. I get a lot of spill-over with heavy rains. Also, the splash guards at vallies get clogged with debris.
If you live in an area with pine trees, I wouldn’t recommend the metal screens (too much maintenance). The pine needles always get trapped.
I’m beginning to think no guards are best, just pay someone to have them cleaned twice a year. I get leaves in the Fall and oak pollen tassles in the Spring :(.
It all depends on the type of trees around the home. Here in WA we have a majority of Douglas fir and their small needles but we also have large leaf maples, alders and cottonwood.
Leaf Guard does nothing for fir needles. Waste of money. They just follow the water around the curve and into the gutter and since these things are permanently connected, the gutters are just about impossible to clean.
Leaf Filters are the micro fine stainless steel sieve type filter. Nothing gets through and they work better in this rainy climate.
Tried a section of the sponge type above my shed door. Clogged after a single winter. Full of algae and moss.
I only recommend things that I have first hand knowledge about. These have been on my house for 15 years. I have oaks, maples, white pine etc. around the house and have not cleaned gutters since. In fact, I think one of the consumer agencies gave them a high ranking.
Fine Homebuilding didn’t think much of the total cover things, rather they liked the ones you have pictured.
This is taken from their report recently…
The results of gutter guard testing and evaluation appears in the September, 2010 issue of Fine Homebuilding and confirms what I have long suspected; simple gutter screens work better at keeping leaves out and letting water into the gutter than the solid gutter caps with louvers along the front edge that are typically installed by roofing contractors. Heavy rains, common in this area, may run over the gutter shield (rather than into it) onto the ground where it may “pool” and cause structural damage to the foundation.
When you compare the price—$20 to $30 per linear foot (installed) for the solid gutter caps against gutter screens that can be had for 30 cents per foot—it’s a no-brainer. Even if you hire someone to install an inexpensive gutter screen you can save thousands of dollars; plus the screens work better.
None. I had a gutter machine with my construction business and found none work as well as cleaning your gutters once a year. Screens work as good as any I tried and are relatively cheap.
I have seen as I bet R.Cooke gutter guards that do not work.
Heavy rain they spill.
You sill have to clean out shingle granular
They clog with sleet
And tend to ice up if not cleaned out.
Just clean out after all the leaves are down and reset nails.
Leaf blower with a 8 foot vinyl tube extension. The tube has a hook on the end that fits in the gutter. Been using for five years. Can’t be beat. No ladder. Stan
The solid gutter guards work well with large objects like leaves or pine needles. They don’t work at all with fir or cedar or hemlock. The small needles are like little kayaks. They just ride the water right around the edge and into the gutter. It all depends on the type of tree debris you have in your area.
to have them cleaned twice a year. I get leaves in the Fall and oak pollen tassles in the Spring :(.
