Leafguard gutters

[Jim Laumann]

We are looking in to getting Leafguard gutters.

Any one have anything to say about them, good or bad?

Thanks

Jim

[Shawn Siegrist]

Stay away from the plastic covers, they break down fairly quickly.

Check out leaf relief gutter guards, they are aluminium and have a lip to seal against your fascia board.

I've used them for my house and on jobs, never a call back or problem.

[Mark Bolton]

Weve been installing a segmented version of a gutter guard like that and they work unbelievably well. There are a couple of franchised gutter guard companies around here and they are much nicer in the long/seamless options but the times we've done them they are an aftermarket option that is very similar in design but comes in shorter lengths.

Most customers simply wont believe the guards will carry the water around the bend into the gutter but they are pretty impressive to watch in a heavy rain.

Pricey but by far the best option out there in my opinion. I would never install any top entry gutter guard again unless it was absolutely demanded by the customer.

[Mark Bolton]

Its only my experience, but personally any top entry gutter guard is a waste of time. In short order there are leaves standing up in the guard because the stems go through the holes/slits and then they hang there until they dry and blow away or rot off.

The surface tension options are very expensive (though not compared to leaf relief) but they are unbelievable in thier performance if they are installed properly.

[Prashun Patel]

I have GutterTopper. It works very well. Make sure if you have a pitched roof that your gutters are sized properly. A couple of mine are too narrow. Now that the Topper's on, I'm reluctant to get it resized. My point is, like getting solar panels, make sure your underneath is in good shape before installing on top.

[John McClanahan]

Years ago, my Mother had the plastic type installed on a shallow pitched roof. They weren't installed correctly and allowed water under the roofing. I pulled them off and threw them away.

A couple of years ago a friend had the expanded aluminum type installed on a steep pitched roof. During heavy rains, the water would skim over the gutter guard and run over the edge of the gutter. I recommended having a slight dip bent into the gutter guard to help catch the water. I don't know what ever became of it, as I haven't heard of any more problems.


John

[Tom M King]

If one type has an easy option for cleaning the gutter out underneath it, I'd go with that one. Unfortunately, the only experience I've had with them is maybe a hundred thousand dollars of repair work we've done over the years since they came out with them, because the little stuff that was allowed in composted, clogged the gutter, and ran over the back.

[Mark Bolton]

I have opened the gutters several times that have surface tension style (leafguard/gutterhelmet/and so on) and I have never once seen any fine debris accumulated under the covers. On the flip side I have seen the issues mentioned here where water skims over or gets under the shingles.

A lot of it has to do with properly installed gutters in the first place and I can imagine the commercial installers have a clause in their contract that protects them if your gutters have a sag or are not on the level or pitched to the downspouts (We never pitch gutters barely at all anyway).

Any gutter guard system that requires you to have access so you can clean them out is pretty much useless anyway. If the gutter is hung in good shape they should clear themselves of all the fines that make it into the gutter.

[Mark Bolton]

Years ago, my Mother had the plastic type installed on a shallow pitched roof. They weren't installed correctly and allowed water under the roofing. I pulled them off and threw them away.

A couple of years ago a friend had the expanded aluminum type installed on a steep pitched roof. During heavy rains, the water would skim over the gutter guard and run over the edge of the gutter. I recommended having a slight dip bent into the gutter guard to help catch the water. I don't know what ever became of it, as I haven't heard of any more problems.


John

The expanded aluminum leaf screens should simply be outlawed (if possible) in my opinion. They are utterly useless.

[Rich Engelhardt]

+1 for Gutter Topper.
We've had them for over 20 years now w/out any problems at all.

We did have some clogging within the first five years or so and had the installer come back to clean out the cutters @ N/C to us.
Since then though - no problems - they just work.

[Tom M King]

I think a lot of it depends on what types of trees you have overhanging the roof, or close enough to get stuff blown on the roof. Oak tree leaves are not much of a problem, but I've never seen any kind of gutter guard that will shed the stamen, or "tassles". Large hardwood trees put out a LOT of this stuff, and it does not get washed out of the gutter.

Here's a picture of one we repaired last Fall. I forget how much it cost to repair the house, but the two non-standard columns that had to be replaced were a couple of grand each. The problem was that the gutters had not been cleaned out since the gutter guards were applied some years back, and the company had since gone out of business. This was not the owners primary residence, so they didn't catch the damage until it was way too late. Some of the hundred plus year old moldings were made on the sidewalk with Hollow and Round molding planes-which ended up drawing a small crowd.

The gutters on our house don't even have downspouts. I have a large angled rock (as in hundreds of pounds that had to me moved with the loader) under each wide open end. Stuff will build up in them, but when we have a large enough rain, it just gets flushed out.

[Ole Anderson]

I have the Gutter Helmet system on my gutters and they work very well for leaves, but looking at the Leafguard system, I would prefer that as it doesn't slip under the shingle. Don't know the price differential, but the GH is quite expensive, at least when I got it in 2006. The water can carry granules and other small junk like "cotton" around the "nose" of the device, but it does shed leaves, including most of the small Locust leaves I have on one side of my house. My problem is that the original install was done incorrectly and they screwed them through the shingles. As a result, I was getting some water behind the fascia boards. Due to a hail storm I am getting my roof replaced and prior to them doing the roofing I replaced my cedar fascia boards, and some sub-fascia 2x4's and some RS soffit plywood due to rot, I believe partially due to the improper Gutter Helmet installation. They do have a lifetime warranty, but to continue the warranty including gutter cleaning if ever necessary, I have to pay them to remove and reinstall (correctly this time) when re-roofing.

[Mel Fulks]

The leaf guard is four times the price of a standard no top gutter. One downside of them is, unlike standard gutters, they
make no attempt to look like crown mould,so I don't think they look right on "colonial" or traditional house. I'm having work done on my house now and have decided to buy standard gutters and add the Costco gutter sponges.

[Jim Matthews]

Three years ago I installed Gutter Glove (http://www.gutterglove.com/) covers, which are an extruded aluminum panel with a stainless steel mesh overlay.

We have large pine trees nearby that once choked the gutters, on our Saltbox roof (single story front, two story rear).
I have not needed to clean the gutters since. No runoff problems, either.

I went to the trouble of attaching them with self-tapping screws.
I'm in Coastal Massachusetts, and the wind can strip them off.

[Larry Frank]

I must have different trees and leaves than some others. I have expanded aluminum metal over the gutters on a fairly shallow pitched roof. Yes, when we are getting an extremely heavy rain, the rain will go over the gutters but that happens with any leaf guard type system. Yes, I have some leaves standing up in the expanded metal. They blow away in a couple of days or weeks.....I could really care less. They do keep the leaves out of the gutters and the seeds from the ash trees and maple trees and the acorns. The price was good and they work for me.

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm familiar with them, in fact I did a lot of trade show signs and truck lettering for the founders when they first started here in Bellevue, WA before Englert bought them, and for a few years after. I probably could have traded sign work for a set but was not impressed with them for our house. They work great for the leaves that we have here such as Big Leaf Maple, Alder and Cottonwood that roll right over, but we have 80-100' tall fir trees with needles falling and with our constant light drizzle there isn't enough flow to keep them from falling in along with the water.

[Mark Bolton]

I must have different trees and leaves than some others. I have expanded aluminum metal over the gutters on a fairly shallow pitched roof. Yes, when we are getting an extremely heavy rain, the rain will go over the gutters but that happens with any leaf guard type system. Yes, I have some leaves standing up in the expanded metal. They blow away in a couple of days or weeks.....I could really care less. They do keep the leaves out of the gutters and the seeds from the ash trees and maple trees and the acorns. The price was good and they work for me.

I have never seem any volume of rain, including the outflow from a roof above terminated to a lower roof, overtop a properly installed surface tension gutter guard. There might be a little splatter or splashing occasionally but when they are properly installed they are actually mind blowing in the amount of water they can carry to the gutter.

As with any system its up to the user to decide their effectiveness as compared to their cost. I have personally seen more pieces of expanded aluminum gutter guard on the ground that have blown off, fallen off, because they are often barely tucked under the shingles and just tech screwed into the outer edge of the gutter. The can surely be effective in the right circumstances but they arent anything Ive ever felt I could stand behind.

[Ole Anderson]

One issue with the surface tension style is that the "nose" must be kept clean, or accumulated debris will negate the smooth laminar flow needed to bring the water around the nose of the guard. We were given a brass stream nozzle for our hose and told to "clean the nose" whenever you could see debris stuck there. Depending on the type of tree debris you have, it can be fairly often. I found that a brush, like a Webster with an extendable handle, works easier and doesn't mess up the windows. Having a two story house becomes a problem cleaning the gutter helmets. Ours is a ranch or has a deck below the gutters so it is not a problem for us.

[Tom Stenzel]

I bought the ones that come in 4 foot sections from Home Depot, don't remember the brand. They worked OK for regular leaves but they let in a lot of pine needles. It took twice as long for the gutter to block up but then took 4 times longer to clear them. I ended up removing them.

-Tom

[Brian Elfert]

I had Leafguard gutters on the house I just sold. They worked very well and no issues with leaves in the gutters. I did have some minor spillover issues in really heavy rain, but I had the smaller Leafguard gutters and I didn't clean the top guard as often as I should have. Leafguard started selling a larger version of the gutters and that is all they install today.

[Don Morris]

When we renovated the house 8 - 10 years ago we had the top-of-line installed. After a few years, during one of the winters, we had an ice jam at one of the down spouts because it was clogged. When they removed the leaf guard there was so much debris the water couldn't get through. A company that advertised gutter cleaning also advertised "leaf guard removal". Know why he advertised leaf guard removal? He said they did a lot of it. When he took me around the house he showed me a couple places I hadn't looked at in a while where the water came over the side where the blockage was and formed a drip line on the ground. So in our experience, they work for a while, but after a while they need to be removed and the debris that will accumulate in the gutters needs to be cleared. We stayed with that company for a while, but they were too expensive for just gutter cleaning (they wanted a quarterly contract). We now call one of the many who advertise gutter cleaning when we think we need it.

[Larry Frank]

I have had my expanded metal leaf guards for more than 10 years. During that time have had 80-100 mph winds that took out a bunch of trees but the expanded metal stayed put. I do not know how they would come out unless they are extremely poorly installed. All that matters is whatever system works for your home. Mine have worked fine through high winds, bad winters, heavy ranis, ice dams and heavy leaves.

[Brian Elfert]

When we renovated the house 8 - 10 years ago we had the top-of-line installed. After a few years, during one of the winters, we had an ice jam at one of the down spouts because it was clogged. When they removed the leaf guard there was so much debris the water couldn't get through. A company that advertised gutter cleaning also advertised "leaf guard removal". Know why he advertised lead guard removal? He said they did a lot of it. When he took me around the house he

Are these actua; Leafguard brand gutters, or something else? I checked my Leafguard gutters every few years and never found any debris in them other than a little bit of shingle granules. Leafguard also says they will clean them if they ever need it.

[Don Morris]

I don't remember the brand. I don't remember how long the guarantee was for. They did keep out leafs. But the guarantee didn't mention debris. That's what accumulated. Will Leafguard clean them if they need it for free?

[Brian Elfert]

I don't remember the brand. I don't remember how long the guarantee was for. They did keep out leafs. But the guarantee didn't mention debris. That's what accumulated. Will Leafguard clean them if they need it for free?

Yes, Leafguard says they will clean their gutters for free if they ever need it. They offer free cleaning because their gutters don't need it.

My parents spent $6,000 on Leafguard last year and I think the installation looks awful. To save a little bit of money they reused the existing downspouts since the downspouts had been replaced fairly recently. They put a fairly steep angle on the gutters to make them meet the old downspouts. My parents would have paid a few hundred extra to have new downspouts so the gutters didn't look so bad.

[Charles Wiggins]

This is what we did three years ago. Not a problem since. They're PVC, so they are more durable than standard plastic.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MdCA7ULedA#t=116

[Jim Laumann]

Brian

Thanks for the feedback on the Leafguard brand - this is what we are looking at getting. It will be a removal of our existing gutters/downspouts and complete replacement.

In our case, we had hail this spring which destroyed (as in bent the heck out of) our existing "leaf prevention" covers for the gutters. The existing gutters and spouts themselves are ok. The Leafguard salesman indicated the covers prevented the hail from destroying the gutters. The Leafguard gutters and spouts are much larger (based on the samples we were shown).

The Leafguard install will be spendy - $4600, but if I don't need to get the ladder out each fall, it will be worth in....as in I'm not getting any younger and am starting to not like heights.

THanks to all who responded....

Jim

[Jerome Stanek]

I used a plastic screen that bows up when installed. I have not had to clean my gutters in over 3 years since I installed them. Cost me about $20 for 200 feet after the discount and true value member card.

[Chris Padilla]

Jim,

Take some before and after pics...would love to see the change. I had new gutters put on with the new roof 5 years ago and went with whatever "gutter cover" (aluminum grid-like cover) and last year ended up removing most of them on the side of the house our enormous oak tree owns. Most of them had bent in and the gutters were full of crap and caused them to overflow during decent rainstorms. I even found a wasp nest in one corner where the cover had bent open enough for a nice ingress. I'm liking the sound of the Leafguard brand.

[Jim Laumann]

Chris

Can do. Need to call Leafguard today and tell them they got the job.

Jim

[Brian Elfert]

If you have existing gutters in good condition there is also Gutter Helmet. Some basic concept as Leafguard, but for existing gutters. I have not personally used the product and have no idea how much less it might cost than Leafguard.

[Bob Winkler]

I have Leafguard and live in New England. I never had any issue and they work as advertised. We've had them for about 7 years and I would get them again. I think the fact that they use larger downspout size helps with any clogging.

[Ole Anderson]

I have the Gutter Helmet system on my gutters and they work very well for leaves, but looking at the Leafguard system, I would prefer that as it doesn't slip under the shingle. Don't know the price differential, but the GH is quite expensive, at least when I got it in 2006. The water can carry granules and other small junk like "cotton" around the "nose" of the device, but it does shed leaves, including most of the small Locust leaves I have on one side of my house. My problem is that the original install was done incorrectly and they screwed them through the shingles. As a result, I was getting some water behind the fascia boards. Due to a hail storm I am getting my roof replaced and prior to them doing the roofing I replaced my cedar fascia boards, and some sub-fascia 2x4's and some RS soffit plywood due to rot, I believe partially due to the improper Gutter Helmet installation. They do have a lifetime warranty, but to continue the warranty including gutter cleaning if ever necessary, I have to pay them to remove and reinstall (correctly this time) when re-roofing.

Well, I got the roofing work done. The Gutter Helmet folks came out to reinstall my old ones and claimed they lost them in the warehouse, so I got brand new ones for just the cost of the reinstall. I have a hunch they found the old ones full of holes from an improper install and didn't want to admit they screwed up on the original install. All's well that ends well. Slightly different design than the original, attached with brackets to the fascia, no more holes in the roof.

[william biba]

My experience is that stuff still gets in and they are a bear to clean. Just sayin!

[Jim Laumann]

As promised, pics of the Leaf Guard gutters....

299188

Leaf Guard sent their 'factory truck' out 3 days ahead of time to create the gutter - longest section was 70'.

299189


Close up view of the Leaf Guard - this is 1 piece of metal - no seams



299190

Some of the damage to the existing leaf shields - from the hail storm back in May


299191

View of the Leaf Guard down spout - 5" across - larger than the spouts I had.

299192


View of the Leaf Guard at gutter level - this is the 70' section of gutter. Note the extra flashing under the shingles, and over the edge of the gutter

299193

View of the house w/ the Leaf Guards.


Jim

[Chris Padilla]

Looks good, Jim! :) The profile seems rather simple but apparently it works!!

[Ole Anderson]

Some of the damage to the existing leaf shields - from the hail storm back in May
Jim

Hail storm? Must not have been too bad, our end-of-July storm now has 95% of the roofs in our 500 lot sub being replaced under their homeowners insurance. Golf ball sized hail. Really didn't take much visible shingle damage to warrant replacing, I was surprised. And one of the standard items they replace is leaf guards, inexpensive screens or they pay higher for a premium system like the Gutter helmet I had. One insurance adjuster even fell for the guy that said his concrete drive was damaged and is now pockmarked, he got a new drive out of it. I heard of a couple of pontoon boats that got replaced because of the dents in the aluminum pontoons. No wonder rates are so high.

[Jim Laumann]

Hail storm? Must not have been too bad, our end-of-July storm now has 95% of the roofs in our 500 lot sub being replaced under their homeowners insurance. Golf ball sized hail. Really didn't take much visible shingle damage to warrant replacing, I was surprised. And one of the standard items they replace is leaf guards, inexpensive screens or they pay higher for a premium system like the Gutter helmet I had. One insurance adjuster even fell for the guy that said his concrete drive was damaged and is now pockmarked, he got a new drive out of it. I heard of a couple of pontoon boats that got replaced because of the dents in the aluminum pontoons. No wonder rates are so high.

Ole

The hail we had was golf ball sized - I got complete roof replacement on my house and two outbuildings. When the adjustor was out, he laid out a 10SF square on the garage roof - using a red crayon - he marked the dings. 10 dings in that square qualified it for replacement - he had close to 40 - there were red marks all over the 10SF. We also had siding damage and damage (dents) to two steel roofs - one of them is my shop's (not replacing them as the paint is not cracked/damaged). Had my builder out (pole frame building) - he agreed to damage (dents), but no need to replace.

In the pic I show - the mesh panels absorbed alot of the damage the hail stones dished out - had they not been there - the damage to the gutters would have been much more significant.

On the road I live on (a rural area) everyone is getting work done - roofs, siding, gutters, you name it. One neighbor had a horse trailer which was a total write-off due to the hail damage. Adjustor indicated the storm cut a wide swath thru my area.

W/ regard to rates being high - I agree - I was amazed at the damage estimate the adjustor came up with ($38K) - and with the size of the check they mailed me - my neighbors report similar.

Here is a pic of a couple of the hail stones - I got wifelet to freeze these for the adjustor - she collected these after they had laid in the grass for a half hour - he didn't even want to see them - he indicated that the damage was proof enough.


299222


Jim

[Ole Anderson]

Until now I didn't think of hailstorms as a big deal, but the guy working on my wife's car reminded me it is one of the big ones mentioned in the bible...