# Gutter covers



## Later (Sep 5, 2011)

Any thoughts on gutter covers, great, bad, they all suck? We are at the point where we don't climb ladders well and the gutters seem to get clogged just before each storm. I think that we are going to go with a cover or tearing them all off. Rather have them, but overflowing down the side wall isn't good.


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## Frozen Canuck (Sep 5, 2011)

Use them/recommend them all the time. Well worth it. Spend a few extra $ & get heavier/stronger ones. When you see those wet leaves dry up & blow off you will be glad you bought them.


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## Later (Sep 5, 2011)

Frozen Canuck said:
			
		

> Use them/recommend them all the time. Well worth it. Spend a few extra $ & get heavier/stronger ones. When you see those wet leaves dry up & blow off you will be glad you bought them.



Any brand more effective than the others?


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## Frozen Canuck (Sep 5, 2011)

If you are talking plastic, no just make sure you get the right width for your gutters 4, 5 or 6 inch. When installed they should have a slight bow/arch upward making it harder to trap debris & letting the sun dry it out & wind blow it off. So the screen is wider than the opening/top of the gutter (snaps into place & pressure of the bow/arch keeps it in place) as most plastic isn't strong enough to support any weight. Higher cost usually relates to heavier guage & more UV protection in the resin. Pretty much you will get what you pay for, with the alum screw down screens being very $$$ but lasting forever. Plenty of colors to choose from so you can match colors with the trough or at least close, or match roof color if you choose. Also I recommend/supply an extendable handle with a nuckle joint & then attach a small broom/brush head to it for folks so they can clean screens from the ground when leaf debris can get very heavy in the fall. All my senior gents love this as it allows them to clean house gutters in about 15 min from the ground, leaving more time for important things like beer & clamato juice.


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## pybyr (Sep 5, 2011)

This one always struck me as an exceptionally good idea, though since I have gutters I can't justify or afford it:

http://www.leafguard.com/


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 5, 2011)

We have the aluminum covers because we live right in the woods. The worst time would be when the oaks drop their leaves. The gutters would be filled in no time flat. So far they work just fine.


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## egclassic (Sep 10, 2011)

I tried the ones from home depot one year to keep the silver maple "helicopters" out of the gutters. Those damn helicopters ended up seed down through the diamond shaped holes in the covers. It was harder getting them out of the covers than the gutters. I finally had the gutters replaced with ones that have the covers built on.


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## pgmr (Sep 19, 2011)

I've used Hallet Gutter Covers for around 10 years on my house.  They work great at keeping leaves out, but anything small that can be carried with the water, like Maple seeds, Maple flowers, Pine/Spruce needles, etc. can and will end up in the gutters.  They don't eliminate getting up on the ladder, but do reduce it greatly and usually all the gunk is right at the downspout.

It would probably work better if the nose of the cover actually projected beyond the edge of the gutter, but then it would be difficult to make a secure connection to the gutter.


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## MasterMech (Sep 19, 2011)

I have a louvered aluminum cover that works ok until the #^$&ing; maple helicopters come down.  They are perfect for jamming up in the louvers and clogging the covers.


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## Frozen Canuck (Sep 19, 2011)

As you can see Retired Guy every system has it's downfalls, as all systems must have an opening of some sort to allow water in. Best suggestion look at what you have for roof debris & try & select a product that will eliminate as much as possible. Hope it is one that also fits the budget. BTW my local Home Hardware stores have an extendable pole that is intended for washing/cleaning gutters from the ground (hooks up to garden hose) unit is 9-10 feet long when fully extended, so you should reach a 15' high gutter from the ground. I noticed the other day that my wife has placed a rosebud head on ours & is using it to water all her hanging plants, oh well at least I know where to get it when the leaves here have fallen. Have to remember to change the head back to the spray though as that rosebud just doesn't have the flow. Good luck, hope you find what you need.


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## Later (Sep 19, 2011)

Tanks for the assistance. Probably should just take the gutters off.


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## jeanw (Sep 30, 2015)

we have use both "Leaf relief""on former home of 40 plus years  we bought those in the 10 ft lenghts. Harder to handle but whole lot less seams.....
 Hubby(the best Hubby) is a great DIY er.. 
  Now today UPS just delivered a whole box of "Sur Flo"   I sent a check in the mail to  a company. It saved us a buck or two per 4 ft 6' inch section.... plus the time and gas etc to drive the 30 plus miles one way to local distributor.... had to buy a whole box of 50.. but that is okay cause we have several outbuildings....
 Heck  heard an adv on somer radio station in another state claiming $17.99 per FOOT of some kind of gutter guard..... wow...  LOL
just a saying yall


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## semipro (Oct 1, 2015)

I've actually run tests with all of the most common "big box store" systems on our shed.  Most work fine with leaves but when the pine needles and whirlybirds start falling all bets are off.  I've not tried the solid cover systems that use water surface adhesion yet.  Consumer Reports says they work well except during heavy rains.

Beware removing your gutters if you have a basement.  Many only find out how effective their gutters were when the basement starts flooding or smelling.


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## mass_burner (Oct 1, 2015)

I put on the HD black mesh type 2 years ago and they have worked fine since. Cheap, easy to install, mostly unnoticeable since my trim is darker that the house color. I had the most troublesome spruce taken down, so that helped. They even survived the great ice dammimg of 2015.


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## billb3 (Oct 1, 2015)

Later said:


> Tanks for the assistance. Probably should just take the gutters off.


That's what I did on the front of my house.
I don't like it though.

I've tried the screen that comes in a roll and the first hurricane blew  half of of it far far away.
I've tried the helmet type that the water is supposed to roll around and they didn't work.
Best I've seen is the heavier aluminum screens on gutters that are installed right so the screens match the roof angle so stuff blows off rather than sitting on them forever and decomposing to make dirt in the gutter. It helps if your gutters are installed correctly in the first place so that covers actually work. 
I don't define "work" as keeping everything out cuz that's almost impossible especially surrounded by pine trees.
They also have to pop out so you can clean dirt, shingle pebbles and the moss that will grow in it out.

Riveted or screwed  in to stop them from blowing away keeps you out.


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## Wisneaky (Oct 1, 2015)

Before we had gutters put up we had water everywhere in the basement. I'd highly recommended not removing them.


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## Wooden Head (Oct 1, 2015)

I have a 12/12 metal roof. I've tried almost all of the devices that cover gutters. They have all failed. Some let pine needles thru and others pop loose from ice and still others froze up and the ice ripped the gutters from the house. Until I tried Gutter Clear that I found at Costco. They are best described as a foam wedge that fits into the gutter and only lets the water pass thru. The leaves just blow off from the wind and most of the pine needles fall off. The pine needles that are left do not impede the flow of water. Every few years I'll just brush off anything that may have stayed. I have found a similar product at Home depot and Menards for less $'s. Another thing I did was lower my gutters to about 5 inches below the edge of the roof. This had no effect on runoff getting into the gutter but help with ice and sown cascading of the roof and damaging the gutters.


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## jeffesonm (Oct 2, 2015)

I had new gutters put on when I bought my current house a few years ago.  The company offered gutter guards but they were an expensive add-on... forget exactly how much, but it added like 25-50% to the overall cost.

I bought a box of these off Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C4V6EQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage







They slide under the shingles and snap to the edge of the gutter.  Three years later, so far so good.  Some little stuff still gets in there but nearly all the leaves and most of the little helicopters, acorns, and other tree droppings do not.

While researching I remember one website where the recommended installing 6" gutters, no guards and then cleanouts on the downspouts on ground level.  That way everything flushed down the gutter and you could just walk around and easily empty the cleanouts.


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## billb3 (Oct 2, 2015)

jeffesonm said:


> I had new gutters put on when I bought my current house a few years ago.  The company offered gutter guards but they were an expensive add-on... forget exactly how much, but it added like 25-50% to the overall cost.
> 
> I bought a box of these off Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C4V6EQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
> 
> ...



Those are what I tried to reference above.

Big gutters  with big downspouts are not a solution . The leaves still clog at the downspout bends. They also fill up with leaves  that don't blow away just like the smaller ones. More of them !
Worth it in downpours though, especially if you have a double-L shaped hip roof  with two inside valleys.


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## blacktail (Oct 2, 2015)

Wooden Head said:


> Until I tried Gutter Clear that I found at Costco. They are best described as a foam wedge that fits into the gutter and only lets the water pass thru. The leaves just blow off from the wind and most of the pine needles fall off. The pine needles that are left do not impede the flow of water. Every few years I'll just brush off anything that may have stayed. I have found a similar product at Home depot and Menards for less $'s.



Sounds like what I have. I bought them on the advice of a neighbor when I bought my house. I don't remember the price but they were cheaper than other gutter guards and I found them at Fred Meyer. I ave a lot of alders, maples, and firs around my house so I do have to clean them off from time to time. I have to clean my roof with the blower a few times in the fall and when I do that, I just blow the gutter guards off too. I used a vice to bend the end of a spatula and it works great for cleaning them off using a step ladder when I don't want to get on the roof. 
I was on the roof a month ago to get some branches that a wind storm left, and used a broom to clean the gutter guards.


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## xman23 (Oct 3, 2015)

pybyr said:


> This one always struck me as an exceptionally good idea, though since I have gutters I can't justify or afford it:
> 
> http://www.leafguard.com/



After doing a lot of research I put leaf guard gutters on two houses. For 10 years. They are a one piece, heavy gage gutter. I think the downspout are 6 inch. If they get anything in the they will clean them, free. I haven't looked at the gutters since, and we have a lot of trees. They are not cheep. Due to the franchise deals for each territory. The only issue is they freeze over in the winter. Never backs up the water, just ice hanging.  Probably heat tape in them may work. But no gutters work well in the winter.


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## begreen (Oct 3, 2015)

mass_burner said:


> I put on the HD black mesh type 2 years ago and they have worked fine since. Cheap, easy to install, mostly unnoticeable since my trim is darker that the house color. I had the most troublesome spruce taken down, so that helped. They even survived the great ice dammimg of 2015.


I get too much crap coming in through the large mesh like pine needles. Now I have a fine mesh filter that I got from Costco. It has worked pretty well for several years now.


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## Retired Guy (Oct 7, 2015)

Put in Leaf Solutions a few years ago. We are very  happy with them.
http://www.leafsolution.com/leaf-solution


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## sportbikerider78 (Oct 9, 2015)

I also live in the woods.  Echo makes a great brand that eliminates the root cause.


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## mitchell721 (Dec 4, 2015)

I have the aluminum ones with the diamond shaped holes. Pita with the helicopters jamming in there. Anyone try the gutter stuff ones? They are like a open cell foam.


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## Wooden Head (Dec 4, 2015)

Later said:


> Any thoughts on gutter covers, great, bad, they all suck? We are at the point where we don't climb ladders well and the gutters seem to get clogged just before each storm. I think that we are going to go with a cover or tearing them all off. Rather have them, but overflowing down the side wall isn't good.




I live in the forest. I've tried Aluminum  and Plastic with different hole patterns and meshes They all had problems from holding to many things to freezing up so much that the weight of the ice ripped the gutters off the house.
Then I found a product called Gutter Clear 365 at Costco. Have had them on my house for 5 years. The only problem is on one side of the house where there is a pine tree next to the house, I have to clear the top surface every couple of years from build-up of needles. The needles don't stop it from draining but I don't want them breaking down and clogging them over time.
I've found other brands at the big box stores that are about the same and are a bit less expensive. Maybe this will help.


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## mitchell721 (Dec 4, 2015)

great, thank you. that style was what I was talking about. I have seen them before but never new anyone that used them and didn't want to buy and switch what I had if I was going to get the same results.


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## Dr.Faustus (Dec 5, 2015)

Anyone try the gutter cleaning robot? 
http://www.irobot.com/For-the-Home/Outdoor-Maintenance/Looj.aspx

My brother bought one and he likes it but i havent personally seen it work.


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## Beer Belly (Dec 7, 2015)

We had ours done when we did windows, siding, gutters and leaders, and used a gutter cap close to  Leaf Solution with the difference being we have two entry points for water, not three( http://www.leafsolution.com/leaf-solution ). They seem to do there job by keeping everything cleared, but the issue we have is in the winter they get a coating of ice over them, and as the snow melts, all the water drips off the gutter tops causing icing on our deck, and front stoop....the only solution I find is to continuously rake the snow off the first two feet of the roof, and the gutter tops....a lot easier than clearing the gutters a few times a year, but still a PITA.....not maintenance free.


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## Retired Guy (Dec 9, 2015)

Beer Belly said:


> We had ours done when we did windows, siding, gutters and leaders, and used a gutter cap close to  Leaf Solution with the difference being we have two entry points for water, not three( http://www.leafsolution.com/leaf-solution ). They seem to do there job by keeping everything cleared, but the issue we have is in the winter they get a coating of ice over them, and as the snow melts, all the water drips off the gutter tops causing icing on our deck, and front stoop....the only solution I find is to continuously rake the snow off the first two feet of the roof, and the gutter tops....a lot easier than clearing the gutters a few times a year, but still a PITA.....not maintenance free.


Where we are, clean gutters without covers fill with snow and ice and behave like yours do with the covers. Only difference is that we don't have to clean the gutters twice a year (or more).


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