I am about to have some gutters installed on my new house and am faced with getting either regular gutters or spending quite a bit more to get the leaf-proof gutters like Leafguard, Gutter Helmet, GutterTopper, etc. I do have some trees around my house.

If anyone has the leaf-proof type gutter, do you find that they were worth the money, and do you like them or not?

 

The leaf proof ones I've seen seem to work well. For us Canadian's in the heavy snow belt the best part of them is that it keeps the snow out, reduces the weight on the gutters.
If your only concerned about leaves then there is many gadgets made to easliy clean the gutters from the ground much cheaper than the instulation.
my 2 cent

 

i bought my house new 3 years ago and i am still having problems with the gutters leaking. the monkeys the builder sends out to fix them couldnt fix a burned out light buld. i have already had to re-repair 3 of the seams myself. i would go with the leak proof ones!!!

 

...Or go with no gutters. Trench around your house, line the trench with landscape fabric, lay a 2" bed of pea gravel, lay some perforated drain tile, cover drain tile with pea gravel, then wrap the landscape fabric over the top, then finish filling the trench with smooth stone. Run the drain tile to a lower elevation/daylight witth a screen over the end to prevent critter dwellage.

Gutters often cause more problems than they solve.

Jason

 

i wouldn't recommend them because the pine needles just go right through, and its more of a pain to take the gaurds off to get the pine needles out than it is to just get regular gutters and clean them out every once and a while.

 

The gutter "screens" do not work at all. I will be installing some of the covers without slots in the future. Several people in the area have them and they seem to work well. I have silver maple trees with helicopters and oak trees that shed leaves all winter as well as produce "flowers" of some sort that clog open gutters. I have to clean out the gutters 2-3 times per year and they still are clogged half the time. I will still have to clean off the roof valleys a couple of times a year.

 

The people/buddies I know that tried the leaf blocking gutters are not completely satisfied. It seems that wet leaves blow onto/across the opening at the top and allow rain to run down the gutter, thus defeating the purpose of a gutter. Myself, I've always had good luck with seamless gutters, nice and wide openings at the top (5 or 6"). I just clean them a few times a year and there are never problems.

 

LOL, i wish i could read...i thought it said "leak" proof hahahahah. oh well, never mind

 

Whether you go with gutter covers or not, one thing you should specify in the installation of the gutters themselves, is gutter screws rather than spikes (assuming you are using the continuous type of extruded gutters). The spikes (large nails) will ALWAYS work themselves loose over time, regardless of whether they are ring-shanked or not. You may have to pay a bit more, but don’t let them talk you out of this. They will say things like “Oh, we never have a problem with this, we use ring-shank spikes”. PPPHHHHUUU! Trust me on this! I’m sure there are many posters here that can attest to this fact. Spikes will work themselves loose, leaving you with the dangling gutter.

 

Amen to the gutter screws. I've replaced all my problem nails and then made sure I had replaced at least every other one. It was time well spent!

I've got a big rambler surrounded by lots of leaf and seed bearing trees ... primarily ash and maples. The gutter trash could be a "real handful" (pun intended).

I tried three different types of covers and settled on ripping them all off and buying a Sears shop vac with the detachable 210 mph blower. To this I added a couple of extensions and an elbow specifically made for blowing gutters. It works great! In the time it used to take me to get out the ladder I could run a cord and make a pass anytime I see material on the roof headed toward the gutters. As a bonus it makes a great shop vac and I don't use a broom on my driveway anymore.

Roger

 

I would get several companies to give your house a lookover! The gutters are very important and will greatly benefit the house if hung correctly. Before they are hung, you must determine if the wood underneath is any good. Why spend a 1000 bucks on new gutters when the fascia board at the roofline is shot? Many of the lower price quotes will come from companies that run out the gutter on site. They form the gutter with a shaper using way too thin gauge metal and hang it with the same quality metal brackets. The paint is no good, it will fade in 5 years, and the gutter can't take any abuse, it dents easy and can't take a ladder if used against it. The downspouts are also made of a thin gauge metal and one bump with a garden barrow or lawnmower will damage it. Go to home depot or Lowes and look at the stuff they sell in their store, That is exactly the gauge metal you don't want. I bought Alcoa gutters from a roofing/siding supplier and hung them myself. The gutters have very thick walls and are hung using thick gauge stamped aluminum hangers. I can lean a ladder on them while working on the roof(Xmas lites, etc.). I would go to your local roofing siding guy, and ask for the best gutter available also, and maybe they can recommend a few contractors also. There are several leaf-guard systems, but all will eventually get a little bogged down if you have too many leaves, especially if the roof has a gentle pitch and leaves are falling on a rainy day.