Teams
Forum List
Toggle sidebar

Leaf Guard

H

HardcoreClone

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2006
1,193
533
113
Going to be in the market for new gutters on my house. Does anyone have experience with the Leaf Guard products? Do the leaves still get caught on top of the Leaf Guard or do they easily blow off? Are they truly effective, or would I still have to go up and clean the gutters a couple times a year? My backyard has a number of trees, and some younger maples that are continuing to grow, so I definitely have that exposure.
Thanks!
 
I got bids to get Leaf Guard installed on my house. Extremely expensive.
 
Any other brands that won't cost thousands? Seems silly to spend 4-5K on a piece of sheet metal for a few hundred feet.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Remo Gaggi
I got guards put on when I got new gutters. These are just an aluminum screening material that is screwed down. My reaction is they work good for leaves, but catch all the seeds that trees pour out in the spring. I usually have to take some of them off every year to clean the crap that get by the screens. A metal roof would save me a lot of trouble. The granules from the shingles tend to grab other stuff and plug things up.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Rolling Clones and 1100011CS
I bought the cheap, plastic ones from Menards. Work decently but the biggest help is getting 6" downspouts put on. Less stuff gets stuck now.
 
I went to Menards and bought the cheap roll of metal mesh that you roll out, and stabled it up. Works great, looks OK, not perfect. But the best thing was that I could take it down easily if I need to clean the gutters and then just recycle the old mesh and put up new.
Here is the plastic version of what I stabled up. $2.59 a roll.

1585031.jpg
 
I put Spectra Metals Armor Shield guards from Menards this spring. Just need a cordless drill with a driver bit, a ladder, and some tin snips for corners and ends. It wasn't my favorite job ever, but not too bad. I have had a similar product on a detached garage for about 6 or 7 years and no issues. The holes a pretty small, so it seems they should do a pretty good job of keeping junk out.
 
HardcoreClone said:
Going to be in the market for new gutters on my house. Does anyone have experience with the Leaf Guard products? Do the leaves still get caught on top of the Leaf Guard or do they easily blow off? Are they truly effective, or would I still have to go up and clean the gutters a couple times a year? My backyard has a number of trees, and some younger maples that are continuing to grow, so I definitely have that exposure.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Got LeafFilter installed on my gutters a year ago. The micromesh design is the only way to go--no leaves, no stems, no seeds, no nothing--except water. Absolutely trouble free and guaranteed no to clog--EVER. Invented in the upper midwest, so they can handle snow, ice, etc.
 
I have heard they can over flow in heavy rain. Just put bigger downspouts on so the leaves can get cleaned out on their own.
 
We've tried several styles of guards. With maple trees that drop the helicopters, the only ones that work well for us was the foam that you put in the gutter. All of the screens and mesh clogged up and just moved the issue to the top of the screen rather than in the gutter. The seeds don't get caught in the foam and blow off with the wind.
 
Do the Leaf Guard products freeze over easily in winter?
 
Cycsk said:
Do the Leaf Guard products freeze over easily in winter?
Click to expand...

We have metal leaf guards with small holes on the back of our house and I think they contribute to the ice dams that build up on it during winter. Doesn't help it is the southern facing side.
 
1100011CS said:
I bought the cheap, plastic ones from Menards. Work decently but the biggest help is getting 6" downspouts put on. Less stuff gets stuck now.
Click to expand...

We just had new gutters put on last year and I can second this. Making sure you go big on downspouts will erase a lot of clogging issues. Now, I do not have a lot of large trees, but my neighbors do. I went from a solid half day of cleaning gutters to just grabbing a few remnants around the spout where it meets the gutter. Takes me longer to deal with the ladders than actual cleaning.
 
My problem is leaves and seeds mounding on top of the roof and gutters. Have mesh steel screens which help keep it all out of the gutter itself but still have to get on the roof and sweep and bag leaves from my big silver maple and the neighbors giant white oak that looms over my roof. The 4/12 slope doesn't help. Bad combo of trees. The oak leaves are so thick they can take a couple years to deteriorate and maple drop branches and seeds till early July so it a several times a year roof clean. Don't have to clean the gutters, maybe hose them out every five years, but do have to sweep the screens off several times a year.

Can't run open gutter with bigger downspouts because the downspouts run into underground pipes that run into low spots in the back garden. Globs of stuff down the spout would end up plugging the pipes.

Thought about the stuff like Gutter Helmet, used to be big up here, but they are all $$$ and I question how great they would work on a low roof slope and my storm of leaves each fall.
 
I have leaf guard gutters and paid a little over 6K for them but wouldn't have it any other way. 6 mature trees in the back, maples, oak, ash and linden. They have their drawbacks with ice forming somewhat in corners but does extend over the gutter as well which hasn't been a problem. A hard down pour will send the rain water over the top but that's few and far between. Pricey, but worth it in my view.
 
We used to have gutters that clogged several times per year. When we replaced the gutters, we put on oversized 4x5 downspouts. Solved the problem, never had clogged gutters again. The downspouts were large enough to flush any debris out of the gutters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Help Support Us

Become a patron
Top Bottom
Back