Gutter leaf guards that actually work?

[Quattro Pete]

Have you guys found something that is effective against the stuff that falls from maple trees in the spring?

I picked up some plastic ones from Menards - they have round holes in them and a fine metal net on top, but I'm hearing from people that they get easily clogged. I haven't installed them yet, so I thought I'd ask if you found anything in the local hardware stores that works better.

 

[Schmoe]

I've tried them and they didn't work. The only thing that I found that did work was to cut all the trees around the house down. Here in Oklahoma it wasn't that hard as the trees around here don't get anywhere near as tall or big as in the NE.

 

[Seguino]

Check out Gutter Brush. My house is next to a forest of 100 ft cedars that shed year round. These things have worked for me.

 

[Drew99GT]

I've tried every gutter guard out there and have still had clogged downspouts (as in 2 days ago I spent the entire day dismantling a downspout to clear out clogged twigs). Plus, guards get clogged with ice and snow in the winter.

I've resigned myself to getting up on the roof several times a year to manually clean the gutters out. My home is very sensitive to runoff as the slope on the backside of the house goes towards the house.

I have installed these in the downspout entries so they at least don't clog:

http://www.gutterbrush.com/

That products has me intrigued as it would be easy to make it yourself, but I could see leaves and twigs completely getting trapped up in it. Even those never clog gutters suck because they block 80% of the gutter opening! In a heavy rain, most of the water never has a chance to get into the gutter.

 

[Drew99GT]

http://www.leafguard.com/

These things use to be all the rave here on the Front Range when they first came out - until we had a wicked monsoon several years ago, and people ended up with flooded basements because their new gutters couldn't handle the water volume from several inch per hour rains!

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I paid a ton of money for high-end clog-free gutters, as I had actual maple seeds growing trees in my downspouts and basement leakage as the result. In more than 2 years, they have completely solved that problem.

 

[JTK]

Yep. I've never found any that worked w/out maintenance. Like Drew, most of my downspouts have those hats stuffed in them. Problem is, they clog often resulting in major waterfalls landing where you don't want it. So you have to pull and clean them fairly often.

Joel

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
I paid a ton of money for high-end clog-free gutters, as I had actual maple seeds growing trees in my downspouts and basement leakage as the result. In more than 2 years, they have completely solved that problem.


Have they withstood a 4 or 5 inch per hour rainfall? We just had a storm 3 days ago that dropped 2.5 inches of rain in a half hour here - even with totally cleaned out gutters (save for the one that was clogged), that was enough rainfall to overflow the clean gutters. This guy on the Denver radio shows that practically prostituted leaf guard gutters, now says don't use them, because of all the flooded basements they caused.

 

[TallPaul]

Best would be no gutters, but a ragged edge to break up the sheet flow and then a concrete or stone margin around the house to catch the falling water and direct it away from the house. Of course, most city codes will require gutters whether they make sense or not.

 

[Kestas]

Even if they work, there is still an accumulation of debris that needs to be cleaned out periodically. Some designs have a flip-up feature to facilitate cleaning.

I have a one-story walkable roof with a big tree that shades the house. I'm up there cleaning the gutters sometimes every week. I'm not too bothered with it. It's the price I pay for having good shade. I feel sorry for the people who cut down trees for the sake of easy maintenance.

If you have gutters on a steep, second story roof that sees leaf litter, I think gutter guards are a must-have.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
My home is very sensitive to runoff as the slope on the backside of the house goes towards the house.


Why would someone grade the lot that way?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Kestas

If you have gutters on a steep, second story roof that sees leaf litter, I think gutter guards are a must-have.

Yup. That's my situation.

The problem I have is that I can't reach that high with my ladder and the roof is too steep for me to safely walk on, so I end up having to hire professionals to come out and do the cleaning and/or installing of the guards.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
My home is very sensitive to runoff as the slope on the backside of the house goes towards the house.


Why would someone grade the lot that way?



I live on the side of a big hill.

 

[dhise]

I'd say they have cut my maintenance in half. Couple sides of the house they've worked as advertised, the other sides, not so much. The gutters used to be completely packed every spring with maple seeds, leaves and other trash so the job isn't nearly as messy as it was before.

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
My home is very sensitive to runoff as the slope on the backside of the house goes towards the house.


Why would someone grade the lot that way?



I live on the side of a big hill.


Will installing a french drain on that side help?

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: Ursae_Majoris
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
My home is very sensitive to runoff as the slope on the backside of the house goes towards the house.


Why would someone grade the lot that way?



I live on the side of a big hill.


Will installing a french drain on that side help?
Definitely needs some kind of drain or diversion to send that water around the house.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Definitely needs some kind of drain or diversion to send that water around the house.


I've actually made a drainage canal and blended it into the landscaping with rocks, so runoff from heavy rains flows by the side of the house and never has a chance to puddle and drain into the ground. It's bad enough that I had to make a "spill way" if you will, at the bottom of the yard, to fan out the runoff so it isn't enough to flood my neighbors yard. The canal I made even drains off the runoff from the neighbor above me. Comes with the territory when you live on the side of a hill I guess!

 

[brianl703]

Do you have a sump pump in the basement?

 

[Drew99GT]

Yup! Came with the house, but when I bought it (it was a flipped house with "issues"), no one had paid any attention to the lay of the land and runoff issues. Since I've done downspout extensions and the drainage canal and got rid of a brick patio that ended up as a lake during heavy rains, the sump pump hole has stayed bone dry. It amazes me that people don't pay attention to things like the gradient around a home and it's implications.

 

[Drew99GT]

Sorry Pete; didn't mean to hijack your thread!