Gutter Covers- DIY, or Hire it out? Best system to use?

[BigguyZ]

OK, so I'm in the process of moving from a apt to a new single family home. I have a lot to do before I get to the projects to improve the new abode, but there's one thing I think I need to address ASAP (for both my duplex and the new house)- the gutters.

At the new place, the gutters to the house and garage are clogged so badly that their filled to the brim with dirt/ mud. At the duplex, they're not that bad, but they're clearly not working as well as they should.

So, I'm looking at getting one of the many different gutter covers out there. Are they worth it? Is one system better than the others? Is this something I should do myself, or is it just easier or more time-effective or just as cheap to hire out?

I'd love to hear your thoughts/ experiences.

Thanks!
Travis

[natausch]

Clean and flush them first, make sure the gutters are sloping in the right direction. You'd may be surprised to find that instead of a gutter cover all they needed was a thorough cleaning. You'd be surprised how quickly a couple years of neglect can clog a system.

[tommyt654]

FWIW I like the steel mesh ones you get at Home Depot, their easy to install as the just clip to the rim of the gutter, their also easy to open up to clean the gutter out as I,ve seen no gutter covers or screens that filter out all the fine particles and crud that can and will find its way into the gutter. So these work effectively enough and their relatively inexpensive as well.

[steve-norrell]

Those gutter covers get mixed reviews up here because of icing in the winter. I imagine you would have similar problems in the northern tier states.

When we had the gutters cleaned out last summer the guy suggested those screens but also admitted that they "could ice up".

They look like the would be the cat's meow if you didn't have to deal with ice dams.

Regards, Steve

[twistsol]

I'm a big fan of these They were about half the price shown at our ACE store when I bought them a few years ago.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=48559297254

We've tried the metal screens, and I'm unimpressed. My inlaws have one of the gutter covers and the black walnut stems still get through.

These are also easy to install and if you need to, you can pull them out and hose off.

[crybdr]

I don't have gutter guards but have had plugged gutters before. I'm fine with getting up there and cleaning them out every once and a while (twice a year). I just walk the perimeter with a leaf blower and get the big stuff out. I'm in a split level so the roof pitch is mild.

My buddy has the expanded metal mesh gutter guards. They're fine. But, he has a neighbor with one of those trees that releases the little 'helicoptor' seed pods. A lot of those pods find their way into the mesh, and spend the rest of the summer standing straight up in each hole they landed in. It's a little weird looking - like something is growing out of the tops of the gutters.

[Woodshark]

If you live near pines tree then just give up. I've tried the mesh screens and the pine needles just clog them up. After a few years of that I had a gutter guy remove them and we tried the gutter guards like these.

http://www.chimkc.com/images/LO_diagram.jpg

The surface tension of the water pulls the water into the gutter. Unfortunately it also drags pine needles along with it. After a fall season, you have a gutter full of pine needles and no way to easily clean them out. We had to remove them just to clean the gutters.

Now we just pay a service twice a year.

[ironhat]

In my estimation there's nothing that beats a ladder and a hand. I've tried various products and found them wanting in one way or the other. If you're afraid of heights, infirm or of advancing years (nice way of saying, 'old') then a handyman service may be the answer. Believe it or not, it may save you (not 'you', per se) but, at my age of 58 I can have it done twice a year for $50. When you estimate that the product which channels water into the gutter while the leaves cascade over the edge, or the gutter-brush, which occupies the entire void of the channel to the tune if thousands of dollars this choice may be cheaper choice.

[iceman61]

I've found the best thing is a leaf blower & walking the edge of the roof is very quick especially with pine needle. This is of course on a low pitch roof. For steep pitch roofs, a couple of ladders, a walk board, & a blower.

[garymuto]

I just got a price for the mesh installation (gutter helmets can cause ice damming in MI) and the guy wanted $7/ft. Cleaning may be a better option for me. I think I will try installing the mesh around my garage and porches as a test. If it works, it will reduce the overall cost for the professional installation since it will on be for the 2nd story. It's about 25 feet up and I don't have a ladder that tall or the interest.

[havighurst]

I used a product called the Gutter Worm that I purchased from Menards. It comes in four foot sections and it is a brush that fills the gutter keeping leaves and other debris out, but allowing the water in. Easy to install (and remove). It has worked for me for the last several years.

[JimD]

For our regular gutters in Pittsburgh, the best system I developed was a piece of PVC that, with a little duct tape, fit the outlet of my blower well. I used enough straight pipe to reach the gutter (always at least 2 stories) and a fitting at the end to direct the air along the gutter. I could blast out the gunk nicely. The gutter spikes took a little manuvering but I could clean the gutters in 30 minutes or so including dragging out the pieces and putting them back.

On my current house I have rainguard gutters. They cost more but in 10 years they have not clogged and they have never been cleaned. I have oak and other hardwoods overhanging one end of my house and tall ones that reach the house on the other side.

I tried perforated gutter guards in Pittsburgh and decided they were more trouble than they were worth. Blowing them out a couple times a year was a lot easier.

Jim