If you are thinking about getting gutter guards to try to keep your rain gutters from getting clogged up by debris, it’s important that you understand how these devices work, and why in all honesty they really aren’t your best option. The promise of gutter guards makes them appealing, they claim to be able to prevent leaves and other debris from blocking your gutters.
This would then let your rain gutters and downspouts do their job without needing to be cleaned and inspected on a regular basis. In most cases when something sounds too good to be true then that’s usually how things end up working out.
In order to give you a complete picture of various gutter guards, the following overview should allow you to understand how they are supposed to work, and why they really aren’t a good option for you.
We are going to touch on just about every major type of guard out there and the pricing you would expect to pay including:
- Gutter Covers
- Leaf Guards
- Gutter Screens
- Gutter Screens
- Metal Or Vinyl Gutter Screens/Mesh
- Gutter Helmet™
- Leaf Relief™
- Gutter Shield™
- Gutter Foam inserts
- The Cost and Installations Fees
What Are Rain Gutter Guards?
Rain gutter guards refer to any type of gutter cover or device that is designed to allow water to flow into a rain gutter while keeping out anything else that would block it. The rain gutters and downspouts on a house are there to help direct the flow of rainwater in a controlled manner.
When it rains water this the roof of your house and then follows the path of least resistance as gravity pulls it downward. If that path happens to lead it into your home where it can cause a lot of damage, then that’s where the water will go. Your rain gutters will direct that water away from parts of your home where it won’t cause damage.
The key to allowing your rain gutters to do their job is for them to be kept clear of debris and in good overall condition. That means having them cleaned and inspected on a regular basis.
Rain gutter guards are devices that claim to be able to eliminate this need for regular cleaning and inspection. Unfortunately, they are ineffective at doing what they claim to do, which means that they are essentially a waste of money.
Gutter Covers
Gutter covers are designed to fit over a rain gutter and block debris from getting into it. There are many different designs, but they all work the same basic way. They provide a solid physical barrier that keeps debris from getting into a rain gutter.
Gutter covers are actually quite effective at keeping debris out of rain gutters, so they will actually keep your gutters from getting clogged in most cases. But, does that mean that they are a good investment?
Unfortunately, they are not. While gutter covers will block most debris from getting into a rain gutter, they also tend to block a lot of water as well. That means that water that should flow into a rain gutter and be diverted away from your home, will instead be reflected off of the top of the gutter guard.
That water will then pour off of the roof of the house much like it would it there were no rain gutters at all. The point here is that gutter covers basically render the rain gutters on a house ineffective, which is why they should be avoided.
Leaf Guards
Leaf guards are designed to prevent the one thing that most often ends up plugging gutters from getting into them, that one thing being leaves. Leaves from trees end up on the roof of houses, then inevitably some of them end up trapped in rain gutters as well.
Over time they will build up, and if they aren’t cleaned out they will end up creating a blockage. Leaf guards are designed to prevent that from happening, but do they really do that?
Well, believe it or not, leaf guards are actually quite effective at keeping leaves from getting into your rain gutters. Unfortunately, they operate under the same basic principle as gutter covers. They use a solid cover that blocks off a large segment of the opening on the top of a rain gutter.
This cover will reflect water away, which will allow it to end up in places you don’t want it to be. While it’s not quite as bad as not having rain gutters at all, it does a fair enough job of defeating the ability of a rain gutter to do its job.
Gutter Screens
Gutter screens offer a slightly different approach to protecting your rain gutters than a traditional gutter guard or leaf guard. They are covers as well, but they differ in that they have small holes in them that are designed to allow water to flow through them into the gutters. The problem here is that these small holes will allow small bits of debris to get through them.
What that means is that gutter screens will slow down the process of your rain gutters getting clogged, but they won’t stop it. On top of that, they also have the common problem that most gutter guards have in that they reflect water away from them. The bottom line is that even though gutter screens are a better option than gutter guards, they still are not a good choice for you.
Gutter Leaf Protection Device
A gutter leaf protection device is another name for a type of gutter guard that is designed primarily to protect gutters from leaves. There is a wide range of designs that go from solid covers to covers with holes in them to allow some water to pass through.
In either case, a gutter leaf protection device suffers from the same faults as other types of gutter guards. It doesn’t completely protect your gutter from debris, and it also reflects at least some water away from your gutters.
Metal Gutter Guard
A metal gutter guard is either a solid cover or a mesh type cover for gutters that is made from metal. Manufacturers of metal gutter guards will tote the fact that their guards are metal of metal as being a big positive because they are more durable than plastic covers or guards.
While it’s true that a metal gutter guard is usually a more durable option than a plastic one, that shouldn’t be your primary concern. After all, do you really care if a product is more durable and long lasting it that product doesn’t do what it claims to be able to do?
Rain Gutter Screens
Rain gutter screens are gutter covers that are composed of a screen instead of a solid metal cover, or a solid metal cover with holes in it. The idea here is that a screen is going to allow more water to flow through it than a metal cover with holes in it.
The good news here is that in terms of design, rain gutter screens are effective at allowing more water to flow through them, thus allowing the gutters on a house to do their job more effectively.
Unfortunately, there is also a downside to using a screen. That downside is that a screen which allows more water to flow through it will also allow more debris to flow through it. That means that while rain gutter screens will probably slow down the process of your gutters being blocked, they will not stop it altogether.
Rain Gutter Covers
Rain gutter covers is simply another name for gutter covers. Just to reiterate gutter covers are not an effective means of protecting rain gutters from debris getting trapped in them. While they will block debris, what they will also do is cover your gutters and allow water to flow over them.
This will then lead to water flowing into places that you don’t want it getting into, which means that they kind of defeat the entire purpose of having gutter guards in the first place.
Gutter Helmet
What is a gutter helmet? Over the years there have been many attempts at improving the design of gutter guards and similar devices. The gutter helmet is another such design. The good news about a gutter helmet is that it really does work better than other gutter guards in most cases.
In fact, there are even options for having a heating cable installed in them that will help to keep water from freezing into ice, which can create a dangerous ice damn.
The problem with a gutter helmet is that despite it’s more advanced design and features it also suffers from the same problem of reflecting water away from the gutter. On top of that, the fact that it is a newer design means that it isgoing to cost more than other gutter guards to have installed.
So, to summarize, it’s not fully effective and it’s going to cost you more money. Doesn’t exactly sound like the best way to spend your money now does it?
Leaf Relief
Much like the gutter helmet, Leaf Relief is another newer gutter guard design that aims to improve on the design and effectiveness of gutter guards. The fact that there are new and improved gutter guard designs coming to the market on a regular basis should show you one important fact, gutter guards need to be improved upon because they are ineffective.
Leaf Relief also tends to be more expensive than other gutter guard options because of the fact that it is new and supposedly better than older gutter guard designs.
So, what is supposed to make Leaf Relief better than other gutter guard options? Leaf Relief lays flat on top of a rain gutter and has small holes in it to allow water to pass. In other words, it takes the same design that many gutter guards have already used for years and changes it ever so slightly.
A Leaf Relief guard actually sits slightly inside of the gutter, which can allow it to have leaves get stuck on top of it and build up as a cover. Then, the water that is normally reflected away by the guard itself will become an even bigger concern as more water is reflected. Leaf Relief is yet another in a long line of attempts at improving gutter guard technology that doesn’t quite get it right.
Gutter Shield
Gutter Shield is a company that provides higher-end gutter covers that are made from a variety of materials including aluminum and copper. The advantage here is that they can usually provide you with a gutter cover that will match the gutters that are installed on your house.
The problem with Gutter Shield is that despite the fact that it uses superior materials, it relies on the same technology that has been shown to be ineffective.
It is simply a higher end and more expensive version of a gutter guard, and it is going to cost you more money. Gutter Shield may seem like a premium product that will do a better job, but the truth is that the only real difference between them and traditional gutter guards is that it will cost you more money.
Gutter Mesh
What is gutter mesh? A gutter mesh is a plastic gutter cover that is less expensive than gutter covers that are made from aluminum or other types of metal. Gutter mesh works under the same principle as a gutter screen, and much like a gutter screen, it will allow sufficient water to flow through it to prevent water from flowing over the sides of the rain gutters.
Unfortunately, a gutter mesh suffers from the same fatal flaw as a gutter screen. The small holes that cover it will allow water through, but it will alsoallow small bits of debris that will build up over time.
Are there any advantages that gutter mesh has over other gutter guards type devices? Actually, there is. A gutter mesh is generally much lower in cost than ever gutter guards because it’s made from plastic, which is cheaper. It’s alsomuch lighter than other gutter guards, which means that it won’t place as much weight or strain on your gutters.
Does any of this mean that you should invest in gutter mesh? Once again, no. A gutter mesh may help with the problem of your gutters getting blocked, but it won’t prevent the problem. It just slows it down, so gutter mesh isn’t a permanent solution either.
Micro Mesh Gutter Guards
Micro mesh gutter guards are a type of mesh gutter guard that uses a mesh that is much finer than traditional mesh. What is the idea behind this? The idea is that will keep more debris from getting into the rain gutters. The good news is that micro mesh gutter guards will usually keep more debris from getting into your gutters.
The bad news is that as a trade-off they will also reflect more water away from them, causing that water to flow off of your roof in an uncontrolled manner.This is obviously a bad idea because it can lead to water damage.
On top of that even micro mesh gutter guards won’t stop all debris from penetrating it, which means that it is another partial solution that will only serve to slow down the process of your rain gutters becoming blocked and will not stop it.
Should You Choose Gutter Mesh?
Gutter mesh is a generalized term that covers various types of gutter mesh options that are available to you. Gutter mesh is actually one of the better options out there because it is inexpensive, doesn’t weigh down your gutters, is easy to put in and take out, and is somewhat effective. The key point here is that it is somewhat effective.
When you put gutter mesh into your rain gutters all that you will accomplish isslowing down how quickly they end up becoming clogged. You will also end up with much more work when the time comes to clean your gutters because the gutter mesh will have to be removed and put back in after the cleaningprocess. If you hire a gutter cleaning company then that is going to result in a higher bill from the gutter cleaning company.
Gutter Inserts
Gutter inserts are any type of devices that are designed to actually fit inside of a rain gutter. In many cases, gutter inserts are made from some type of foam with tiny holes that exist throughout it. The way that these works are that the mesh is designed to allow water to flow through it while blocking any foreign materials from getting into it.
Gutter inserts are partially effective at blocking debris from getting into rain gutters, but they also tend to block a good amount of water from getting into the gutters. That’s going to result in more water flowing over the edges of your gutters instead of through them, which is a recipe for disaster.
There Are Many Types of Gutter Guards
After reading about all of these different types of gutter guards you may feel a bit overwhelmed. Who would have thought that there would be so manydifferent types of devices designed to block debris from getting into rain gutters? The biggest takeaway you should have here is the fact that there are so many different designs.
Why do you think that there are so many different types of gutter guard designs? The reason is simple, nobody has quite got it figured out yet. So, called improvements and progress continues to be a priority in the gutter guard industry because companies are constantly looking for a product that actually works.
The point in going through and reading about all of these gutter guard options was to get you to realize that despite the number of options available to you, there really aren’t any good options. Are some options better than others? Absolutely, but ultimately all gutter guard designs are ineffective and end up being a waste of money for you.
How Much Do Gutter Guards Cost?
If you still aren’t convinced that any type of gutter guard is not a good investment, please take the time to go over the cost of gutter guards. There are a lot of different factors that go into the cost of gutter guards.
These factors include what type of material you want to use, the number of gutters you need to have covered, how many stories your home is, and also the type of landscaping that your yard has. Gutter guards are much like anything else, more expensive material and more labor is going to end up costing you more money.
If you are looking to have inexpensive gutter guards installed then you are best served to look at some type of plastic for a mesh. Plastic is much less expensive than aluminum, stainless steel, or copper, so it makes sense thatgutter guards made from plastic are going to be less expensive. Since the whole idea behind gutter guards is avoiding having to pay a professional company to clean your rain gutters, then if you are determined to get them you might as well spend as little as possible.
If you decide that you want more durable and longer lasting gutter guards, then you should expect to pay more for them. While these types of gutter guards will generally be nicer looking and longer lasting, they function the same way as other gutter guards. So, if you pay more them you are essentially paying for the appearance of the product and not the performance of the product.
So, how much should you be looking at paying if you want to have gutter guards installed on your home? Assuming your home has about 200 feet of gutters, which is what the average home has, it’s probably going to run you between $1,500 and $6,000 for gutter guards. You also need to take into account that adding additional features such as heat strips, or any type of heating elements to prevent ice buildup is also going to end up costing you more money.
As you can see the cost of having gutter guards installed really isn’t insignificant at all. It becomes an even bigger expense when you take into account the fact that they really aren’t worth the money. They are ineffective, and even the best designs out there only serve to slow down and not stop debris from blocking your gutters.
The point here is that you are much better off hiring a professional company to clean your gutters a few times a year than you are wasting your money on gutter guards.
The True Cost of Gutter Guards
Now that you understand how much it will cost you to have gutter guards installed, you really need to spend some time learning about the true cost of gutter guards. Yes, there is a difference. The cost of having gutters guards installed is one thing. The cost to you for having to deal with them and the way that they impact your home for years to come is something entirely different.
Gutter guards are partially effective at best. That means that you are going to need to have your gutters cleaned out regardless of whether or not you have them. Sure, you may be able to go longer between cleanings, but you are still going to have to get them cleaned out. If you are anything like the average person you probably don’t want to clean your own gutters because it is a hard, dirty, and time-consuming job.
So, you hire someone to clean them for you. Hopefully, you hire a professional company since that is by far your best option. Do you think that the gutter cleaning company you hire is going to remove the gutters you have installed, then put them back up for free? Of course, they won’t. You are going to have to pay extra for this, how much is going to depend on the gutter cleaning company you use.
The point here is that if you are hoping to avoid paying to have your gutters cleaned by using gutter guards this isn’t going to work out for you that way. Not only that but having gutter guards are going to make the process of cleaning your gutters out more difficult, which is going to end up costing you more money.
How else doe gutter guards cost you money? Well, if you have gutter guards you are probably being lulled into a false sense of security and think that your gutters are impervious to being blocked. So, you ignore them. Then you develop a blockage. This can cause a whole bunch of different problems for you, and none of those problems is going to be cheap to fix.
If you develop a blockage during the winter the water that is trapped can turn into an ice damn. This can then cause at least part of your rain gutters to collapse, which is going to necessitate expensive repairs. You could alsodevelop a slow leak that allows water to seep into your home undetected, which is going to cause damage as well as toxic black mold. If you guessed that this is going to be expensive to repair as well, then you would have guessed correctly.
What you need to remember here is that gutter guards lull people into a false sense of security causing them to ignore their gutters. When you ignore your gutters, bad things happen. One of the biggest benefits of hiring a professional gutter cleaning company to clean your gutters is that they will inspect them while they work.
That means that they will often spot small problems early while they are still relatively easy and inexpensive to fix. When you ignore your rain gutters because you think that gutter guards protect them, then you don’t get the benefit of having a professional inspect them on a regular basis.
Gutter Guards Can Cause Your Gutters to Fail Prematurely on You
When you are looking into the cost of gutter guards you also need to look at how much replacing your gutters is going to cost you. How are these two things related? They are related because, believe it or not, gutter guards can actually cause your rain gutters and downspouts to wear out more quickly. If you are lucky, and you spend the money necessary to repair and maintain them, the rain gutters on your home really can last a lifetime.
Of course, you also need to have quality rain gutters in the first place. But, as long as you have rain gutters made well, made from a quality material, and installed correctly, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t last a lifetime. Provided of course that you maintain them and take care of them.
The rain gutters on your home are designed to be lightweight for a reason, and that reason is that placing a lot of weight on something attached near the roof of your home isn’t the best idea. That’s another reason why it’s so important that you have your gutters cleaned out on a regular basis, additional weight from the muck that builds up in them will cause them to wear out more quickly.
So, what do you think happens when you add gutter guards to your rain gutters, and in doing so you add additional weight to them? If you guessed that there’s a high likelihood that this will cause your gutters to wear out more quickly, then you would have guessed correctly.
While it is true that most gutter guards don’t weigh a lot when you are dealing with something designed to be as lightweight as possible even a small amount of additional weight can add up. Plus, you have to take into account that this small amount of additional weight will be placing a strain on your gutters on a constant basis.
In addition to the weight that the gutter guards add, you should also remember that even the so-called best gutter guards allow debris to slowly build up in your rain gutters. That means even more weight being added to your rain gutters, which means more strain being placed on them, which means that they will wear out that much more quickly.
If you are thinking of having gutter guards installed on your rain gutters one of your primary motivating factors is probably to save money. After all, the idea of never having to pay to have your gutters cleaned again is definitely an appealing one. Why else would there be so many different types of gutter guards on the market today?
READ Should I Buy Gutter Guards?
Unfortunately, gutter guards don’t really work that well. When you take that into consideration, along with the fact that they often cause your gutters to wear out more quickly, they should become far less appealing of an option for you. When you think about it, the idea of spending money on something that can actually end up costing you more money, in the long run, is the very definition of a poor investment.
Leaf Guard Cost
If you’ve decided at this point that you don’t want to have gutter guards installed, you may now be turning your focus to possibly getting leaf guards instead. Unfortunately, leaf guards offer the same types of issues that gutter guards do, and they are comparable in cost.
That means you will likely be looking at a bill between $1,500 and $6,000 to have leaf guards installed. Now, if leaf guards would permanently eliminate the need for you to have your gutters cleaned, and they wouldn’t result in premature wearing out of your gutters, then this would be a bargain.
But, this isn’t the end of the story for leaf guards. While they are actually fairly effective at keeping leaves out of your rain gutters, they don’t make your gutters impervious to them. That means that even with leaf guards you are still going to have to pay a company to come out and clean your gutters. That’s also going to mean paying them to remove your leaf guards before cleaning your gutters, and then put your leaf guards back no once they have finished. That’s going to cost you more money because it’s adding to the labor of the gutter cleaning company you have hired.
Then, you also need to take a look at one of the biggest negative aspects of any type of gutter guard, like a leaf guard, that involves placing a solid cover over a rain gutter. While it’s true that a solid gutter is the best way to prevent leaves from entering a rain gutter, it’s also true that this type of gutter guard also excels at reflecting water away. What happens when water is reflected away from a rain gutter? It ends up flowing in an uncontrolled manner and gets into places that you don’t ever want it getting into.
When rainwater seeps into your home you end up with problems. Big problems. You end up with structural damage and toxic black mold. You could also end up with water getting into the foundation of your home, then freezing during the winter, which can crack your home’s foundation in half. You don’t need to be an expert on home repair to know that this type of damage can be extremely costly.
This is of particular concern for anyone that has a home with leaf guards that reflect water away. Since the water isn’t controlled by a rain gutter system ittends to pool upon the ground at the base of your home, where it can easily make it to your home’s foundation.
The point to all of this is that leaf guards really aren’t that different from traditional gutter guards. They may help to slow down the process of leaves and other debris getting into your gutters, but they certainly won’t stop it from happening. That means that you are going to have to have your gutters cleaned out anyway, which will cost more due to additional labor being involved.
The worst part of leaf guards is that they tend to allow water to accumulate on the ground near the base of your home, which is the last place you want it to be because this is where it is most likely to end up causing foundation damage to your home.
What Is Involved in Gutter Guard Installation?
If you are considering having gutter guards installed then one option you may be considering is trying to do the job yourself. If you are thinking of having gutter guards installed then the last thing you want to do is compound what is already a mistake by making another mistake.
It’s very easy to damage your gutters when you are installing gutter guards, which can result in you needing to have expensive repairs made, or even having to have new gutters installed. If you are determined to have gutter guards of any type installed, then make sure that you have a licensed, bonded, and insured company do it for you.
What Are the Best Gutter Guards?
Now that you understand a little more about the different types of gutter guards out there, there’s a good chance that you have come to the realization that you really are better off avoiding them. If you are still curious about what the best types of gutter guards are, the answer is quite simple. They don’t exist.
That’s right, there is no gutter guard that is better than the others because none of them do what they claim to be able to do. Are some better than others? Yes, but does that mean that you should invest your money in them? No, because ultimately, they won’t work.
To recap, there are a number of reasons why gutter guards should not be the solution you are looking for when you are trying to find a way to keep your rain gutters working right. If your rain gutters aren’t working properly then that is a recipe for disaster that can end up causing a lot of damage to your home. This kind of damage is generally very expensive to repair.
Certain Types of Gutter Guards Defeat the Purpose of Having Rain Gutters in The First Place
The most common type of gutter guard works by creating a solid physical barrier over your rain gutters that are there to keep debris out. While this barrier is usually quite effective at keeping debris out, it’s also quite effective at reflecting water away.
That means that this type of gutter guard actually helps to keep your rain gutters from doing their job. Why would you ever invest money in something that will keep a very important part of your home from doing what it is designed to do?
If you opt for a gutter guard that is not a solid barrier you won’t have as much of an issue with water being reflected away. What you will end up with though is more debris being allowed into your gutters. That debris will build up over time and eventually it will probably end up forming a clog. That means that these types of gutter guards won’t be effective at doing the one thing that you have bought them for.
Want another reason to reconsider looking for the best gutter guards? How about the fact that you are still going to have to get your gutters cleaned out,and when you do it’s going to end up costing you more money. You have to pay someone to take off your gutter guards and then put them back on.
Your best option in this type of scenario is to cut your losses and just have the gutter cleaning company you have hired leave your gutters guards off. If you bought metal gutter guards then maybe you can sell them for scrap at this point so you can at least get some of your money back from them.
Paying to Have Your Gutters Cleaned by A Professional Company Is A Much Better Use of Your Resources Than Buying Gutter Guards Is
Gutter guards remain an appealing option in theory because they seem to be a solution that will allow you to never have to worry about your gutters getting clogged again. Unfortunately, they are fool’s gold. They promise one thing, but they fall well short of delivering. So, what options do you have then? You could decide to clean out your own gutters, but to say that this is a hard and dirty job is a major understatement.
You could hire a handyman to do it for you, but there are a lot of risks involved with this approach as well. What options are left to you then? Well, how about making the smart choice and hiring a professional gutter cleaning companythat is licensed, bonded, and insured to clean your gutters for you?
What you really need to do is decide how you want to spend your money. Because in order to keep your gutters working properly you are going to have to spend money. They need maintenance and care, and above all else, they need to be kept clear of debris in order for them to work right. So, you can choose to spend your money on gutter guards and hope that they are capable of keeping your gutters working. Or, you could choose to spend your money on a proven method that works, hiring a professional to clean them for you.
When you have a professional clean your gutters you get the peace of mind of knowing that they are clear and in good working condition. When you have gutter guards all you can really do is hope that your gutters are clear, unless you hire someone to inspect them. At that point, you are paying someone to inspect your gutters after paying for a device to keeping your gutters clear, which is further proof that gutter guards are a waste of money.
In addition to the professional gutter cleaning company ensuring that your gutters are clear and working, you also get additional peace of mind of knowing that they are kept in good condition. Any reputable gutter cleaning company is also going to inspect your gutters while they are cleaning them to ensure that they are in good condition.
If your gutters end up failing on you and collapsing it can cost you a lot of money to repair them. When you have them inspected on a regular basis you can avoid having this happen to you, which is another reason why having your gutters cleaned by a professional is a better option than having gutter guards installed.
If you decide to hire a company to clean your gutters for you the first thing you need to do is make sure that they are a professional company that is licensed, bonded, and insured. Hiring anyone except a company with the proper licensing and insurance subjects you to a lot of financial risks, which is why it should be avoided.
There’s risk involved whenever anyone is working on top of a ladder on your property, and that’s where insurance comes into the picture to protect you. A company that is insured will have protection in place in the event of an accident that results in injury or property damage.
Gutter Guards Are Not the Solution for You
After looking over this comprehensive guide about the many different types of gutter guards that are out there, and the flaws that they have, you will hopefully realize that they are not the right fit for you. Their appeal is undeniable, but like anything else that seems to be too good to be true, they are as well.
The rain gutters on your home are extremely important for keeping water from damaging your home. This is well known. What should also be well known is the fact that those rain gutters need to be cared for so that they can continue to do the job they were designed to do.
Caring for your rain gutters doesn’t mean putting one of a seemingly endless number of different types of guards over them and then ignoring them. Caring for your rain gutters doesn’t mean that you should hope that they keep working well despite the fact that they are not being regularly inspected by a professional.
Caring for your rain gutters does not mean that you should ever use gutter guards. Instead, make the smart choice and hire a professional company to come to your home and clean and inspect your rain gutters and downspouts on a regular basis.
