Answers

Hey Eric,

Sagging gutters can be repaired a number of ways. If you are insistent on keeping the existing gutters, you will need to remove all the gutter spikes and replace them with hidden hangers. The recommended pitch is 1/4" per 10' of gutter. That can be a hassle, especially if some of the spikes are still in the gutter tight. Having a new gutter installed with hidden hangers that are screwed in is the next best thing to repairing and repitching the old ones. Hope that helps!

There are a lot of companies out there that will try and spin why certain cover products are better than others.  No cover product out there is 100% maintanence free.  And depending on how your roof line is designed a cover may not work at all.  I.E. Cut up/ short gutter runs and inside corners.

Any cover that messes with the last layer of shingles stay far far away from. Lifting the first layer of shingles can only potential do more harm to your roof than good.

 My professional opinion, install some sort of metal screen that locks into the lip of your gutter and clean them annually or bi-annually depending where you live and if your surrounded by mature trees.  Installing screens will eliminate the amount of cleaning done per year. 

Sagging gutters can be an easy fix depending on the severity / condition of the existing material.  Hidden hangers in the appropriate size (5" or 6") can be used to lift up the sagging areas in order to secure to the fascia boards and tighten as needed.  If the gutters are severely warped or bent from ice dams and / or debris, then replacement is recommended.  Contacting a professional to take care of this service is recommended unless the homeowner has experience working from ladders in order to avoid injury.

Eric, Arocon Roofing & Construction

Many homeowners are looking for a miracle product that will free them from ever having to clean their gutters again.  Some companies are actually claiming they have this miracle product! There are some good gutter cover designs; however, every gutter guard system we have tested (and we have tested a lot of them!) has pluses and minuses.

You may have seen a demonstration at a local home show or in the mall. They look great… the water rolls around the edge of the gutter cover and into the gutter; but do they work in the real world?  To some degree yes, but none of them are perfect and none of them will prevent you from ever having to clean your gutters again!

There are over 70 gutterprotection products in the U.S. and over 150 companies selling these systems. Every company says that they are the best and that you will never have to clean your gutters again…. if a representative from any gutter guard company in the world makes such a claim, RUN FAST!  There is no such thing as a maintenance free gutter guard!!!!

 The most popular gutter guard systems today are:

• Open Cell Polyurethane Insert – this is specially shaped and cut to fit snugly into your gutter. Most manufacturers warranty the product to last 25 years.
• Micro Mesh Gutter Guards - this design combines an aluminum body and structural membrane with an integral medical grade stainless steel mesh to filter out debris. 
• Metal Gutter Cover – this design relies on the principle that water clings to the surface on which it travels. The idea is that the ‘surface tension’ causes the water to cling to the gutter cover’s rounded ‘nose’. The water follows the curve of the nose and is deposited in the gutter below. The leaves and debris, on the other hand, are not supposed to follow the curve. They should remain on the flat surface and blow harmlessly to the ground once they dry out. 

Most of the products do a good job of preventing full sized leaves from entering your gutters. That is a simple task. However, many of the gutter cover products fail to stop tiny tree flower buds, seed pods and evergreen needles from entering or clogging the gutters.  And none of them are maintenance free… every gutter guard system will require cleaning regardles of their claims!!!

Gutter Cleaning may be a cheaper and better solution…

Gutter guards are not cheap! Depending on the type of gutter guard they run anywhere from $8 to $20 per lineal foot installed. An average house may have 100 feet of gutter; some houses have even more. Most homes’ gutter systems can be cleaned by a professional in an hour or so… you can do the math!

Gutter cleaning, as you well know, is not just a Fall activity. Many trees in the Baltimore area shed debris throughout the seasons.  Over time, clogged gutters can do serious damage to a home.  Usually, fascia, eaves, and foundation areas suffer first.  Paint peels and insects invade.  In some cases, rainwater can enter an exterior wall through eaves.  Prolonged exposure to a clogged gutter system will also render rafter end and roof sheathing vulnerable to rot.  Repairs become expensive.  It is not uncommon for some homes to need cleaning four times a year.

I will have to disagree with the last answer.  Whether they work or not depends on the vegetation.  I don't care for the reverse curl systems because of their tendency to overshoot during heavy rains.  We use a grate style cover that keeps out 95% of the stuff and 99.99% of the stuff that forms clogs.  We haven't had one clog in 10 years and the system that we specify catches all the rain. 

I just saw this so a bit late to the party. That said here is my take. 

To give a bit a background. We have been serving the Utah market fot 5 generations with gutters and exteriors. I personaly have been in the business for nearly 25 years. My father over 40. we have researched every product on the market. There is really only one that we have felt comfotable with. It is Gutter Topper. As someone said below it has been the number rated gutter cover.  The thing that really makes gutter topper so special it is very versitle. It also can handle more snow, ice, water, and wind. It is very stong and works well. 

Leaf relief is ok. We have installed it. It works well for a short period of time but the problem with that cover is it sits below the gutters which allows debri to sit on the cover and eventually gets in. 

There are some decent filters like gutter glove. Only problem is it is a filter. I dont care what anyone says, filters have to be changed or cleaned. So eventiually those will need to be cleaned. 

Like someone said earlier ther is no cover that keep all debri out. This is very true. Howver if a gutter is sloped correctly the small dirt and grit frim shigles will wash out. The reason why it doesnt without covers is the debri will create a dam and then allow evberything else to build. It will not happen with Gutter topper. 

Not sure if this helps, but again we have tried and looked at them all. As a company that has been around    for a long time and have tried them all. Gutter Topper is the only one I would look at.

Many gutter clogging problems can be avoided by simply installing oversize downspouts, which allows for a drain hole that is twice the size. This would allow smaller pieces of debris such as maple "helicopters" and other seed pods to escape the system naturally.

If yous debris is much larger, however, like oak leaves and tree branches, one of the systems listed below would have to be considered. Just remember that no screen or hood system is perfect and will require trade-offs (i.e. debris collecting over the top of the system and/or runover during heravy rains). So I always recommend the least intrusive solution first.

Dale Haas

123 Exteriors