Tree damage ?---opinions on leaf guard gutter systems? Brands?

[Stimson]

This is an addition to the tree damage post. I'll be needing new gutters. My neighbor raves about his new gutters(it's either leaf guard or gutter guard), but the roofer recommends NOT using a capped gutter system. He recommends 4x6 gutters and additional downspouts. My neighbor had capped gutters installed over a year ago and hasn't had to up on a ladder once to clean.
I am torn between the roofers professional opinion, and my neighbors opinion. I've known my neighbor for nearly 30 years(former co-worker), who also has exceptional construction knowledge.
For me climbing on a ladder and walking around on my roof is a borderline no-go physically. So capped gutters makes sense for me, but the roofer was immediately saying no to capped gutters when I brought it up.
Pros and cons would be appreciated! Thx!

 

[Wetswinger]

Beware of gutter guards if you live in a place that gets long freezing periods. They promote icecicle growth as the cap freezes over allowing icecicles to form coating your walkway in freezing drips. Otherwise they work well against leaf litter...

 

[Stonedfish]

Can’t comment on the guards, but I had 6” gutter put on when I updated my gutters and like them a lot.
SF

 

[krusty]

Over time even gutters with guards need to be cleaned or they'll clog and the guards make access even more problematic.

Whatever you do don't have the foam filter style guards installed...they soon end up becoming dirt like blocks.

 

[RCF]

I have 4"x6" gutters with the larger downspouts. I also have lots of trees, cedar, pine and fir trees near the house. Do they fill up with debris? Yes. I no longer will clean my own gutters - period. Gutters have to be cleaned at least 3 times a year professionally. I also use a power washer with proper attachments to clean the downspouts and drainage pipes once a year.

I have looked into gutter caps/guards. Dang they are a lot of money. There are lots of ones out there. My only advice is to make sure the screen holes are small enough so that your smallest debris can not get through the filtration system. Pine and fir needles get through a lot of filtration systems - why I have not installed them yet.... Also not sure about dirt but there sure seems to be a lot in the gutters...

 

[Stimson]

I live just south of granite falls,wa., so freezing temps are minimal. A few days/year. My biggest problem is wind blown tree debris. I live amongst 100' fir and cedar trees. The 6" of the end of a cedar tree which turns brown, and then falls off during fall storms. My property/ house gets covered with the stuff. I have to clean my gutters 6x per year.

 

[Pink Squirrel]

My last house was surrounded by broad leaf hardwoods and I had to clean the gutters twice a year. When the gutters were replaced I had leaf guards installed and I never had to clean them in the next 6 years I lived there. It is just my personal experience so I can not state everyone else would have the same results. This was in Iowa so freezing weather was common and I did not experience any additional icing.

 

[Stimson]

Yeah my neighbor paid >$20k for complete capped gutter system. So ouch that's definitely a buy once cry once. That said my roofer was pretty adamant about 4x6 w/bigger downspouts.
RCF/Stonedfish-- good to hear your input as I'm kinda leaning towards the roofers recommendation.
I get so much tree debris on my lawn I vacuum it up with my riding mower. Admittedly I toss it in a garbage can and let it dry out-it makes excellent firestarter!

 

[krusty]

I have 4"x6" gutters with the larger downspouts. I also have lots of trees, cedar, pine and fir trees near the house. Do they fill up with debris? Yes. I no longer will clean my own gutters - period. Gutters have to be cleaned at least 3 times a year professionally. I also use a power washer with proper attachments to clean the downspouts and drainage pipes once a year.

I have looked into gutter caps/guards. Dang they are a lot of money. There are lots of ones out there. My only advice is to make sure the screen holes are small enough so that your smallest debris can not get through the filtration system. Pine and fir needles get through a lot of filtration systems - why I have not installed them yet.... Also not sure about dirt but there sure seems to be a lot in the gutters...

The dirt source tends to be the protective sand particles from the shingles. Accelerates as the roof ages. I know you're just powerwashing the downspouts, but I cringe everytime I see my neighbors having their composite architectural roof surface pressure washed.

For some reason once people buy a pressurewasher they want to use it for everything...my neighbor ended up destroying the concrete coating around his in-ground pool. I don't think he has a clue about which tip to use. Big on doing his vehicle engines as well.

 

[RCF]

The dirt source tends to be the protective sand particles from the shingles. Accelerates as the roof ages. I know you're just powerwashing the downspouts, but I cringe everytime I see my neighbors having their composite architectural roof surface pressure washed.

I have a metal roof. The powerwashing goes up the pipe from the end of it.

 

[krusty]

I have a metal roof. The powerwashing goes up the pipe from the end of it.

Works fine as long as you're not going up under the top edge of the fascia or drip edge.

 

[Roper]

We had them, they sucked! Water would roll right over them, we had a waterfall at our entry. Company wouldn’t do anything about it. We yanked them put in 6” ones. We have them cleaned twice a year because we have lots of very tall fir trees.

 

[Buzzy]

The dirt source tends to be the protective sand particles from the shingles. Accelerates as the roof ages. I know you're just powerwashing the downspouts, but I cringe everytime I see my neighbors having their composite architectural roof surface pressure washed.

For some reason once people buy a pressurewasher they want to use it for everything...my neighbor ended up destroying the concrete coating around his in-ground pool. I don't think he has a clue about which tip to use. Big on doing his vehicle engines as well.

Birch trees and their every other year "catkin" drop will fill capped gutters (my gutters had perforated caps, I don't recall the brand). I didn't realize that the birch catkins were passing through the cap's perforations until the gutters were full of rotted catkins: black mud.

 

[rattlesnake]

My thoughts are very anecdotal but I was told by a roofer similar to what @Roper said - heavy or even slightly more than a sprinkle could just wash right over them which is no bueno. Plus you will still eventually need to get the gutters cleaned anyway (especially if you have smaller debris options like pine needles or even maple and oak seed pods).

Another thought is that $20k will pay for a lot of handy man gutter cleaning calls.

 

[Mossback]

The fine screened guards clog with Fir needles, the coarse screens let a lot of stuff in. It's a tough call if you live around a lot of Fir trees...

 

[_WW_]

You forgot the third option. No gutters.

 

[Matt B]

oak seed pods

so…acorns? Through a gutter guard?

 

[RRSmith]

We bought our place on the Oregon Coast back in 2019. The home has a tile roof that essentially is a moss farm with moss constantly shedding and ending up in the gutters as well as on the deck. In addition, the gutters leaked and the fascia was rotting so we replaced both in 2022. When we got new gutters, we had the contractor add a fine stainless steel meshed gutter guard. We also had the contractor remove the moss and treat the tile surface. My concern is that the fine stainless mesh will ultimately clog but so far so good.

My buddy that lives in Sandy, OR ended up buying the Costco stainless meshed guards (looks just like mine) and installed them himself. He has spruce tree issues and says they work as advertised.

 

[Stonedfish]

One other benefit I should mention at least to me regarding the 6" gutters. I have big sycamore trees behind me and live across the street from a park with large trees. I also have a big douglas fir on the corner of my property. In the fall after the first big wind and rain I always check the gutters. At times I'll notice leaves and other debris down the throat of the downspout towards the elbow. It’s deep enough down that I can't reach it with my hands and don't feel like digging it out. Since I have a rambler and can easily get on the roof, I just run the hose up onto the roof. I shoot high pressure water from the hose down into the downspout throat which easily blows all the stuff out. Much easier to do with the larger downspouts than with my previous 4" gutters downspouts.
SF

 

[krusty]

Dryside EWA here, and we only have a few maple and river birch near the house. When we had the house reroofed about 4 years ago we also had the fascia replaced with cement fiber board (extremely expensive), installed additional downspouts, and switched over to rain chains (which eliminated the clogged downspout pipe issue).

We've seen many houses in our area that have had major fascia damage because the contractors put in an insufficient number of downspouts relative to gutter span...water will overwhelm the downspouts and back up into the fascia, even if the drip edge is correctly installed. It's common to see huge expanses of multi-roof gutters depending upon one poorly placed downspout.

Conversely, I see people having their entire house served by gutters, even in roof areas that would be fine without gutters...like lower eaves where backsplash wouldn't be a problem. Gutters can aggravate ice dam problems in some circumstances.

Rain chains work pretty good if you have extended eaves and live in an area of infrequent rainfall, because they will not control spout flow as well, but for the rainfall in Spokane at our location on a bluff above the Spokane River the wind is usually blasting rain all over the place anyway.

I clean our gutters a couple of times a year with an electric yard blower and one of the telescoping gutter tools available on amazon.