Do any of the products actually work? We have tons of oak, pine and one big Magnolia tree around our house and our gutters are always a mess. A lot look like they will just pile up the pine needles.

Had Berger Services install these and they have been great. They're not cheap since they are a very fine stainless steel mesh but I have had no issues with pine needles or anything else clogging them up. Prior to having them I literally had trees sprouting (one was 2-3 feet tall) from the gutters around the second story that I could not reach.

Yes, they work. There are varying degrees of quality and design. But they all work to an extent. Gutter Helmets or something like that work the best, but are super expensive. Screens work for leaves but pine needles are tough.

I installed some from Costco and they work great.

Not cheap, but my parents have had these on their home outside Magnolia since it was built in 04 and have had zero clogs. Their lot is covered in tall pines, oak, and sweet gum.

https://www.leafguard.com/

We install Senox Midwest solids and gutter screens. These work for 99% of the installs. However, if it's a real problem, gutter helmets are working really well, just pricey and not always necessary.

Guitarsoup said:

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Do any of the products actually work? We have tons of oak, pine and one big Magnolia tree around our house and our gutters are always a mess. A lot look like they will just pile up the pine needles.

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https://www.homedepot.com/p/GUTTERSTUFF-5-in-x-48-in-K-Style-Foam-Gutter-Filter-GS-K5-SPAN/203318223

Have used this before and it worked pretty well. Debris will still lay on top of it but it creates a channel/flow for water under and through the foam. it sits an inch or 2 below the gutter lip so unless it fills that in fully with material that wont let water pass, water will drain normally even with needles/leaves on top. They sell multi packs of these so shop for those rather than buying singles.

They are ABSURDLY expensive. Quoted me like $20k!!

Had the screens on a previous house. Worked well but still need to clean them off from time to time in certain areas.

Have a leaf guard like knock off that were already on this newer house. Only complaint is in some spots it doesn't catch the water as well. Water is supposed to run over the lip and be caught in the gutter but several spots it does t work great especially under heavy rain. I've messed with adjusting without any success.

I prefer the screens.

FatZilla said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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Do any of the products actually work? We have tons of oak, pine and one big Magnolia tree around our house and our gutters are always a mess. A lot look like they will just pile up the pine needles.

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https://www.homedepot.com/p/GUTTERSTUFF-5-in-x-48-in-K-Style-Foam-Gutter-Filter-GS-K5-SPAN/203318223

Have used this before and it worked pretty well. Debris will still lay on top of it but it creates a channel/flow for water under and through the foam. it sits an inch or 2 below the gutter lip so unless it fills that in fully with material that wont let water pass, water will drain normally even with needles/leaves on top. They sell multi packs of these so shop for those rather than buying singles.

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Bump thread. Considering some gutter work before the fall.

Trying to decide between these foam inserts and screens. I only have a few sections of gutters that need guards. Over half our house has no exposure to any leaves. I am a little annoyed as we have a very tall home and the previous owner put on new gutters but no guards on the highest gutters and think they may be clogged but too high for me.

Edit: Plan to DIY. Not going to pay someone. So options from box stores

Following because gutters are getting replaced with the roof.

I installed the Amerimax LeafTek last summer and haven't had any issues at all. It was easy to do and fairly affordable.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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I installed the Amerimax LeafTek last summer and haven't had any issues at all. It was easy to do and fairly affordable.

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Probably a stupid question but there isn't issues with water running over gutters because of the grates? They grates don't restrict flow by much I assume.

I guess after install just have to watch how it performs in first few rains and set a baseline for performance then just watch and see if any sighns of clogs down the road. Seems like clogs after install would be a major issue to fix.

planoaggie123 said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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I installed the Amerimax LeafTek last summer and haven't had any issues at all. It was easy to do and fairly affordable.

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Probably a stupid question but there isn't issues with water running over gutters because of the grates? They grates don't restrict flow by much I assume.

I guess after install just have to watch how it performs in first few rains and set a baseline for performance then just watch and see if any sighns of clogs down the road. Seems like clogs after install would be a major issue to fix.

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Not a stupid question because I was worried about this as well. After the heavy rains we've had in Houston this year, I've not noticed any areas where water ran off the side of the house instead of going into the gutters. I'm pretty neurotic about stuff like that and I didn't notice any issues.

I was worse before the gutter guards simply because I couldn't keep up with making sure my gutters were cleaned out. This would lead to spill overs and now I don't have those.

I think i am convinced.

Will do a bit more research on the kind but found the ones you did and they look pretty good!

Going to be a late summer project....

We've had the powder coated steel screens installed on gutter replacements at our former and current house. We also went with the larger size gutter and oversized downspouts on both installs. No issues to report. Both systems easily handled the heaviest rains and the screens have done their job. Zero clogs.

And yes I am also one of those owners who go out in the rain and make notes about the drainage. IMO proper drainage around a home is severely underrated by many homeowners. It doesn't take much to cause significant damage so the investment in a proper system and screens is worth every penny.

Can you share the brand / model / style on guards? Mesh or holes?

Holes. Not sure of brand since gutter co installed. I should have taken a pic of the boxes but didn't.

Edit: it's more of a weave/diamond pattern. It handles the oaks, crepe myrtles etc just fine. For those with pine trees the pattern is prolly not a good choice since the needles are fine enough they could get stuck.

Edit2: they look something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P4RZCPC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_WNWRG152RM6Y01GTHGFV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!

Never thought I would spend so many hours on gutter guard videos....this is definitely my current obsession....

planoaggie123 said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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planoaggie123 said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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I installed the Amerimax LeafTek last summer and haven't had any issues at all. It was easy to do and fairly affordable.

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Probably a stupid question but there isn't issues with water running over gutters because of the grates? They grates don't restrict flow by much I assume.

I guess after install just have to watch how it performs in first few rains and set a baseline for performance then just watch and see if any sighns of clogs down the road. Seems like clogs after install would be a major issue to fix.

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Not a stupid question because I was worried about this as well. After the heavy rains we've had in Houston this year, I've not noticed any areas where water ran off the side of the house instead of going into the gutters. I'm pretty neurotic about stuff like that and I didn't notice any issues.

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Haha appreciate it. My wife thinks I am crazy (and I might be) but about every other storm you can find me circling the house checking on things.

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I'm not the only one.

Texker said:

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Holes. Not sure of brand since gutter co installed. I should have taken a pic of the boxes but didn't.

Edit: it's more of a weave/diamond pattern. It handles the oaks, crepe myrtles etc just fine. For those with pine trees the pattern is prolly not a good choice since the needles are fine enough they could get stuck.

Edit2: they look something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P4RZCPC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_WNWRG152RM6Y01GTHGFV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

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For what it's worth, I've installed a lot of these and I've also had these on my own houses. On mine, I ended up removing them. That said, many customer like them. For me, they did not handle oak, elm, or cedar well. They would eventually clog and water would over run. I have 6" gutters. The deal with all of these gutters and guards is that roof pitches, gutter size, debris load, water load all play a huge roll. I had pretty good luck with leaf blasters but they are nearly as much as the gutters themselves and again, pitches can change how all of these perform. Steep slopes with a torrential rain and even a little debris caught in the screen may still not perform well. Low slopes, even with torrential rains fair much better.

Thanks for chiming in.

I am getting a sample of these raptor guards sent to me to see how I like them. I guess there is no perfect system likely but I plan to do a few really problematic sections first and see how they perform and if I am happy will slowly build out. We still have some sections where after 2 years not even a leaf hits and the gutters look brand new so no need to waste money/time on those spots.

https://www.raptorgutterguard.com/

I think that's the way to do it. Case by case. I'd be curious to see how you like them.

Purchased these. Same thing as the Raptor guard just different packaging / naming. They sell the same product under several names.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gutter-Guard-by-Gutterglove-4-ft-L-x-5-in-W-Stainless-Steel-Micro-Mesh-Gutter-Guard-20-Pack-THD80/300276095

Not sure how the weekend will shape up but the plan will be just to spend a few hours over the next several weekends. Rather than being diligent i just ordered 80 feet and will see how much that covers in my "high risk" areas and will assess how much more I need to buy later....

How are they holding up?

It's sad but i actually just installed my first stretch this weekend. Was a big PITA and I am pretty sore (lots of up and down on ladder and manipulating them is not easy) but the area I did was a tough area with several corners and had to work around a large ornamental tree. Goal is to keep doing a few stretches each weekend before leaves start falling. Will report back once I get them up and see how they work with rain and once leaves start falling.

Finished my first box....80 feet...this weekend. Was pretty exhausting but better than paying someone.

Looking forward to the rain over the next few days to make sure all the water goes through as expected and does not over-run.

Just got another box of 80 feet that I am going to sit on for a bit until I see how the current portion works. If it performs well in strong rain I will install another 80 feet.

planoaggie123 said:

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Finished my first box....80 feet...this weekend. Was pretty exhausting but better than paying someone.

Looking forward to the rain over the next few days to make sure all the water goes through as expected and does not over-run.

Just got another box of 80 feet that I am going to sit on for a bit until I see how the current portion works. If it performs well in strong rain I will install another 80 feet.

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Any updates?

Yes. I am almost done. I have about 20 feet to go. Been busy few weekends so stalled a bit.

Once that is done, I will have about another 50 - 80 feet of gutters that are not covered but in 2 years I have never had to clean them out so not sure the value is there. They just do not get leaves.

So far, with all the rain lately + wind and falling leaves....everything seems to be working as expected. I have not noticed any gutter overruns from hard rain and I do not see leaves piling up on top of the guards. I am guessing at some point I might need to use the "gutter brush" they provided and sweep some leaves down but who knows...maybe not. Even if I do that I won't need to get up on my ladder.

Very pleased so far....

Appreciate the info Planoag

First Saturday without soccer game in a while so I just got in from putting on my last stretch actually. Gutters were packed with leaves. Glad I did it and hopefully it works as expected long term and I am done with ladders / cleaning gutters.

$%&*#$

Wife called said it sounds like something is in our gutters....need to go up tonight or this weekend and see if someone an animal caused a piece to fall in....