Any experience with LeafGuard gutters?

[s219]

I am wondering if anyone has experience with Englert LeafGuard gutters -- these are the one-piece continuous gutter that is formed on site, looks like this:



I had some installed on my barn last week, and went with this gutter (which is about 5X more expensive than standard gutters) because we have pine trees dropping needles year round, as well as a lot of leaves in the fall. I have a traditional gutter on my home over the front porch, and it's a pain to always keep it cleaned out, so I could justify the cost jump of putting LeafGuard gutters on my barn if I never have to clean them.

The good news is that the installers did a nice job, the gutters look good, and they are staying debris free. They work well in moderate to heavy rain, as the water rolls over the top surface and drips into the channel. But what I have seen is that under all other conditions, most or all of the water just drips over the front edge of the gutter and falls to the ground. So with drizzle, light rain, melting snow, or just morning moisture on the roof, the gutters are not effective, and I may as well have no gutters in those conditions (they are just moving the drip line another 4" out).

I called the company, and they are going to send someone out in the next 2 weeks to "fix" the gutters, but I don't really see how they can do that -- seems like a limitation of the design if it needs significant rainfall to function. Sure, the bottom lip could be bent out to widen the channel and catch runaway drops, but that can't help the debris free aspect.

The company is local and family-run with a good reputation (did traditional gutters on our previous home that worked well) and I would feel bad asking for a refund, but that is my plan if the "fix" doesn't make a major improvement. These were expensive gutters, and I expect them to actually function as gutters! My next alternative would be traditional gutters with a foam insert to keep debris from collecting inside, though that isn't 100% effective, especially with pine needles.

Curious if anyone else has LeafGuard or similar gutters and has any experience.

 

[GolfAddict]

I do not have personal experience with them, but I did a bit of reading a few years back when we had new gutters installed. From what I read, they can have a problem in two ways. Raining lightly, as you have seen, and raining very hard. In that situation, they say a bunch of rain will just shoot over, too much volume or too fast to curl around and in.

ALot of other testimonials seemed to really praise them though. Hopefully there is some adjustment they can make for you.

 

[Travelover]

I have pine needles and found that I got blockage right where the downspout attaches. My solution was to add a funnel shaped adapter from the gutter to the downspout. This gives a much larger area for the needles to fall into the downspout rather than bridging the hole and blocking it. I also up-sized my downspout to the commercial size.

Never had any luck with screens on the gutters and it just made it hard to clean the gutters when I needed to. Good luck.

 

[KennyG]

When I had a house in a heavily wooded area, I had good luck with the simple "snap on" screens. Of course, I had oaks, not pines so I don't know about the needles. I didn't go with the leaf guard type covers because of what I had heard about heavier rains just passing over them.

On my current pole barn I couldn't use covers because of the way the gutters were installed right against the underside of the roofing. I installed the foam inserts. They work pretty well as far as preventing leaf build up, but have another problem. Because of the build up of dirt in the foam, weeds start growing and I have to get up there once in a while and pull weeds. Not as bad as cleaning out leaves, but not what I wanted.

 

[oldtimer 66]

I do not have the Leaf Guard but I have a similar type. It is called a waterfall design. I cannot remember from whom they were purchased because it was part of the remodeling of my house. You have standard gutters but then this heavy vinyl covers with a "side view it is like a single S with slots " locks into the gutter and it extends up under 4/6 inches under the first shingle. It works in light to medium rain. On a real heavy down pour it will skip over somewhat. Maybe ever 5 years it will plug up some where. This waterfall cost just as much as the gutters. I can get a picture if anybody wants it.

 

[kenmac]

I also checked into the leaf guard gutters. I read the same as others.. Heavy or light rain fall , and they are useless..

The cost difference between the traditional and leaf guard...I went with traditional gutters with a wire type mesh to cover the opening

 

[msb1766]

We have alot of pine and other trees surrounding our home, tried the covers with the holes in them pine needles went through the holes and clogged up the gutters and downspouts, had to remove the covers in order to clean gutters and downspouts, threw them way.
Now I clean the cutters 2X a year using a presser washer with a gutter cleaner attachment.
First time I used it ran it up and down the gutter a few times alot of leaves and needles came out the downspouts ran it until no leaves came out, got out the ladder and looked into the gutter perfectly clean!!
This is what I use:
Power Care 3,300-PSI Gutter-Cleaner Attachment for Gas Pressure Washers-AP31052 - The Home Depot

Power Care 9 ft. Pole Kit for 3,100-PSI Pressure Washers-AP31050D - The Home Depot

 

[hosspuller]

I gave up ... Oak pollen in the Spring, Pine needles during the Summer, Leaves in the Fall. What ever gutter protection worked for one, the others got through to clog the system.

I'm about to install vinyl gutters that have supports from the outside bottom. There is full clearance on top for the whole gutter length. Instead of capping the ends, I'll have a section that rises away from the downspout. When the gutters plug, I have a piece of PVC pipe with two elbows on the end. From the ground, I pull the pipe and all the stuff out the open end. This has worked well for a section on the garage, so I'm doing the whole house this Spring.

 

[SSdoxie]

I have the Leaf Guard system on my house, have had 15 years now. Prior to that I played the game of no gutters, open gutters - cleaning 3 time a year minimum, gutter with flat screens - cleaning once a year to get rid of all the Maple leaf seeds that build up and plug the screen, then eventually the Leaf Guard. One of the best investments I every made.
In torential rain does some water run over and drop? Yes, but the gutter downspouts are still running full and the water running over is not enough to leave divets in my landscaping or splash dirt back up on the siding.
Way I look at it is if 95% of the time it can cath 100% of the water and catch about 90% of water the other 5% of the time, I'm happy especially with no gutter maintenance. Note: I have no pines, but am surrounded with 3 Maples, 10 Oak, & 1 Hickory dumping the trash on my roof.

 

[s219]

Well, they came out today, and the installer was very honest that these types of gutters will drip down the front if there isn't a strong flow from a moderate rain. Not sure what to think, as I would prefer the gutters to be catching everything, including those days where melting snow on the roof drips and trickles for hours and hours. I am going to watch the gutters perform for another week or so and then decide what to do. I may approach the company about either a refund or changing out to standard gutters (if they give me grief, I paid by credit card and would just dispute the charge and offer to remove and return the gutters on my own).