Gutters!

[riptides]

We all have them, they work well, sometimes....

So it is that time of year for me again. My gutters are really nothing more than leaf catchers this time of year. I really do not like ladders and getting up two stories is getting to be no fun.

I do have a good drainage system around the entire house, and the system does drain to daylight quite well. In addition I have two sump pumps on either end of the house, and the house just has a crawl space. No basement. When we remodeled, parts of the original house, old farm house, did NOT have gutters.

When the new roof went on, so did all the new gutters. After 10 years, I am rethinking - gutters....


So do I really need them? What really makes the call these days for gutters?

 

[mpham]

I just removed mine. Was cleaning out the leaves and noticed the boards behind the gutter are all rotting away.



Had to strip it down to the rafters. Never again. I will live with the drips and ice on the walk.

 

[k0ua]

We all have them, they work well, sometimes....

So it is that time of year for me again. My gutters are really nothing more than leaf catchers this time of year. I really do not like ladders and getting up two stories is getting to be no fun.

I do have a good drainage system around the entire house, and the system does drain to daylight quite well. In addition I have two sump pumps on either end of the house, and the house just has a crawl space. No basement. When we remodeled, parts of the original house, old farm house, did NOT have gutters.

When the new roof went on, so did all the new gutters. After 10 years, I am rethinking - gutters....


So do I really need them? What really makes the call these days for gutters?

Why doesn't everyone get Gutta Gard? I really don't understand it. I got the roofers to install my GuttaGard about 8 years ago, and I haven't cleaned a gutter since. And I have lots of deciduous trees near the house. Gutta Gard is a do it yourself retrofit to your existing gutters. It is not expensive and does not take very long to install.

eGutter ｮ - High Quality Gutter Guards In Copper, Aluminum, Galvanized Steel, And PVC Shipped Direct To You.


Gutta Gard

 

[Gunny]

I use gutter brush

The back porch gutter used to fill up with leaves and had to be cleaned out three times a year or they would clog, the others had to be cleaned once a year.

I put gutter brushes all around the house for less than $300 and haven't had to clean any gutters since.

 

[KennyG]

I've always had good luck with the simple screened gutter covers you can get at any big box store. However, the way my pole barn gutters are installed I can't get the covers under the roof edge. So I've gone to the foam inserts. They do a great job of keeping the leaves out. However, they catch dirt and let weeds sprout. I don't have to clean the leaves but now I have to "weed" the gutters every year.

 

[EddieWalker]

I also have had very good results with the screens sold at Home Depot and Lowes. They slide in under the shingle and snap into place, it just takes a minute to install each 3 foot section and they are only a couple bucks each. Gutters do a great job at cutting down on water damage to the base of the house. Especially if you have a valley that concentrates the water running off of the roof. The screens have openings big enough to allow all the water to get through them, but not the leaves or branches. I've seen too many fancy gutter guards that have holes in them so small that water puddles up on top of them and then gets in under the shingles and into the soffits. They are expensive, and the damage they cause is even more expensive!!!!

If you are up there cleaning them out, it just adds a little time to install the screens. Once you install the screens, you wont have to clean them out ever again

 

[Bird]

I use one of these Orbit Telescoping Wand with Gutter Cleaner, and in fact used it this morning. I've had it for several years and made my own fittings or adapters so I can use it with water, as recommended, or with compressed air, as I did this morning. But of course I have a single story house with hip roof, so I don't have to reach very high.

Shop Orbit Telescoping Wand with Gutter Cleaner at Lowes.com

 

[turnkey4099]

I stiffened my resolve about an hour ago, located the ladder, the special gutter spatula I made that just fit the gutters. Up the ladder and found a clean gutter, checked all three and every one was cleaner than I could have got them. Always in the past it was a case of digging out gutters half filled with leaf mold, mud and what have you.

Only thing that has changed was that I removed a White Birch tree I had planted to close t the house. did that year before last. due to medical problems I didn't check them last year. Pleasant surprise and it appears I'll never have to do it again.

Harry K

 

[jack707]

Yeah I have to clean them! I have plants growing in there! - but so many other things to do.

 

[riptides]

I might also mention, I have a metal roof, with snow guards.

How do these gutter guard systems work with metal?

The silver maples that lay in wait, ready to drop their helicopter seeds and leaves that crumple are my worries. I really don't see even with gutter screens, NOT cleaning them. I would think the maples end product material is fine enough to clog.

Opinions on no gutters seem to not be an option for most? Hmm.....