In the last post we talked about what is a gutter cover and what are its benefits, but did you know there are different types of gutter covers? Here we are doing a review for you. Don’t miss it!
There are many types of gutter guards, but we tried we do a simple classification here. Remember. that you can always contact a professional that can help you to decide what is the best protection for your gutter system.
Gutter guards installed inside the gutter system
These gutter protection systems are also knows as sponge and pipe cleaner. There are different types, and all of them have in common that are all placed inside the gutter. In spite of keeping out most big plant debris, grit and seeds tend to clog the pours within the sponge, and often times, seeds germ in these systems.
As pine needles and debris are caught inside, once they are dirty (between 2 and 4 years, depending on the house surroundings) they need to be taken off and replaced in order to keep the gutter protection functioning because they can’t be cleaned. They are very easy to install and usually they are sold in many different stores.
These gutter protection systems are:
- Gutter Bottle Brush gutter guards
- Foam gutter guards
- Nylon gutter guards
Gutter guards installed in the exterior of gutter system
In this case, the gutter guards are placed on the opening of the gutter, and many of them need a professional installer to do the job.
Reverse curved gutter system
They look kind of like a helmet to your gutters. The idea behind this design is that the surface tension guides the water into the gutter after following along its surface. Although debris are supposed to fall off the curve when the water reaches the gutter, this does not always happen, and many debris, mainly the smallest ones, keep going into the gutter, clogging both, the opening and the gutter.
Furthermore, usually heavy rain causes the water to overshoot. This gutter cover struggles particularly in places that receive a big amounts of water (inside miter corners or where the upper downspouts dumped the water into the lower roof), because they cannot handle it unless the water is equally distributed along the gutter. The bigger amount of water is coming mostly in the inside miter corners, and its high speed has due to the valley metal usually makes the water overshoots instead of running into the gutter.
Most of these gutter systems are made of aluminum of different gauges and need to be screwed into your roofing decking, which can affect the warranty you may have on your roof. Another drawback is that they have not access to the inside of the gutter, which means that they cannot be cleaned, and if the slope is not correct you end up seen germinated seeds.
Louvered gutter system
Non-gutter covers, also known as louvered gutter guards, are made of thin aluminum louvers that can
channel or direct water away from the roof. This particular type of gutter guard looks very much like a window blind. The gutter guard has several rows of reverse louver holes and bends to fit the pitch of the roof. Every time it rains, the water that hits the slightly angled louvers will be deflected away from your house, so only the water can flow into the gutter system and other debris slide over the front edge of the gutter. It has similar disadvantages to the previous ones, as they have to be screwed into the roof, can’t handle properly big amounts of water or fast water, and can’t be cleaned because there is not access to the inside.
Screen or mesh gutter covers
These gutter guards include a variety of covers, and they are the most popular gutter covers in the marketplace. They can be classified as follows:
o Depending on the material: The resistance and quality of the cover is going to be determined by the material it is made of and its gauge. The better the material, the more costly it will be.
The gutter protection will come in 5 different types of materials: plastic, steel, aluminum, vinyl and copper. Common sense says that the thicker the material, the stronger and more durable it will be. However, the thicker the materials the more expensive and heavier it will be as well. What is most important is the thickness of the material your gutters are made of, rather than the thickness of the gutter protection. As a general rule of thumb, most American homes have gutters made out of .027 or .032 inch aluminum. To compliment the strength of the gutter system, any thinner than .019 gutter protection should be used.
On the other hand, plastic covers can be promising, however, when the heat hits, they can lose strength and bend, which makes them to stop working properly. Vinyl gutter covers will never rust but they are not as strong as aluminum, and they can become brittle and crack in extreme weather conditions or with time. For the better result in your rain gutter protection system, it is recommended to use metal, generally anodized aluminum or stainless steel. When deciding the material, it is also important to know the compatibility with the metal you have in the roof and the gutters to avoid corrosion issues.
o Depending on the size and shape of their holes: There is a wide range of options in the gutter covers with regards to their holes, and the reason behind it is that each screen is best suited for a different type of debris. Usually, micro mesh gutter guards are better to deal with pine needles or smaller debris.
o Depending on how and where the gutter protection is attached: This is going to be key for the strength and stability of the gutter system. Most of the gutter guards are fastened onto the outer lip of the gutter, while just a few of them are also fastened into the back to the fascia or rafter tails (in case the house has not fascia board). Many times, when the gutter screens are just fastened to the outer lip of the gutter, the back part of the screen goes under the shingles.
Attaching a gutter protection system to the fascia and the gutter, makes the protection system to create a box-like structure, adding strength and stability to the gutters and influencing their longevity. Furthermore, gutters attached to both sides are the only ones that can be adapted to give them the proper slope to get the best result.
Apart form the guards screwed during the installation, many rain gutter covers are snapped into the gutter. This way to fasten the gutter guard doesn’t give any stability to the gutter system, and usually the back part of the gutter cover goes under the shingles, which many times ends up in broken shingles during the installation.
o Depending on the shape in the surface: the surface of the gutter screen can be flat, curved or waved, and it is going to influence the retention of the debris on the surface. Waves can also be used to reduce the water speed. Usually the flat ones require more maintenance.
o Depending on their layers:
§ Solid or mesh screen and mixed or hoover dam gutter cover: these gutter screens are made of one layer that can be a solid metal or plastic with holes to let the water in or just a mesh that can come with different sizes in the holes. They basically work like a filter that keeps the big debris out of the gutter while letting the small debris go into the gutter. Depending on the surroundings of the house, the protection provided can be very limited.
§ Micro mesh: Micro mesh guards consist of a support frame and a filtering mesh material. Both, the micro mesh and the frame, as well as how the are put together affect the compression and tension strength. Micro mesh screens are the new generation gutter guards, with the latest technology that make them a robust product and the best gutter protection product in the market.
Frame models are typically plastic, sheet metal, or extruded and anodized aluminum, being the metal models the ones that tend to be more durable. The frame is very important to the performance and durability of the rain gutter guard; non-anodized frames may rust, and less sturdy frames may cave into the gutter.
The material of the mesh can be either metal or plastic. Some screens can tear easily depending on the material they are made of, and they can even bend when installed if they don’t have enough strength in the center.
o Depending on how the miter corners are solved: the special design of the corners increase the water dissipation, avoiding overflow. They have more capacity to collect the water in the valleys, where there is a metal or where the two parts of the roofs compound together, that are the locations where the gutters receive a bigger amount of water and where the water speed increases. Straight miters are also important to this matter, as they can be an important piece, for example, in place where the upper downspout discharges onto the lower roof.
To sum up, there are many types of gutter guards, and each of them has its advantages and drawbacks. However, the features for the best quality rain gutter covers are:
- Made of metal, preferable stainless steel and aluminum.
- Micro mesh type.
- Have miter corners and straight corners.
- Are fastened into the front of the gutter and in the back into the fascia, but not into the roof.
- Slope can be adapted to the house needs.
- Are highly self shedding, making maintenance easy.
Remember that some kind of maintenance is going to be needed, regardless of the type of cover chosen.
Ask an expert about the best option for your project. After years of experience and analysis, we have decided to work mainly with this gutter cover, as we consider it the best one by far. Take a look!
