# Gutter guard system



## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

No, none are foolproof and maintenance free after many years of personally testing them and seeing other peoples experiences with all of the known brands out there.

In my opinion, firstly a correct and adequate pitch to the gutter and the installation of the correct sized drop outlet opening plus the larger 3" x 4" downspouts will provide the most benefit.

Also, since, In My Opinion, all of the systems will require some maintenance, the cheap 3 foot plastic with the diamond or circular punch-outs with the micro-mesh window screening type material laminated will keep the majority of the clutter out of your gutters and you can still use a garden hose to spray through the screening to clean the gutter troughs out when necessary.

Ed


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

A very lengthy, yet informative read would be one of the topics on here discussing the various systems available. 

It might have MasterShield in the title.

The one I am referring to went quite long in the quantity of posts too.

Ed


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## Leftyho (Apr 12, 2009)

Hi,

If installed correctly, they all handle the water flow. 

A solid metal cover such as LeafProof sounds like your best bet. A hose from the ground will clean out anything you see.


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

I've experimented several "gutter-guard" systems, the only one I've found which really works with all type of plant materials and holds up in Chicago winters (and the one I install at my buildings and recommend to my clients) is the Invisiguard IG2 system: http://www.invisiguard.net/gsr/ , the mesh allows water to penetrate, but is so fine that roofing granules don't pass through it and are blown/washed off. The only problem I've had is that leaves to accumulate right at the bottom of one particularity steep valley in a location that's sheltered from the wind, but they blow off with easily with a leaf blower.


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## beaner (Dec 31, 2009)

*I don't know*

Tht just looks like a piece of Mastershield only much less refined. The problem is that the mesh itself clogs. How is your mesh any different than Mastershield's? Did you click the link and look at the pictures? I think Ed is right, put on bigger downspouts. Mastershield billed their product to me as "self-cleaning". Look at the pictures and tell me if you think these mesh products clean themselves. I think every product I have seen will stand up to a chicago winter or winter anywhere else. The problem is not strength, it is icicles. I don't see how your product will be any different than Mastershield with icicles. The icicles are a huge problem. As far as your picture is concerned, Mastershield took all the water too until the mesh clogged, now it just shoots over like there was no gutter at all.


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

All I can tell you is, "it works". 

In my experience many (perhaps most) "gutter guard" systems are subject to damage due to ice in gutters and on eaves when installed in cold wet climates.

(BTW, just to be clear, it's not "my" system, the only business relationship I have with the Invisiguard product is as a customer.)


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

Looking at your pictures, one reason I may be having better luck with a "mesh" type system than some is that where required it is installed (per the installation instructions) with a min. 1-3/8" drop from the inside to the outside edge of the material, which usually requires re-hanging the gutters. 

Likely, a lot of homeowners and installers skip this step as it considerably increases the cost of installation.










Typical of my experience with IG2, this roof is located under a large tree, and gutters here clogged constantly.











The same gutter, seen from above. This IG2 has not been cleaned, _at all_, for 3 years.











This is the valley I mentioned (also seen in the first picture) - the worst spot at any of the three buildings where I have IG2 installed as the end of the upper gutter is right up against the roof at the bottom of the valley and the entry of the downspout to the lower gutter is at a location largely shielded from wind.










Downspout entry into lower gutter above. After 3 years without cleaning, this was the worst accumulation of material anywhere on the three buildings, and even with this degree of obstruction the IG2 passed enough water so that there was no overflow.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

******, this is not a site where you can pull up old posts & keep ranting about how you dislike a product
Starting ONE thread with issues you have is OK
Posting the same comments on old threads is NOT ok

Read this thread (posted by Site Owner/Admin) if you need any clarification:

http://www.diychatroom.com/f9/how-site-not-why-i-hate-product-site-37103/

Thank you


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## Dave The Roofer (Nov 26, 2009)

*Leaf Relief*



cjf1980 said:


> Any suggestions on a good gutter guard system.
> We have a lot of trees with leaves, twigs and acorns clogging our gutters.
> I have tried the wire mesh, vinyl sieve (with mesh), metal and vinyl overhang drain off type. They all have drawbacks and I still have clogged gutters some times. Of all of them, the overhang type were the best except in thunderstorms as the water drain openings would clog with dried up leaves/twigs or just could not handle the downpour.
> 
> ...


We install our seamless gutter with a product called leaf relief on gutters as requested, I like this product because we use zip screws to install them.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

i use that too Dave,i personally will not install a gutter without it


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