It may seem like a no-brainer. Just slap on a gutter guard and all of your roof drainage issues will magically disappear. However, it’s not quite that simple. There are different gutter guards for different applications and no gutter guard is free from maintenance.
Whether you’re trying to protect yourself from animal debris or seeking out the best gutter guards for pesky pine needles, you need to look into all the options! Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of gutter guards and whether they are the right solution for you.
Pros of Gutter Guards
You might think that the pros of gutter guards are quite simple. It just keeps stuff out of your gutter, right? Well, yes and no. There are a good amount of pros that you may not have thought of that could solve problems you didn’t even know you had or might have in the future!
- No new gutters. While this may seem like a given to some, others may have thought that replacing their gutters was the only way to go. Save a lot of time and money by checking out gutter guards to save your existing gutters and downspouts instead of splurging on a brand new gutter system.
- Prevents leaves, sticks, and debris. This is what we all came for, right? This may seem like the most obvious pro of gutter guards. There may not be a chore more frustrating and tiresome than cleaning out your gutters by hand after those large trees start dropping their leaves. So stop doing it. Get some gutter guards. Why are you still reading this blog?
- Keeps out bird & rodent nests. While finding some baby blue robin eggs in your gutter may seem cute, that nest is clogging your gutters & downspouts. Gutter guards allow for proper rain flow and keep your gutters free from nesting debris.
- Prevents in-home water leakage. Leaving your gutters unguarded does affect your drainage, but it can also have some serious water leakage issues in your home.
- Helps gutters last longer. With gutter guards filtering out contaminants and releasing some of the weight that could be on gutters, the lifespan of your gutters can lengthen. They won’t prematurely rust or rot from the constant moisture that could otherwise plague your gutters.
- A great value in the long-term. Though you may take a look at the price tag on some gutter guards and fret, it can easily work out the math of the time and effort it takes to clean out gutters. The cost of gutter cleaning adds up, so a one-time investment will likely pay off in the long run.
Cons of Gutter Guards
Gutter guards aren’t perfect. They have issues at times and aren’t a simple install and forget about forever. So, take a look at our list of cons to see if gutter guards are right for your gutter situation.
- Less maybe more. Due to gutter guards, some may maintain your gutters less often. This allows for debris to sit for longer in your gutter and allows for more time to decompose and grow moss. This can spread to your roof and provide bigger issues. Though, copper gutters are an algaecide and fungicide, which prevent moss and other growth from blocking a gutter system, so that may be an option you should entertain.
- You still need to clean. This coincides with the previous con. Cleaning your gutters doesn’t magically disappear when you install gutter guards. They are very helpful, but they are not all-powerful. Some debris will still build up on top of the guards, but that can be much easier to clean rather than being stuck inside the gutter.
- They aren’t cheap. Gutter guards aren’t going to be a quick, cheap payment. They can cost you a bit of money, especially if you have a good amount of square footage, so it may be worth it to look for someone to maintain your gutters if you’re looking for a short-term solution.
- Heavy amounts of rain could be harmful. If your filter has very small passage holes, large amounts of rainfall could build up and run down the side of your home all the way to the base. That could eliminate the entire purpose of your gutter system!
- Gutter trees may sprout. This may seem like a made-up term, but gutter trees are no laughing matter. Seeds from above trees can easily fall and get caught in the gutter guard slots and sprout real foliage. Not quite the spot of your property where you want to be enhancing the landscape.
So, gutter guards are definitely worth looking into. Like most things in life, however, they are not without critiques. Making this type of purchase is not without thought. Feel free to return to this resource to decipher whether gutter guards may be the right solution for your home or business.
If you’re still unsure about your decision, talk with our roofing and gutter experts at A Custom To. They will walk you through these pros and cons in further detail to make sure you’re making the smart investment decision.
Also, if you have specific questions about roofing in general, feel free to check out our roofing Q&A section on roofing where you can look through commonly asked questions and submit one of your own.