Ask the Engineer on How to Choose The Best Gutter Guards by Richard Kuhns


Ask the Engineer on How to Choose The Best Gutter Guards by RICHARD KUHNS
Article Posted: 07/07/2011
Article Views: 72
Articles Written: 129 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR
Word Count: 839
Article Votes: 0

Ask the Engineer on How to Choose The Best Gutter Guards

Home Improvement

Leaf guards do an important job. They keep tree debris in the form of leaves, blossoms, and twigs from stopping up your gutter. Choosing the best gutter cover should be easy, but it's not. They can all be made to look good and they are all advertised to be the best gutter protector. As a homeowner, it makes the most sense for you to do some investigation. While all these products advertise to be the best gutter guards, the design of each of them is different. The first design of gutter covers is that of a screen device. They've been around since early 1900. The the primitive initial types have openings that are large which allow sufficient leaves or blossoms into the gutter to clog it. They must be routinely accessed to be cleaned and often times require more labor to clean and reinstall than it is to simply clean gutters. Of late they have gotten more sophisticated in terms of using foam inserts, or surgical steel fine mesh. All of these gutter screening devices collect debris on top of them which means that eventually rain water can not get into the gutter. Later on more sophisticated gutter guard designs were invented. If you Google "Niagara gutter guard" you'll find an example of the early design of solid top gutter covers. This type of gutter guard has a rounded front nose. The water adheres to nose and goes into the gutter. More recent designs have sieve openings in the top to collect water which makes them a screen hybrid. gutter cover? That's right, it sticks to the cover and goes into the gutter. If the gutter protector also has perforations on the top, those sieve openings clog. If you buy this kind of device, you might want to know how it is maintained or cleaned. The bottom line is that you can not maintain or clean it from the ground. You are either at the mercy of the installing company to service them, or you have to go up a ladder and clean them yourself. The problem with the single fin type of gutter protector design is that it allows all sizes of debris to flow into the gutter. gutter protector] will go right into the gutter. The nose type of gutter guard is sold both as a cover and gutter as one complete piece. The question is how can this design be improved? If you Google "Care Free solid top gutter protector" you'll find the next improvement. The next improvement either has a single row of apertures (with louvers in each opening guiding water into the gutter) like shown on the Care Free gutter or it has a trough with sieve openings to limit the size of the debris. While this type of gutter protector is an improvement, it will not successfully keep out debris under heavy debris conditions. Blossoms and small leaves that wash onto the face of the gutter protector can still wash into the gutter. Even though it is a smaller quantity of small sized debris than with the nose type, someone has to go up a ladder to remove the leaf guards and clean the gutter. Also consider that the leaf guard with a trough is nailed into the roofing which adds a complication to maintenance. Is there a maintenance free gutter guard? gutter protectors? How can the single row louvered gutter cover system or the trough gutter cover system be improved? Google "Waterloov gutter guards" and take a look at that design. Observe that there are two rows of apertures. In each aperture is a louver which guides the water into the gutter. Of all possible variations, it is the best gutter guard recommended by Consumer Reports for two reasons. The first reason is that nothing can be washed in from the lip of the gutter and the second reason is that nothing larger the three fourths of an inch can ever get through this leaf guard. Twenty two years after this design was first installed nothing ever clogs it inside the gutter. But how about maintenance? What would happen to require maintenance? leaf guard, the gutter cover never needs to be removed for cleaning the gutter. gutter cover can still be clogged with small leaves and blossoms. Because it's visible from the ground on the double row louvered design, it can be easily brushed with a telescopic pole and brush from the ground by the homeowner. How much does the best gutter guard cost? The irony is that in some areas of the country the first solid top design type (Niagara) and the second (Care-Free) are often a few dollars more than the double row louvered system. So while the best gutter protector system is actually worth two or three times as much as the other gutter guard systems, it's comparably priced. Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E., engineer and inventor. To find out more about the best gutter guards--self cleaning gutters-- please to go http://www.waterloov.com or http://www.NumberOneGutterProtector.com or http://www.carefreegutters.com and see for yourself.

Email this Article to a Friend!
Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!
Subscribe for free today!

Rate This Article

Do you Agree or Disagree? Have a Comment? POST IT!

Reader Opinions

Submit your comments and they will be posted here.

Make this comment Public or Private to the Author only:

Name:

Email:
*Your email will NOT be posted. This is for administrative purposes only.

Comments: *Your Comments WILL be posted to the AUTHOR ONLY if you select PRIVATE and to this PUBLIC PAGE if you select PUBLIC, so write accordingly.

Please enter the code in the image: