Anyone done those leaf filter things on your gutter?

[Triplegreen500]

They seem to do everything BUT publish pricing, anywhere.

My house, I've been here a dozen years and not had any leaves in my gutters because the trees are distant, and being on top of a hill there's always a breeze to clear 'em out. But, I've planted maples close-in for future shade, and I'm sure they're going to dump leaves in the gutters when they get larger. Curious if anyone's put those on their house, and what the pricing is like?

 

[Richard Cranium]

I got them a year and a half ago. They do work, but the sales dude was a real ********. He started off at 11 grand, but I got them down to 3 grand, which I still think was too high.

 

[QuickBpBp]

We have them also as we live in the woods. You do still have to clean them which is blowing them out as the slots get filled with Maple “helicopter seedlings”. But in heavy storms the water flies right over the edge as they can only consume so much…but I don’t have to clean gutters…

 

[YY1]

We tried the initial version (or maybe just one of the first) back in the 1980's.

They did technically work, but the stem ends of some leaves would stick in the screen aperture and were a NIGHTMARE to get out.

You pretty much had to touch every stuck leaf.

We actually had to keep on that much more frequently than simply cleaning the gutters of debris once or twice a year.

Took them off after two years and said "good riddance".

EDIT- thanks, I forgot about the helicopters. Don't have them here, but they were also a pain to get out.

...and I think the DIY ones were something like $100 total back then.

 

[Jesse6869]

Bought mine on Amazon installed myself. No more cleaning out the gutter love them.

 

[mrhemi]

I bought a few from Home Despot (about $5 for a 3' section). I just installed them in a few strategic locations to prevent the dumb *** doves from building nests in my eave troughs. Don't have leaf problems at our current home.

 

[Longknife]

I have had them for many years. I couldn't do without them. Don't be scammed by those high-priced ones, buy some at Lowes or Home Depot and put them in your self.

 

[wahya]

The commercial I saw showed an animation of “rain” going into gutter. Haven’t seen anything with a real rain, as in downpour . Also pine needles are another thing.

 

[funknut]

I highly recommend them if you have any tall trees around. You can absolutely DIY them or get a handyman to install some for a fraction of the price.

 

[Jesse6869]

I will say that every couple days on our west side of roof I will find moss that grows from the shade and moisture from roof , roll rite onto the concrete over top of the gutter guards.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

I have what they call gutter helmet. Have had them for 15 years. Mine work great

 

[Fran Blacker]

If your a do it yourself guy Costco website sells them reasonable. Had a contractor do the front of my house $14 a foot 2 stories. I did the rear because did it on a step ladder.

 

[hemi*guy]

Salesman came out we negotiated a price and we signed a contract but a half hour after he left he called and said they couldnt honor the price and needed another 2 grand but they could be out the next day.I said fine and I will see you guys in the AM. They came out and I told them I changed my mind. They were pissed but I said you wasted my time yesterday so I’m paying back the favor today. Stay away from them in my opinion.

 

[69a100]

Salesman came out we negotiated a price and we signed a contract but a half hour after he left he called and said they couldnt honor the price and needed another 2 grand but they could be out the next day.I said fine and I will see you guys in the AM. They came out and I told them I changed my mind. They were pissed but I said you wasted my time yesterday so I’m paying back the favor today. Stay away from them in my opinion.

You're a meanie, but I love it!

 

[Triplegreen500]

All good info, thanks. I'm a DIY guy and have walked my roof a bunch of times already so I'm not afraid of the work. I used to be the "focus monkey" for concerts - the LD (lighting designer) would fly the lights (set them to show height), and I'd crawl along the truss to focus the lights where they needed to be. This is on a 2x2' box truss hanging from chains. Heights don't scare me...I just try to make chores easier/less frequent if possible. I'll start checking out box store parts and bits. I remember when I was a kid, my dad had some expanded-metal grating we put in the gutters, it had a bit of an arc to it. I'll see what's out there. I have a few years (10-15) before the trees are tall enough anyway. Just saw one of the ads on tv last night and that got me thinking...

 

[Fran Blacker]

I used 1/4" or 3/8" 1/4"head hex self tapping screws to screw them to the gutter.

 

[funknut]

All good info, thanks. I'm a DIY guy and have walked my roof a bunch of times already so I'm not afraid of the work. I used to be the "focus monkey" for concerts - the LD (lighting designer) would fly the lights (set them to show height), and I'd crawl along the truss to focus the lights where they needed to be. This is on a 2x2' box truss hanging from chains. Heights don't scare me...I just try to make chores easier/less frequent if possible. I'll start checking out box store parts and bits. I remember when I was a kid, my dad had some expanded-metal grating we put in the gutters, it had a bit of an arc to it. I'll see what's out there. I have a few years (10-15) before the trees are tall enough anyway. Just saw one of the ads on tv last night and that got me thinking...

They make "better" stuff now; it has a finer mesh overlay to keep out the smaller crud. I bought the Costco stuff for a small job and was pleased with it. It came with self tappers and double-sided tape. For big jobs it would be nicer to have longer lengths, it's a bit tedious doing it 3-4 ft at a time.

 

[VANDAN]

I've needed them on the north side of my garage, about 75' of gutter, as it's bordered by pines. Russian salesman came out, gave me a price around $6K. I had to laugh at him, he didn't appreciate it, and was willing to drop the price. I offered him around $8-10 per foot. I'm still cleaning the off a step ladder, several times a year...

 

[Fran Blacker]

I've needed them on the north side of my garage, about 75' of gutter, as it's bordered by pines. Russian salesman came out, gave me a price around $6K. I had to laugh at him, he didn't appreciate it, and was willing to drop the price. I offered him around $8-10 per foot. I'm still cleaning the off a step ladder, several times a year...

And I thought $14 a foot was high 10 years ago.

 

[rebel513r]

My roof pitch was low, all the pine needles piled up had to clean them more than without them. There probably are situations where they work better but alot of considerations to account for.