This is the best gutter guard I've ever tested. A stainless-steel micro mesh prevents any pine needles or any other small debris from getting into the gutter. CLICK photo below for a great DIY alternative micro mesh gutter guard that will save you thousands of dollars. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Original Publish Date: September 2008 - Revised April 2018
There are countless gutter guard designs. I discovered after years of testing the ones with a fine stainless-steel micromesh are the best. There are several brands of these. Dealer-install micromesh is outrageously expensive. I suggest you purchase DIY stainless-steel ones and have your handyman install them.
Compare Features of Gutter Guards Before Buying
For over ten years I have been testing gutter guards, and at the end of this column, I tell you which one I installed on my house. Those tests have been chronicled in various columns and videos on my website. Below are two videos that feature, what I believe, perhaps the Holy Grail of gutter guards.
Consider purchasing a micromesh product from Amazon.com and having your local handyman install them for you. CLICK the photo below for just one of the micromesh products I discovered on Amazon:
There are many micromesh gutter guard products. You can save LOTS of money putting them on yourself. CLICK on THE IMAGE to see how low-cost they can be.
My tests over the years determined that many products allowed small debris in the gutter. Finally, I discovered some products that had an ultra-fine micromesh screening that stopped the debris from getting into the gutter. I tested two products on the same roof under the same trees. One performed better than the other. You can see the visual proof in the videos below.
Several Months Into the Test
The video below is what my garage roof looked like after months of testing. It's very obvious that the way the gutter guard is installed makes a very big difference:
I was so impressed I selected the one that did the best and had it installed on my own home.
Here are some icicles hanging from the edge of a roof. The meltwater flash freezes at the edge because the air temperature is far below 32 F. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Original Publish Date: December - 2010
Gutter Guard Ice is Impossible To Stop
Gutter guard ice is nearly impossible to avoid. Super-chilled snow meltwater flows under the snow pack and then contacts the below-freezing aluminum gutter guard. It then flash freezes. More water coming down the roof creates giant icicles. The only way to stop the ice is to remove the snow - the source of the water that creates the icicles.
DEAR TIM:After watching your review of the gutter guard on your home and getting several references in my local area, I had the product installed. It was installed over my existing gutters.
With the latest snow and cold weather, I now have icicles along my gutters. We never had this problem before the gutter guards. Please advise us before we create roof leaks. Lea Ann B., St. Louis, MO
DEAR LEA ANN: Icicles on gutter guards are a very common complaint. I'm willing to bet you had the problem before to a slight degree, but you just didn't realize it. Before you installed the gutter guards, meltwater would come down your roof and contact the cold gutter.
I'm willing to bet that for years you had ice building up inside the gutter, but couldn't see it from the ground. The only way you would see it would be if the ice completely filled the gutter and then started to create the icicles you now see on top of the gutter courtesy of the new gutter guard.
Icicles hanging from gutters that have gutter guards installed. PHOTO CREDIT: Lea Ann Baker
Super-Chilled Meltwater Freezes On Your Gutter Guard
Here's what's happening. The aluminum and stainless steel metals that make up the gutter guard get cold quickly. Because they are at the end of the roof, and in your case, hanging out away from the house, they can't get any warmth from the house.
Thin insulation where the roof passes over the outside wall, inadequate insulation over the entire ceiling of the house, sunlight, air temperatures above 32 F all contribute to the snowpack on the roof melting. This water is chilled to 32 F or below in most cases as it's flowing just under the snowpack.
This water can be below 32 F in certain situations and still liquid because it's moving. That happens all the time in the lake outside my house and in the stream that runs across my land. I've actually taken the temperature of the moving water and it's in the mid to low 20 F range but still liquid!
When that super-chilled water hits the cold gutter guard it immediately freezes. If the water flow down the roof is substantial, it doesn't take long for a significant ice dam to form.
Here are big icicles. It's simple physics. The only way to STOP them is to remove the snow from your roof. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Two Choices to STOP Leaks & Icicles on Gutter Guards
To stop leaks from ice dams you have two choices. You can install an ice and water shield under the shingles on the lower 3 to 6 feet of your roof. The lower the slope of your roof, the higher up the roof this membrane must extend.
The second option is to starve the ice dams of their food supply. This means you have to use a snow rake and pull the snow off the roof. This is not easy.
You may not have to get all the snow off the roof. You might be able to clear at 10 or 12-foot swath across your roof. The meltwater from the snow far above might evaporate as it travels across the bare shingles in the sunlight. You'll have to experiment.
This area of no snow works pretty well on sunny days to get the melting water to evaporate on the surprisingly hot shingles as it tries to make its way down to the gutters. I see that happen on my own roof all the time here in New Hampshire.
Consider purchasing a micromesh product from Amazon.com and having your local handyman install them for you. CLICK the photo below for just one of the micromesh products I discovered on Amazon:
There are many micromesh gutter guard products. You can save LOTS of money putting them on yourself. CLICK on THE IMAGE to see how low-cost they can be.
This is the best gutter guard I've ever tested. A stainless-steel micro mesh prevents any pine needles from getting into the gutter. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Original Publication Date: April 1999
The Pros and Cons of Gutter Guards - Be Careful Out There!
Dealer-installed gutter guards come with a high price, a very high price. DIY solutions may have you in the emergency room if you fall from the roof or cut your hand doing the job. The best alternative may be to purchase the gutter guards online and have a professional handyman do the simple install. See below for an affordable alternative to gutter guards like the ones I put on my home.
Important Author’s Note Update:Since this column was written, I've discovered at least two other gutter guards that sport the micromesh filtration screen. Testing of these micromesh guards began early Spring of 2008. The results of the test are in! After ten years of testing various types, a winner has been declared! Click for the gutter guard I installed on my house - Gutter Guard Test Results.
DEAR TIM:I'm sick and tired of cleaning leaves and debris from my gutters. I've seen numerous new devices that allow water to enter the gutter but deflect leaves and twigs.
I intend to install some before the fall season. Do these products work? Can they be installed by an average homeowner? Which ones are better - aluminum or vinyl? Beth, Morgantown, WV
DEAR BETH: The new gutter covers have caught the attention of many people including salespeople, homeowners and myself. Many homeowners like you are looking for a miracle product that will free them from ever having to clean their gutters again.
Certain salespeople are claiming they have this miracle product. There are some great gutter cover designs, however, everyone I have tested has allowed some smaller debris to enter my gutters.
Spring Is When Gutter Guards #FAIL
Gutter cleaning, as you well know, is not just a fall activity. Gutters can become clogged in the spring as deciduous trees litter roofs with seed pods, flower petals, buds and small leaves felled by spring storms. It's not uncommon for me to clean my gutters at least four times a year.
All gutter guards I tested had no problem keeping large leaves from getting into the gutters.
It's important to realize MOST of the gutter guards I tested FAILED in the spring because the small holes, slits, openings, etc. became choked and clogged with small debris.
Consider purchasing a micromesh product from Amazon.com and having your local handyman install them for you. CLICK the photo below for just one of the micromesh products I discovered on Amazon:
There are many micromesh gutter guard products. You can save LOTS of money putting them on yourself. CLICK ON THE IMAGE to see how low-cost they can be.
Cleaning Gutter Guards is Dangerous - Falls Happen All the Time
Cleaning gutters can be hazardous to your health. Ladders can slip when people reach too far sideways to grab leaves from a gutter. If you clean gutters while standing on a roof, you can lose your balance and fall.
Gutter guards can go a long way in preventing many autumn accidents.
Home and Garden Show Gutter Guard Test
Three years ago, I saw a demonstration of one of gutter covers at a local home show. I couldn't believe how the water rolled around the edge of the gutter cover into the gutter. I decided to test it on the spot.
While the salesperson was busy with someone else, I made some simulated leaves with pieces of paper. The gutter cover deflected the large "leaves". However, my small "leaves" were sucked into the gutter.
Real Gutter Guard Testing on My Roof
I decided to test a number of gutter covers to see how they would perform in a standard Mid-western setting. Some of the products had rows of round holes. Some had diamond shape knock-outs. Two samples had slits that ran parallel to the front edge of the gutter. The slits allow water to flow into the gutter.
When the last leaf had dropped from the trees last fall, I checked the gutter covers. All of them had performed very well. No leaves were in the gutters and leaves were not stuck in the holes or slits.
However, this spring was a different story. My silver maple and pin oak trees showered my roof with buds and debris. All of the products I tested allowed the tree flower buds to enter the gutters.
After seeing what happened I came to the conclusion most gutter guards were a WASTE OF MONEY. You'd still have to get up on your roof to clean the gutter guards. Why not just take the money you'd pay for the gutter guards and use it to pay a handyman to clean the gutters twice a year?
Author's Notes:
The notes below show you the poor designs that clogged with tree debris. Some of these inferior products are still sold! BEWARE of them. You'll be wasting your money.
Instead, install a micromesh gutter guard like you see far above in this column.
May, 1999
There are many, many gutter guard products out there. Some designs have been around for many years. I was not able to test every single gutter guard for this column.
However, it appears that every single design that I tested failed in the springtime. This spring, we had a normal amount of debris fall from our trees. This photo (right) shows the diamond-shaped guard clogged with debris. It remained clogged even after repeated windy days. I was able to brush the debris off the top and spray with a hose through the diamond knockouts to flush the gutter.
This photo (left) shows the gutter cover that has the slit in it. The slit also became clogged with all sorts of debris. It was a real pain in the you-know-what to take the time to clean the small debris from this slit. I urge you to keep in mind that the installation of any gutter guard product will not eliminate entirely the task of cleaning your gutters. These products will simply reduce the amount of times you have to do it.
October, 2002:
This photo (right) clearly supports what I have said for years. I decided to remove the white gutter covers on my garage that you see in the photo up above in the body of the column. It was one of the gutter guards I originally liked when I wrote the above column. These gutter covers had been in place approximately five years. I knew what I was going to see in the gutters but was surprised to say the least. Yuck!
As you can see, a one-half inch thick layer of muck goo covered the entire bottom of the gutter. I pulled away some of it so you could see the bottom of the gutter. The muck was a mixture of decayed organic matter and granules from the shingles. Print this photo out and show it to the gutter guard salesperson that tries to convince you your gutters will "never have to be cleaned again." I can't wait to hear from you how they explain this photo away! T.C.
Tim,
I've read your article about gutter covers and agree completely. Yesterday, I spent 2 hours cleaning out this foul muck in the bottom of my gutters that had clogged them up. I ripped off my gutter covers and threw them in the trash.
While looking for solutions to my being lazy and not wanting to clean out my gutters EVER again, I came across _ _ _ _ _ . (Named Removed by Tim Carter to Protect the Guilty) Have you tried these? Do they work or am I just hoping that I never have to be covered with muck and mosquito bites again anytime soon.
Thanks!
Amiee Staggs
Bloomington, IN
This email just arrived August 29, 2005.
Loved your discussion of gutter guards. I bought into the "never clean" line and purchased a system that had a solid cover over the gutter. Clogged up within 6 months! The company did come out and clean them, but after we had a major overflow and basement flooding. The company knows its product is not clog free -- they even had the gall to give me a special hose adapter so I could flush out their "clog free" gutters.
Eileen G.
Upstate NY
Final Conclusion
Consider purchasing a micromesh product from Amazon.com and having your local handyman install them for you. CLICK the photo below for just one of the micromesh products I discovered on Amazon:
There are many micromesh gutter guard products. You can save LOTS of money putting them on yourself. CLICK ON THE IMAGE to see how low-cost they can be.
On Thursday night, I'm scheduled to give a talk at my local library. I've known the head librarian, Erin, for quite a few years.
CLICK HERE and scroll down to April 12th to see what I'm talking about. It's going to be a fun hour for sure! If you live within striking distance - a few hours drive - it may be worth it for you to come listen.
There are plenty of great places to stay overnight with GREAT off-season rates. We can have breakfast the next morning if you do come. Let me know ASAP.
Rediscovering Oldies But Goldies
I've now been doing my FREE on-demand radio show for seven weeks. I call homeowners just like you to solve a problem. Just yesterday, I talked with Susan about how to deal with a gap between her cement backer board and cast-iron tub.
A secondary BENEFIT of me doing the show is I'm rediscovering articles and videos I've forgotten about!
For example, a few days ago I talked with Steve about how to solve a leak in his shower. He needs to install a custom small flashing pan made from self-adhesive stainless steel foil.
While on the call, I REMEMBERED that I had a video showing how to use a similar material to FORM the outside corners so the flashing is waterproof.
This past weekend I talked with Steve. He's had an old toilet in his home that for YEARS - I mean many years - has not flushed right.
His wife has the patience of Job, and it paid off. I asked him if it was possible to shoot video of the toilet and by gosh he did!
I instantly saw the problem and within 24 hours Steve had the toilet flushing almost like new. Here's a screenshot of the toilet AFTER he followed my advice.
It's important to realize that not only did I get the toilet flushing properly, but I also made the inside of the toilet bowl look like NEW. Steve and his wife had been plagued with some nasty stains they couldn't remove.
Two days ago, I received an invitation from Chantell Mason to speak to her 6th-grade science students. They're about 1,400 miles away from me so we're going to do it using Google Hangouts. It's a live video chatting platform that pipes me into the classroom and the kids into my office.
What's this have to do with you? Do you work in a school?
Are you a teacher? Perhaps you want to do what Chantell is doing. If so, let me know.
Here's the funny thing. As soon as I said to Chantell, "Heck yes I'd LOVE to help your kids!", I made the craziest connection in my head about schools and Stain Solver.
Over the past year, a school system in Anaheim, CA has purchased HUNDREDS of pounds of Stain Solver to use as a safe cleaner around their kids.
Can you help Kathy and I get the news out to as many schools as possible? The folks out in Anaheim want the BEST and SAFEST cleaner used around their kids. That's why they purchase Stain Solver.
Help protect your kids, grandkids or ???? Share this page with anyone you know who's a teacher, works in a daycare center or school.
Installing PEX Piping
I had another call this past weekend with Gary. He's got some suspect plastic piping in his home that's got a history of springing leaks.
I suggested he consider installing PEX piping and then remembered I had this great VIDEO showing HOW EASY & FAST it is to make connections!
This is very similar gravel that should be installed in a linear french drain. Note it is all the same size and there’s NO sand in it. (C) Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Stop Basement Leaks
Question #1: Tim, water is pouring into my basement now that it’s spring. I’m sick of the water intrusion and the mold it creates. My head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton after trying to research online how best to stop the water. Can you add some clarity and tell me if you’ve ever solved wet basements and crawlspace issues? Lauren - Lexington, KY
Each spring I get hundreds of emails like Lauren’s. Perhaps you’re suffering from water pouring or seeping into your basement or crawlspace. Maybe you’ve got a soggy yard that’s more like a swamp than a lawn.
Yes, I’ve solved tens of thousands of wet basement problems. I have my college geology degree to thank for that! I had a focus on hydrogeology which is the study of groundwater and how it moves.
It’s important to realize the best way, in my opinion, to solve leaking basements, crawlspaces, and soggy soil is to install a linear french drain. This is a simple trench drain in your yard that intercepts the water moving sideways through the soil towards your home. A perforated pipe at the bottom of the narrow trench captures the water and redirects it to the lowest spot on your property.
This trench should be placed about six feet away from your foundation and be on the high side of the land that’s sloping towards your home. The trench may be L or U-shaped as it protects your home. It depends on the direction of the overall slope of the land on your lot. Eventually, the trench daylights on the low spot of your land and the groundwater flows out of the pipe only to re-enter the soil on its journey back to the ocean or sea.
The trench only has to be 24 inches deep in most cases because a majority of the water movement through soil is in the top 12 inches where there’s lots of air. I prefer the solid plastic pipe that has two, or three, rows of holes drilled in it. The holes always must aim down in the 4 and 7-o’clock position.
Never ever put a sock on the pipe or filter fabric in the trench. Neither are required because silt doesn’t move through the soil. If it did, then spring water would be muddy all the time.
The trench gets filled with rounded, or slightly angular, gravel that’s the size of large grapes. Water moving through the soil encounters the gravel, falls down to the perforated pipe and uses the pipe to bypass your home.
I’ve created a FREE downloadable document for you at my website that has a 3-D drawing of this trench drain. The document contains homeowner testimonials about how well these drains work and many other installation tips. Just click on: B1243 to get the free PDF document.
Best Roof Ventilation
Question #2: Tim, I live where it get’s darned HOT in the summer. All the roofers I talk to swear about roof ridge vents being the greatest thing since sliced bread. Do they really work to keep an attic cooler in the summer? What’s the best way to keep an attic cool so my AC bills are as low as possible? Patrick, Orange County, CA
As you might suspect, I get lots of email like Patrick’s. It even gets hot as blue blazes here some days where I live in NH. I took an infrared image of my own roof three years ago and the surface temperature of the roof was 155 F!
The truth is ridge vents do little, or nothing, to lower the temperature of the inside of an attic. In fact, they would have to break the laws of physics to work. Hot air rises, it doesn’t go down. To exit a roof ridge vent, air has to go down about three inches. I’ve experimented with a stick of burning incense in my own attic during the hottest part of the day and the smoke incense just collects at the ridge and doesn’t go out the vents.
When the roofing material gets hot, it transfers the heat to the roof wood sheathing and framing. The roofing and framing materials radiate this heat like the hot coals of a dying campfire. It can do this for many hours after sunset. It’s simple physics.
To cool an attic space, you need to do what chicken farmers do. You must send vast amounts of air through the attic space using powerful fans. Tens of thousands of cubic feet per minute of air must move through the attic to try to lower the temperature from 160 F to possibly 110 F or less. You’ll never get the attic temperature lower than the air temperature outside.
I’ve created a FREE downloadable document for you at my website that has a list of the fans I’d consider putting in my own attic. The document also contains the thermal image of my roof as well as other tips on how to lower your attic temperature as much as possible to keep AC bills to a minimum. Just click on: B1243 to get the free PDF document.
Corey had a question about the best way to clean his expensive IPE wood deck. His contractors had been using chlorine bleach and I told him that was a HUGE mistake.
Karen has a problem with soil that's causing pesky cracks in her house. You'll be able to listen to the entire call in a week or so.
She's got the nasty Texas expansive montmorillonite clay around and under her home. But years ago, I taped a video that had the solution to her problem!
My college degree happens to be in geology so I know a thing or two about soil, rock and ground water. Wait until you watch that video!!!! WOOT!
CLICK HERE to watch the video and read HOW TO AVOID CRACKS in your foundations, slabs, house walls, etc.
Tom's Pergola Beam
Tom had an issue with a pergola over a deck. The imbeciles who built it attached one of the primary support beams to the facia board at the bottom of a roof.
WTH????
You'll hear what my suggestion was to solve the problem when I upload on-demand radio show # 7.
Karen's Blacktop Drive
Finally I talked with Karen in NJ. She was wanting to put in a new blacktop or paver driveway. I talked her out of it saving her and her husband thousands of dollars.
She's going to use the great epoxy I've tried at my own home to hide the cracks. CLICK HERE to see how it's done. The link to the magic epoxy is in the column.
Don't believe that you can make cracks disappear in blacktop? HAH!!!
Look at the during and after photos just below of my OWN blacktop crack repair.
LAST CALL Stain Solver SALE
If you're a seasoned subscriber, then you know that Last Call means it's about to end.
Are you a Doubting Thomas about Stain Solver? Are you SICK of hearing about it thinking it's just some stupid product?
Read what Rita and Carol have to say. I got these messages from them in the past 48 hours:
The End-of-Winter Stain Solver SALE ends at MIDNIGHT ET tonight - April 8, 2018.
Yesterday, I went to Boston to be interviewed about my Roofing Ripoff expose' book. I decided to go see the USS Constitution - Old Ironsides - before the interview. I'd never been there before.
Below is the questionnaire Tim mentioned in his April 5, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter. You can ask Kate Smith a question on color for your roof, paint, etc.
Expert Advice For Your Home
Subscribe to the FREE Ask the Builder newsletter to receive professional advice for your home. Complete the form below and each week you'll get:
DIY Tips
Tool Reviews
Project Guides
Product Discounts, Giveaways & more.
Unsubscribe at any time. We respect your email privacy.
