My Cabin is in a timber and I think I need to gutter the addition…but Im in a hewavy oak timber….do those gutter guard things really work…any to stay clear of?
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Replies
If your intention is to avoid the need to clean and tend to gutters, the answer is no. They can help them function more efficiently sometimes, but still need cleaning and adjustment. Every one I know of around here who has tried them ends up taking them to the dump after about three years.
Since this is a new addition, you have an opportunity to do the design so as to not need gutters
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I agree with Piffin. I've installed 3 different kinds and my father-in-law paid for a high end system. You'll still have to get up on a ladder and clean them from time to time, and some of the designs are really difficult to get off for cleaning. My father-in-law had me take his off entirely after the installers wouldn't come out any more to clean his gutters for free. The ones I have on now are the kind that flip up and are easy to access. They keep out the worst, but I still have to clean the gutters out three to four times per year.
My home has copper gutters and I was shocked at the cost of adding leaf guards which as others point out reduce but don't eliminate the need for cleaning.
My solution is far more simple.
I set up scaffolding. It goes up really quick and provides a nice safe work place to stand on and clean gutters. Even for fat old me. None of the pieces are very heavy and I use those aluminum planks instead of wood planks because they are so much lighter..
I've got about 140 feet of gutters some as high as 30 feet up. Really hilly terrain.
I wait untill around thanksgiving by that time all the trees have lost their leaves.. and can set up and clean out the gutters easily in a morning.
You feel so much more secure doing it off scaffolding. I would dream of doing it off a ladder but scaffolding? Like walking on your side walk.