Gutter Protection Q&A to prepare you for Autumn
Gutters are designed to control the water that your roof displaces. As we know, water can be both essential to life and destructive at the same time. We need to protect our fascia, siding, soffit, doors, windows, and foundation from excessive water, so controlling the water displaced from your roof is very important.
A fact that might help you understand roof-water displacement: If you have a 1,000-square-foot roof, it will displace 620 gallons of water in just 1 inch of rainfall. We have already had a couple of storms this year that produced 3-4 inches of rain in a single hour. So our roof displaces much more water than we generally think.
Did You Know?
“If you have a 1,000-square-foot roof, it will displace 620 gallons of water in just 1 inch of rainfall. The Triangle area has already had a couple of storms this year that produced 3-4 inches of rain in a single hour.”
Won’t any gutter guard work?
The simple answer is no, and I like to break the gutter-guard industry into three categories to explain.
Reverse-curve Gutter Guards
First, there is the reverse-curve technology category. This category includes any gutter guard that is built on the principle of water running down the roof onto the gutter guard and wrapping around a reverse curve via surface tension. With this technology, the water is supposed to stream over the gutter guard, wrap around the edge and drop into the gutter while the debris is supposed to drop off the front of the gutter. This system is ineffective when it comes to small debris—shingle grit, pine needles, oak tree pollen, etc.—which wraps around the gutter guard with the water and eventually clogs the gutter. Any gutter-protection system that involves a gap will allow debris to get in and it will eventually clog. Also, the surface tension that this technology depends on breaks when rain falls hard, resulting in the water over-shooting the gutter guard and falling off the front of the gutter instead of wrapping around into the gutter. The reverse curve technology was first patented in 1907—this is very old technology.
Gutter Screens
The second category of gutter guards is screens. This category includes any system that attempts to filter debris from the water on its way into the gutter. The drawback of screen-type gutter guards is that the screen’s holes are large enough to still allow small debris to go through the screen with the water and eventually clog. Also, be aware of very flimsy materials that have a tendency to cup and hold debris on top of the gutter.
Micro-mesh Gutter Guards
The third category, and the newest technology, is stainless-steel micro-mesh gutter guards. These systems have found the correct combination of keeping debris out of gutters while still allowing large volumes of water to flow through. Thus, your gutter system works the way it was designed.
When buying/installing gutter guards, what should I be aware of?
There are many plastics and metals utilized in the gutter-guard industry. If you want a system that works and lasts, do not use inferior materials. For instance, plastics tend to warp and cup in gutter applications.
Will the stainless-steel micro-mesh gutter guards keep out pine needles, oak tree pollen, shingle grit and other small debris?
Gutter Glove Pro gutter guards are made of 316L stainless steel micro-mesh and anodized extruded aluminum. It has been recognized by the leading consumer reporting and testing magazine as the best gutter guard in the industry. It keeps out all of the debris mentioned above but filters over 150 inches of hourly rainfall.
How long will the Gutter Glove Pro gutter guard last?
The 316L stainless-steel micro-mesh and anodized-extruded-aluminum gutter guards come with a 25-year parts warranty.
