Last fall I purchased & had installed a Gutter Helmet, gutter protection system. The costs was about $21 dollars a foot. This company advertisement states "Never Clean Your Gutters Again." During heavy rain, the water overflows the system onto the ground at my foundation. During last winter huge icicles the length of three to four feet developed along the entire gutter helmet system. The dripping from the icicles & the melting snow from the roof during cold days creates a sheet of ice onto the driveway beneath. I have never had such problems like this before. My 78 year old home is located in an older neighborhood. The gutters hang above the walkways & driveways on both sides of the house. These icicles & ice have created a serious liability for me as a homeowner. If these heavy icicles were to fall upon a vehicle pulling into the driveway. It could do serious damage. Or, if the icicles were to fall upon a person walking beneath. It could even kill this person, or cause an injury. The professional roofer who replaced my roofing shingles some time ago. Has informed me that these gutter protection system do not function on step roofs with a ten plus pitch. Unfortunately, the Gutter Helmet Company during its sales presentation never once warned me of these possible problems. Information regarding icicles, is given only after the work in completed & paid in full. This company has stated to me that my Gutter Helmet system is functioning perfectly fine. The consumer must somehow be warned of these possible problems with the gutter protection systems. It would be better to clean the gutters once or twice a year than have to put up with these liability problems of icicles, ice, and water overflowing the gutters. It is definitely much cheaper, if needed to just hire someone to clean your gutter. Than to never have to clean your gutters again. I am interested in any problem stories regarding your own gutter protection system. If possible please forward this to me.
I have also had problems with the LeafX gutter protection system. It is very similar in design to Gutter Helmet in that is uses water tension to direct the water into the gutter while leaves and debris fall of the edge. Further more they guarantee that if any debris collects in the gutter, they will clean the gutters for free. When the weather is warm and it’s raining the system works great, all the water runs into the gutter and everything else stays out. How ever in the winter with the freezing and thawing of roof top snow on the winter, the system fails to perform. After the first snow storm we developed large icicles (18” – 36”) on every gutter on the house. This causes major problems when they melt. The melting icicles drip over the gutter and water splashes onto the deck and behind the siding and then freezes into an ice patch in front of the door. Over time this will cause the sills to rot and become very expensive to replace. Not to mention the liability should someone slip and fall or be hit by a falling icicle. Before the LeafX installation the ice would collect in the gutter and yes over time this could cause the gutters to split, but I would much rather pay a few hundred dollars to replace a piece of gutter than an few thousand to repair water damage in my sill or attorneys fees should someone get hurt and want to sue me. Before having this product installed I asked the contractor, multiple times, if he ever had problems with ice using this product and the answer was a consistent “NO”. My only saving grace was that I paid for the installation using a credit card and was able to reverse the charges. My suggestion is that if you leave in a temperate climate you should have no problem with installing a gutter guard. If, however, you live in an area that gets snow and freezing temperatures regularly, have the gutter cleaned one a year.
I purchased the Leaf Guard Gutter System from American Leaf Guard of Weschester County NY in December 2002. Since they installed them on my 90' long ranch, I have had water infiltration into the house both winter and summer. In the winter, I have had icicles up to 5' long hanging from the gutters making my house look like an ice palace! American Leaf Guard will not return my phone calls. I plan to remove them before winter and replace them with conventional gutters.
My husband and I had a gutter guard, Waterfall, installed on our gutters two years ago. Last year we replaced out roof, and ever since then our gutters have been leaking horribly. As near as we can tell, the water is shooting over top of the gutter guard because it appears to be installed wrong. When I called the original installer, he said the problem is that Waterfall gutter guards can never be re-installed after they're removed. He's willing to replace the gutter guards--at a cost of $10 per foot. I don't know much about gutters, and wonder if anyone else has had this experience with Waterfall guards.
We've had these on our house for a year and they are everything promised. Installation was a breeze. Only problem we had was we choose a freezing cold day. Simply because we wanted to get them right up. Hubby was trying to make a big production out of the instal as he couldn't believe it could be that simple. It's been a year now and they work perfectly. I'd recommend them to anyone. How happy am I that my husband no longer has to get up on the ladder and do the gutters? VERY HAPPY.
Keep it simple, February 20, 2008 By Bruce Turner
I installed this product on my home in the mtns. with a lot of trees, worked great. Installed very quickly, stays clean, leaves blow off, roof gutters now flow water to down spouts, was concerned with freezing but so far none. I had wire screens, pain to install, cut hands,screens hadto remove to clean. With the brush it slips in and out quickly, I spray water from a hose and any thing left washs out. NO stallation fees. Nothing is perfect but this is gggreat.
Gutter Brush, December 27, 2007 By D. Werner (Ohio) - It appears to have solved the problem of leaves in the downspout and easy to install.
"The gutterbrushes are working well, as intended. I have squirrels clip the ends of a juniper tree and previously they had fallen and blocked the gutters. They can eat all they want now." Howard – Lafayette, LA
" I can’t tell you how much I despise my old gutter cover system!!! The salesman forced my husband and I to sit through a 3 hour sales pitch! … We had much better things to do…. Then came the shocking price tag of over $3000 which we unfortunately paid!!! Within 1 year, our gutters had a bees nest and experienced overflow during any significant rain storm. We have since moved out of that home and never got to take advantage of whatever guarantee they claimed. Your product makes so much more sense and at a fraction of the price! I know I have made a good decision with GutterBrush and I hope to eventually lose the buyers remorse from my previous mistake. Best of luck to you marketing this great product." Nancy Austin – Red Bank, NJ
" I just wanted to send a quick note as a thank you and testament to your product. My husband is blind, and he prides himself by not allowing that to stop him from much in life. Twice a year, he would climb the ladder and clean out our gutters. These days have always scared me to death! A neighbor told me about GutterBrush and suggested that it could relieve Michael from this dangerous job of gutter cleaning. I purchased the product and described the simple installation process since he insisted on trying to install them himself. I am happy to say that the installation went off without a hitch! We are both very pleased with the performance and even more excited about not climbing around on a ladder anymore! Thank You!" Joanne Whitestone – Rockport, MA
" I find the GutterBrush to be a simple and effective tool in the battle of the list of 'homeowner honeydo tasks'. It's simple design to fill the gutters, yet prevent those leaves and pine needles from entering the gutter system will extend the life of the gutters and in effect reduce the maintenance factors. By allowing the roof drainage system to function properly, issues with damaged siding and foundations can be avoided. The GutterBrush allows the novice home maintenance person the ability to have clean gutters year round." Bill Jarvis - Housemaster Home Inspections - Placerville, CA - www.housemaster.com
" Got my GutterBrush just in time as you can see from the pics of the maple seeds caught near the top of the brush. Rained all day yesterday and water is still flowing through the gutters and downspouts. Thanks for a good product at a reasonable price. I hope to sell a few feet of it to my neighbors when I see them on their ladders cleaning their gutters." Mike Cooper - Murfreesboro, TN
" First of all, thank you for offering a product that has provided a value to me that surpasses the price I paid. We've gone around and around with clogged gutters for 20 years in our home. Several large trees in our backyard contribute to a constant barrage of debris with a huge oak right next to the house being the most egregious offender."
"Back in late August, I felt I was taking a chance buying enough brush material to do the 70 feet of gutter on the back of our house, but after getting through this fall with the brushes up there I am more than pleased with their effectiveness. Granted, some leaves and debris get caught in them initially (though they cause no problems what so ever), but I've found that most of the leaves falling on the roof settle on top of the brushes and blow away on the next windy day."
"Since I installed the brushes there has been no need to get up on the roof to clear my gutters, which is a big change from the weekly trips I've had to make through the many fall seasons prior to installing your product."
"I am eager to tell anyone and everyone I know who has a similar problem about the brushes." Don Householder - Minneapolis, MN
" The GutterBrush was very easy to install on my second story. I just went to the end of the gutter, took a broom handle and pushed them along. I only had to go to each end of the gutter to get them all in place. I can't wait to see them in action this Fall!" Mitch Carnie - Elk Grove, CA
" Being a bit skeptical, I ordered 30 feet of GutterBrush to test. During a major storm which dropped over 3.7 inches of rain, I observed that my gutters clogged and overflowed except for the section where I had installed GutterBrush. I was so impressed that I immediately ordered a full box to finish off the rest of my gutters." Ted Williams - Grantsburg, WI
" Just wanted to say that I installed The GutterBrush and have been very pleased with the results. The large trees in my yard had my gutters constantly stuffed and, during heavy rains, overflowing. The overflow spilled onto the screens making them opaque. Now there is a clear view no matter how hard it rains and the flow from downspouts is gratifying." Vic Windle - Cooper City, FL