Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Okay, I have been waiting for this post for some time now. It is a follow up to my previous post, “Cleaning Gutters & Installing Amerimax Gutter Covers.” If you visit that post, you can see some comments going back and forth concerning these gutter covers and other gutter covers in general.
I had these gutter covers installed in June of 2008. When I had them put on, the installer really didn’t want to do it. He said that he hated these things and was always taking them off of people’s gutters. I believed him because when I looked in the back of his truck, there were piles of old wire leaf guards. Also, he is a gutter cleaner, so if everyone got gutter covers, he would be out of business.
There are some issues that drive people away from gutter covers. I would say the two main issues are ice buildup and pine needles getting stuck in the covers. Some of the comments in my other post describe six foot icicles. I will tell you about my experience with these gutter covers and then I’ll talk about icicles.
Amerimax gutter cover with oak leaf
Do you want the verdict? Okay, here it is….SUCCESS.
We went through the summer, autumn and winter and all that we have to show for it is one oak tree leaf stuck in the gutter cover. That’s right, one leaf stuck in the whole gutter system. During the winter, we had a few six inch icicles over the front door. That’s it. These gutter covers didn’t cause ice buildup in the least and handled the heaviest of rainfall. Also, leaves slid off with ease. We have many oak trees around the house and I watched the leaves come down on many occasions. We don’t have any nearby pine trees, so I can’t comment on the pine needle issue.
Let’s talk about icicles. Please read this short article on what causes ice dams and icicles found here.
As I said above, I had some comments describing huge icicles that were allegedly caused by gutters or gutter covers. The truth of the matter is, if a house is properly insulated, you won’t have an ice problem. Ice dams and icicles are caused by warm air leaking through the ceiling of your home and warming the roof. When that happens, the snow melts and water runs down the roof to hit a cold gutter or gutter cover. The water freezes and causes an ice problem. Ice dams and icicles are a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. The real problem, is heat loss.
Since the house we live in is properly insulated, we didn’t have any ice problems. I will tell you that we live in Connecticut and had about five or six nice snow falls. A few of them were about 12″ in depth. This is valuable information when trying to compare locations with ice issues.
So there you have it. My conclusion is…if your house is properly insulated, go for it and get some gutter covers. It will save you money on gutter cleanings and will make life easier. If you have an insulation problem, get the problem fixed before you install gutters or gutter covers. If not, you may find yourself outside one snowy night tearing them off your house in a frenzy.
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Friday, June 27th, 2008
It feels good to get some things checked off my list.
Today, the gutter guys came over to clean the gutters and install the rest of the gutter covers. I felt a little bad having a gutter cleaning company install the covers, but they didn’t seem to mind. The owner told me that I could call him any time (or when) they fail. He would be happy to come back and clean the gutters.
From what I have already experienced, these gutter covers work very well. We have had a few heavy rains since I installed the sections I could reach and there were no issues with anything.
I also felt like a caged rat today watching these guys climb the ladders. I really enjoyed installing what I did and wanted to do the rest. I just don’t know how I would feel laying on my back on the lawn after falling off the 40 foot one.
Here, this is what I am talking about…
I would like to go back to the point in my life when I began worrying about falling off of ladders.
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Thursday, June 12th, 2008
If you have ever gone through the agonizing process of dealing with gutters, you would certainly know that it’s…well, agonizing.
Here’s one for you. Have you ever realized that every single gutter cover company claims they are the best? It actually gets comical after a while. They all seem to have the “latest patented technology” and all have 100% effectiveness. Wait…some of them go the honest route. They tell you that no gutter cover is 100% effective. They say that you will still have to climb up that ladder at least a few times a year.
Well, what is someone supposed to do when they have to maintain gutters that are about 40′ high? There ain’t no way this old man is getting up there.
It’s the same old story. These are the things I deal with when I move to a new house. I guess it’s only been twice now, just try to ignore that. Each time, I go around and figure out what needs to be done. I just do it. I don’t wait. The longer I wait, the more something rots or gets clogged or prices go up. Plus, I like doing these things. I have a certain affinity for “systems.” I like to watch things work. Who else takes pictures of gutter cover installations?
Here is my situation. We have about 136′ of gutter. They are all clogged with oak leaves. There are no pine needles. When it rains hard, the gutters fill up and overflow. This makes my face turn red. There are two reasons why I don’t pull out the big 40′ ladder and clean them out right then and there…one being I don’t have that 40′ ladder and two being I don’t like the feeling of lightening running through my body.
The whole reason for gutters is to stop the rain from pouring down and the water sitting against the house foundation. This keeps the basement dryer. Gutters are very good, but we, as a species, have yet to perfect a cover that stops debris from filling them up and stopping their functionality. You would be amazed at how few leaves to takes to clog a gutter.
You are lucky I didn’t have this blog when we moved into the other house. I went through this whole fiasco then. I would’ve dragged you through it with me. The difference there was the highest gutter was about 14′. That was nothing. If I tried to climb a ladder to reach parts of the gutters here, I probably would get “shaky leg.” If you have ever climbed something high, you know what I am talking about. I remember one time I was at the very top of a 100′ oak tree and my leg started to shake. I guess that’s the body’s way of telling you to get down.
Since I am not about to do the gutter thing here, I decided to call some professionals. I had a gutter cleaning company come over yesterday and they gave me a price of $125 to clean them. That was fair, but the problem is that the cleaning really doesn’t solve the problem. They would have to come at least twice a year. I decided to try to solve the problem. Later on, I called another gutter company, this time, one that installed gutter covers.
Back at the other house, I installed “Leaf Relief” gutter covers that worked very well. I was, and still am, very happy with them. I put them on when we first moved in and never had to clean them out again. I checked each year and they were spotless. Because of my experience with them, I really want them on this house.
I spoke with the other company on the phone. He gave me a price of $7.50 a foot to clean and install the Leaf Relief gutter covers. That wasn’t a horrible price, but about twice as much as the actual gutter costs to install. Weird, isn’t it? I can tell you from experience, gutter covers are really easy to put on and there really isn’t much material to them at all. Why they cost that much to install is beyond me. At that price, this job would be costing at least $1,020. I would pay it if I had to, but I am really trying to find another way.
Since I was making a trip to Home Depot today anyway, I thought of a great idea. Why not buy some gutter covers from the Depot and install them where I can reach? If I do that, I can at least knock a couple of bucks off the job.
When I got there, I looked through the gutter covers and one type stuck out. It was the Amerimax Home Products 4 Ft. White Solid Gutter Cover. These were about $1 per foot and seemed to remind me of a few other big name brands. I thought to myself, “Heck man, what the freak, let’s go for it.” I bought 44′ worth.
There are two spots I can reach on this house…one in the back, over the porch and the other the front of the garage. If I could install the 44′ worth, I would be saving $330. Not bad.
I gotta tell ya, I really like installing gutter covers. Seriously. I cleaned the gutters out and slid these covers up, under the shingles. Then, I clipped the fronts around the lip of the gutter. They were secure after that. I went one step further and screwed two self tapping screws in the front edge of each cover, just to be sure. The screws are rust proof…yeah, that would be a mess.
After I installed them, I got the garden hose out and sprayed the roof. I watched the water slide around the nose of the cover and enter the gutter. What a great feeling it is to hear the water running down the downspout. The cool part is watching the water “cling” to the gutter as it goes around the bend.
While the first (and cheaper) guy was here, I asked him if he could install the covers if I got them. He agreed, for a price. I am sure I can negotiate a decent price with him to install the rest of the covers. I am pretty sure that he got the impression I am not the type of person that has a gutter cleaning company come over twice a year. As I said, I like to “fix” the problem.
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