# Forum Home Renovation Structural Renovation  Choosing gutter guard

## demuire

Does anyone have any recommendations to types/brands of gutter guard?  Like, I've seen several different types/brands, and of course everyone sort of claims that their's works and is the best or best value for money.  There's the plastic and metal mesh ones that come in a roll, there's the brush looking one, there's the metal/fibreglass sheets with holes in them...   
Any ideas?

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## woodbe

We've had good results with All Clear leafguard. It's a colorbond perforated and profiled sheet. It's been about a year under gumtrees and pine trees without a blockage yet.  http://www.allclearleafguard.com/ 
It's not the cheapest, but then you might as well not bother with the cheapest, it doesn't work very well. I bought it on the basis that I thought it had the best chance of working of all the types I could find. 
woodbe.

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## batcat

I just use the cheapie black plastic mesh bought in rolls from Bunning's.
About every 6 months I pull it out, clean out the dirt etc from underneath and reuse it. 2 years and still going strong, which does surprise me.
Woodbe's allclearleafguard looks good but overkill for the amount of leaves we get (that's my excuse, I dont feel like lifting all the iron to screw down the back section of it).

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## demuire

Thanks for the replies.  Some of my gutters are not very accessible (or at least, I don't know how to get to them short of actually getting on the roof and walking across the house) so something with low maintenance would be ideal. 
woodbe: Did you get yours installed, or did you DIY?  I've just gotten a quote to get some of my gutters replaced and a gutter guard installed, and wow - I didn't expect the gutter guard to be quite so expensive.  $925 for the gutters, $1190 for LeafNEmber and $900 for GutterGuardian (both of which are a mesh sheet design by the look of it, LeafNEmber looks a little bit better).  I'd seen those cheap roll ones from Bunnings (in both metal and plastic, but they have bigger holes than the sheet stuff) and so was rather surprised by the cost...

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## woodbe

Yes, it's not cheap is it. 
We had ours installed. some of our roof is so high that I'm not going up there. ever. I'm pretty sure they would sell you the material for DIY though. We have quite high profile tiles which eliminated products like LeafNEmber.  
The range of products comes down to a few types with variations within each: 
* fine mesh
* perforated sheet
* Gutter covers 
I was able to see a good range one year at the home show, and by looking at the performance of the samples on display, I decided perforated sheet was the best bet for our roof and type of leaves. The allClear seemed the best of the perforated types because it has a ridge running along it's length which prevents leaves from laying flat in the hope that they will dry out and blow off. Seems to work. It also extends up under the first tile a little way, which stops leaves collecting at the inner edge of the gutter. 
We're also in a fire risk area, so the choice of material excluded the plastic types. 
woodbe.

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## demuire

Thanks for the reply woodbe.  My roof is also quite high (well, high for me anyway, it's a highset house and I'm short, and the roof looks a long way away!) which is probably the main reason why I'm reluctant to try to DIY, even though it looks like it may be a fair bit cheaper to do so.  I've also discovered that my ladder (which is one of those ones that flip open to double it's normal length) is too short... 
I've also got a problem with an extension of the roof over the back verandah, and I have a feeling it's a design problem and the solution would be to re-do that section of roof and completely move the gutters elsewhere.  So maybe it would be a good idea to do it all at once.   
But yes, wow.  I certainly didn't expect the gutter guard to add quite so much to the cost, it's as much as the actual gutters themselves!

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## arose62

This is what I want to use when we rebuild:  http://www.smartflo.com.au/SF_faq.htm 
Not exactly a gutter cover, but looks like a solution. 
Cheers,
Andrew

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## pawnhead

When I do mine I think I'll inquire as to the cost of full 8X4 sheets of expanded metal. I'm pretty sure that I'll be pleasantly surprised at how much money I'll save by spending a little bit of extra time with a pair of tin snips.  :Wink:

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## silentC

Ours is perforated zincalume sheet made up by the local roofing mob. Just a simple profile that sits in the rolled edge of the gutter. Easy to install, no problems so far, although these days they make you cut down every tree within 10 metres of your house, so it probably makes no difference whether it works or not.

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## woodbe

> these days they make you cut down every tree within 10 metres of your house,

  I wish. We have to fight like tooth and nails to remove dying junk here... 
woodbe.

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## erich

I just did my roof (lots of overhanging trees) with strips of shade cloth... very happy so far... total cost for materials ~ $25.... 
wish I'd done it years ago!!

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## demuire

Cool  :Smilie:   How did you secure it?

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## erich

well I have roof tiles so the upper side I just jammed in between the bottom two rows (a bbq egg flipper was a really good tool! combined with a heavy flat swewdriver to lift the tiles as I went along) 
the bottom edge I secured by wrapping around some nylon rope and screwing the 'hem' to the guttering... 
when I did the first side of the house I ran this over the edge (pic #1)... but when I did the front of the house I changed techniques and secured the rope/shadecloth in the little grove on the top inside of the gutter (pic #2 & 3) because I was worried the capillary action would cause dripping over the edge and we walk under the front eave... 
I cant say I've noticed a problem with dripping but securing it inside does look tidier/more professional I guess... the down side is that there is a greater tendency for a few leaves to get caught in the resulting lip 
as well as the rope I had to buy a packet of self drilling flat headed screws... they when in like a treat with cordless drill (about one every 400mm along the bottom seemed very secure on the 'over the edge' technique but didn't need them for the second method except at the ends as the rope hem was very snug) 
it might look like there is still a lot of leaves on the gutter, but that is a reflection of how many fall on my roof!! they are all dry and blow off with the blower... on side of the house gets mainly larger leaves from the tallow-wood - these dont hang around... the smaller jacaranda leaves a bit stickier! 
hope that is all clearer than mud! 
It may not be perfect but it is hellava lot better than the earlier system: "honey... there are trees growing in the guttering... again... would you mind? ..."

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## SilentButDeadly

I've tried the basic gutter mesh but it just doesn't work as well as I'd like it to. My gutters still get blocked up by crud.....so the next job is to fit this stuff   http://www.fielders.com.au/product.asp?pID=30 called Water gate which is another pressed stel product except that it is surprisingly affordable compared to others I've seen   
Parent's place has had the Smart Flo gutter for nearly a decade.  Very good product except that their early version has many joins as it was only available in lengths up to 2.4m at the time........and the joins frequently leak.  It also needs to be installed with very good fall to ensure that water actually runs out fast enough.

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## silentC

That's very similar to the stuff I have used, except mine doesn't have the fold in the middle. Not sure of the purpose of that - hard to tell from the photo, but looks like it butts up against the edge of the tin.

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## silentC

Just had a look at the PDF. Looks like it would be a lot easier to install on a new roof. You're relying on the overhang into the gutter to be within certain limits and could be fiddly to get in on an existing roof.

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## woodbe

I think what's best for you is different for each house, and depends on a couple of factors: 
* Fire areas exclude plastic meshes. 
* Heavy leaf load and guards with steps in them, even at the edge of the gutter makes for a lot of work keeping the gutter guard clear, or if left unmaintained, they will degenerate to the point where they are adding to the problem, not alleviating it. 
* Type of roof. Tiles or Iron. Some guards don't work so well with some roofs. Especially tiles. 
* Inaccessible gutters make routine maintenance a pain, with or without guard. 
* Budget 
Bottom line is, if you are designing a house, make the gutters easy to get to! 
Our situation is the worst of all these. We are in a fire area, we have areas with high leaf load, a tile roof, and also areas of inaccessible gutter. In the end, the budget took a hammering. 
We did look at the Fielders product, and it is good, but best suited to iron roof. We found some installed, and noticed a bit of a buildup of leaf crud had built up behind the iron in that well area. I think the junction between the roof and the guard needs to be very accurate for that one to work well long term. 
woodbe.

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## mdfdust

I used gumleaf gutter gaurd....available through special orders at bunnings....  http://www.gumleafgutterguard.com/html/home.htm 
Its about $17.50 for 1.2m but it is much stronger than the stuff they sell at stratco etc....

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## Pulpo

I have just ordered this product.  www.leafsafeguttering.com.au 
In my mind clearly superior to all other products but not cheap. 
However have not yet tried it. 
I need to collect the rain water. 
The leaves are very heavy also what seems to block my mesh on the water tank inlet and down pipes is the small wattle flower. 
I cannot clear my gutters often for I'm not at the property often. 
I wanted something that was close to set and forget for at least a few years. 
Also can be installed to existing gutters but the gutters need to be removed . 
Good Luck  
Pulpo

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## mdfdust

Only have the a title page on that link any photo's or other details?

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## Pulpo

Try the link below and play the video. 
I did not realise there was nothing at the website.  www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s1765479.htm 
I have a few files they sent me with more details on how to install more than what it looks like. 
But the above link should give a good idea what its all about. 
Pulpo

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## spartan

so what do they cost?

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## Pulpo

$ 37 per 2.4M Length and $3.50 for brackets. 
Its around that price anyway.

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## cantthinkofname

I've just checked out the guttering pulpo has mentioned www.leafsafeguttering.com.au  - they do have a website. Looks quite impressive.

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## Sculptured Box

> I have just ordered this product.  www.leafsafeguttering.com.au 
> In my mind clearly superior to all other products but not cheap. 
> However have not yet tried it. 
> I need to collect the rain water. 
> The leaves are very heavy also what seems to block my mesh on the water tank inlet and down pipes is the small wattle flower. 
> I cannot clear my gutters often for I'm not at the property often. 
> I wanted something that was close to set and forget for at least a few years. 
> Also can be installed to existing gutters but the gutters need to be removed . 
> Good Luck  
> Pulpo

  Pulpo 
Now that you've used this system for a while, would you recommend it? 
I have two concerns (1) in a downpour surely mostly of the fall runs over the edge of the gutter onto the ground and (2) how do you clean the gutter? 
Good Health
Tony Ward

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## GrahamC

Another possibility is simply to remove the guttering all together. Of course this won't be that good for water collection or stormwater disposal. But quite a few people simply don't have these issues. You can also always lay down pavers and/or a surface drain to solve any stormwater disposal issues. 
Leaf safe guttering (http://www.leafsafeguttering.com.au/index.php) seems to be similar to http://www.gutterprotech.com/ so you can get more info from that website.

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