Gutter Covers

Whether or not to install gutter covers in your home is a difficult decision. On one hand, you are faced with the promising prospect of never having to clean your gutter again. On the other hand, you know that this little piece of comforting fact comes with a hefty price that makes you think if it’s really worth it. To help you decide, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about covers.

Gutter covers for a typical home can cost anywhere from $1500 to over $2000. But to be fair, you need to compare this to having a gutter cleaning contractor come by every year to make sure that your gutter system is in tip-top condition. You can easily shell out $75 to $100 per visit for this. So to make a cover gutter a wise investment, it has to last for at least 10 years.

If you love DIY projects, you can easily install screens over your gutter, for which you can spend about $200 to $300. But they won’t be as seamlessly fitted as your commercially available gutter covers.

There are basically four types of covers currently available:

• Snap-in: Covers that snap into installed gutters, so you don’t need to remove whatever you have installed.
• Solid Cover: Covers that have holes or slits on the side, allowing water to seep in from the, and flow over and out through the holes and slits. This way, the debris is screened out on the top where they can be swept off or allowed to fall off. Smaller debris that manages to seep into the gutter is supposed to fit out through the holes or flow down to the downspout.
• Screen or Mesh: Covers that are attached onto the back and over the top of the gutter to filter out larger debris.
• Gutter Shingle: Covers that are fitted under the roofing and designed to extend over the width of the gutter to keep debris out.

There are some that do, and there are some that work just like your ordinary screen over the gutter. But to be sure, the ones that do work come at exorbitant prices like $18 to $20 for every foot. You can also surf the Internet for reviews if you want more specific information about particular brands.

All covers probably work in the first few months or years, but they eventually stop working later. This is because while they screen out larger pieces of debris, they cannot keep the smaller ones from seeping into the gutter. Once this debris settles and sets, they clog the gutter and prevent rainwater from flowing down to the drainpipes.

If you are someone who doesn’t mind cleaning your gutters, despite the mess and the smell of rotting debris, then you are probably better off not spending on covers. But note though that gutter cleaning is also a hazardous and high-risk activity. Did you know that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that over 164,000 ladder-related injuries are reported and treated every year? Of this figure, 97.3 percent occurred in a non-occupational setting, which include homeowners cleaning their gutters.

Manufacturers promise the following benefits to anyone who will install covers: first, that they eliminate the need for all sorts of maintenance activities; second, that they keep the gutters from getting clogged up by leaves, twigs, and other debris; and, third, that they prevent gutter problems from causing damage to the house.

It is important that you keep in mind that covers, in whatever design and from whatever manufacturer, typically cannot totally block out debris. Even the most efficient covers will necessarily allow small amounts of debris into the gutter system. This is why installing covers cannot totally eliminate the need to clean your gutter system, but can only probably make cleaning a less frequent requirement.

Before you start looking for cover suppliers, you have to have a clear idea of how much you are willing to spend. The average cost of covers can be anywhere between $6 to $7.50 per lineal foot. A typical house can require up to 200 lineal foot of gutter cover. Trying doing the math, and you will see that it could be costly. But consider how much you will need to spend to repair actual damages to your house caused by gutter failure. Another thing that you should keep in mind is that you pay for the quality, which means the most efficient covers are necessarily the more expensive ones.