Taking great care of your gutters protects your Foley, AL home from its roof to its foundation. Throughout the year, open gutters constantly collect falling leaves, twigs, seeds, and other windblown debris. Birds and climbing animals can fill gutters with nesting materials, and gutters’ damp and slowly decomposing contents make the perfect breeding grounds for insects. Gutter guards eliminate the need to manually clean gutters. They keep gutter interiors open to allow runoff to flow freely. Before you invest in gutter guards, it’s important to understand both their benefits and potential drawbacks.
Pro: Save Time and Money
There are many types of gutter guards available. Homeowners can install gutter brushes, hoods, screens, or foam. No matter which type you choose, the function remains the same. Gutter guards block debris and reduce the need for gutter cleaning. You won’t have to hire someone to clean your gutters in late autumn and early spring. You can also avoid hauling your ladder and tools out. The best of these products offers a “set-it-and-forget-it” solution to common gutter debris.
Pro: Protect Your Eaves and Shingles
When dirty gutters overflow, water seeps behind them and saturates fascia, soffits, and other exterior woodwork. Constantly clogged, overflowing gutters will undermine the integrity of your home’s rough framing in these areas. It can also cause siding discoloration and detachment of the gutters and downspouts.
Pooling water on your roof due to blocked or overflowing gutters can lead to nail pops, shingle detachment, warped shingles, and more. Gutter guards will reduce your risk of gutter clogs year-round to protect your home’s woodwork and roof shingles.
Con: Not All Gutter Covers Catch All Debris
When choosing gutter protection, it’s important to select designs and materials that are right for the local climate and the needs of your property. While gutter foam is the least expensive option for gutter protection, it doesn’t perform well in heavy precipitation. Gutter brushes can withstand heavy rains, but they can’t catch all small materials.
Mesh and Micro-Mesh Work Well in Foley
Mesh and micro-mesh gutter guards often work best for Foley homes. These systems filter out small debris without weighing down the gutters. Unlike gutter foam, they don’t have a saturation point and deliver reliable performance in all weather conditions. However, if you live in a place where the surrounding trees produce small needles instead of leaves, they are more likely to get clogged.
Con: Gutter Cleaning Could Prove More Difficult
If you choose the wrong gutter guards for your climate and home, they could make cleaning your gutters more difficult. Small pebbles, tree needles, and other loose debris can make their way past larger mesh or nestle deep within gutter brushes. Before installing gutter guards, ask about post-installation gutter cleaning. With a lightweight, lift-out system, you can easily remove any debris that doesn’t get flushed away by runoff.
Con: Improper Installation Could Impact Your Roof Warranty
DIY gutter guard installation can void your roof warranty. If you choose and install gutter guards on your own or if you hire a roofing company with insufficient experience, you may have a hard time submitting insurance and warranty claims later on. Your installer must fasten your guards to the front lip of your gutters only, rather than attaching them to actual roofing materials.
Several installation mistakes that could compromise your roof’s warranty and insurance coverage include:
- Removing drip edges
- Using fasteners that penetrate roof decking
- Altering roof ventilation
- Penetrating shingles
Pro: Extend the Lifespan of Your Gutters
When correctly installed and right for the local environment, quality gutter guards can make your gutters last much longer. They prevent heavy buildup of damp, organic debris that could otherwise weigh down the gutters and cause them to detach. They can also prevent cleaning-related damage, especially for homeowners who handle their own gutter maintenance. These covers or inserts limit the need for harsh scraping tools and power-washing equipment. They also minimize ladder use for maintenance, which, when improperly positioned, can cause gutter detachment.
Pro: Prevent Rooftop Infestations
Birds, insects, and climbing animals are more likely to congregate on roofs with pooling water, dirty gutters, or other issues that provide constant access to water. With the right gutter protection, all your roof’s runoff will make its way into your downspouts and landscaping drains. With wide-open interiors, clean gutters are less likely to clog, overflow, or detach from buildings, in whole or in part.
Foam Gutter Guards Can Increase the Risk of Pest Problems
Foam gutter guards can actually increase your risk of rooftop pests. Foam is porous, and it can trap seeds, shingle granules, windblown dirt, pebbles, and more. When wet, this collected debris creates a thick, odorous sludge. Moss and seeds can also sprout within perpetually damp foam. All of these issues create a highly supportive environment for insect breeding. Damp foam can also impede runoff and cause rooftop pooling or overflows.
Keeping gutters clean and rooftops dry isn’t the only way in which gutter guards offer pest prevention. When roofs lack lifted and curled shingles, damaged eaves, and torn flashing, they also lack viable points of ingress for climbing animals. Gutter guards can play an important role in making your roof less attractive to and less accommodating of rats, squirrels, and other pests.
Pro: Protect Your Siding
Another impressive way in which gutter guards can extend the lifespan of gutters is by slowing the rate of corrosion. Clean gutters are less likely to develop severe rust. With no overflows and less rust-colored material trapped in your gutters, you can avoid unsightly, red-brown streaks on your siding. This includes the streaking and other discoloration that occurs when the bright hues leach out of trapped leaves.
Pro: Get Reliable Protection for Your Home’s Foundation
Clean gutters can reliably direct runoff away from your roof and away from your home’s foundation. With less pooling water around the perimeter of the building, you’ll have a lower likelihood of developing a wet slab and excess humidity in your basement. If you’ve had gutter-related basement leaks in the past, installing gutter guards could help you avoid a repeat of rank, moldering odors, mold infestation, and saturated building materials.
Are Gutter Guards Right for You?
Gutter guards are an excellent addition to any home, but not all gutter guards are right for your home. To enjoy the full benefits of gutter guards, choose high-quality, high-performing products and expert installation. Installing gutter guards will make it both easier and less costly to stay on top of gutter maintenance. It can also extend the lifespan of your roof and rooftop drainage while providing enhanced foundation protection.
Bluewater Exteriors offers multiple options in mesh and screen gutter guards. Our lightweight products block out all common rooftop debris, without compromising roof warranties or complicating cleaning. As a family-owned and family-operated home improvement company, we proudly serve Foley and the surrounding communities. We’re a top choice for seamless gutter installation, gutter cleaning, and gutter guards. If you want gutter guards in Foley, contact Bluewater Exteriors now!
