View Single Post
  #5   Report Post  
Old 10-06-2003, 05:44 PM
 
Posts: n/a
Default Gutter guards- good or bad?

In article , bsauls wrote:
You might consider going without gutters on this side of the house and
installing gravel and PVC drainpipe in the ground where the roof runoff will
hit. This can be much easier to maintain than the gutters. I have tried
gutter guards without success


Or if there is the right slope, you can use bricks at the foundation to
make what I have heard called a williamsburg drain. It requires lots of
brick though. you put 3 bricks end to end with the middle one being
lower and the left and right one sloping toward the center one slightly.
\_/ More sloped than this example. You have to put the center brick
right at the line the water drops from the shingles. This little
"ditch" then has to have enought of a drop to carry the water off. It
may require another course or two of bricks near the foundation for
continuity and this depends on how much of an over hang your roof has.
Three brick would put the center line about 12 inches from the
foundation. You may need 18 or even 24 inches. Assuming 4 inch bricks
this would be 9 brick at 60 cents each which would be 5.40 per linear
feet where gutter guard will probably run 6-10 $ per linear foot but
that would be counting installation.

I had one stretch by my garage that I used gravel for 10 years but got
tired of the washing since it caught hte runoff from the driveway so I
just put in a 5 foot or so wide brick walkway that sloped ever so
slightly from the foundation.

Bruce Sauls

"BB" wrote in message
...
Posting for a friend(sorry this is off-topic):
I am planning on installing the gutter guards on the side of the house
that faces the woods. The leaves build up on that side of the house
every year. I am thinking about the ones that are sold in Home
depot(Model: #451-25)

Is the leaf-guard a permanent solution? Does any cleaning needs to be
done after they have been installed? I know theoratically the guards
should eliminate any leaf build up in the gutter, but does that actually
happen? Or do the leaves pile up on top of the guard needing to be
cleaned? And does the guard let the water flow into the gutters when in
the heavy rains(like we had during the last few days)?

Thanks,
BB






--
Wes Dukes (wdukesNOatSPAMpoboxdotcom)