GutterShutter
Premium clog-free gutters
This is the Bradley Tank of gutters. It is insanely engineered and overbuilt to last a lifetime without clogging with leaves, pollen, pine needles, twigs, etc. Like several other brands of gutters it ingeniously uses water’s natural surface adhesion to bend rainwater around its blunt edge and into the drain. The water drips in upside down, but the leaves and gunk do not. This idea really works, even in very hard rains. I’ve spent some soaking wet time closely inspecting how well this clever system works in the worst downpours of the winter, and the physics caught about 98% of the rain (and zero debris).
GutterShutter distinguishes itself because of the quality of their build. They use 0.032 inch aluminum which means that you can hang from the gutters, or throw a heavy ladder on it without fear of denting it. I was very impressed with the solid construction details because of previous experience with wimpy metal gutters that bent or rusted. They also use heavy duty internal braces to screw in the gutter not just to the fascia board but to the roof rafters themselves. There’s no doubt in my mind these will outlive me. Finally, the company guarantees there will be no debris in the gutter ever — and will come clean it out themselves if you do find any. That’s a promise hard to beat.
So far I’ve found none. Which is amazing. We live directly under several 100-foot Pine and Redwood trees that drop leaves and pollen cones year round. I would spend a weekend twice a year cleaning out several inches of crap, and the rest of the year knowing I should do it more often. I tried all kinds of gutter guards but without success.
The downside of GutterShutters is their very high cost. They are expensive, no way around it (and they have heavy duty sales pitches). Probably $30-40 per foot installed (in San Francisco area). Because of that cost we limited where we put them — wherever I was tired of hanging off a 30-foot ladder several times a year.
So far, I’ve had zero work to do on the gutters, so their cost has been worth it. I’d recommend these for homes with a heavy load of leaf debris and/or high or hazardous roofs. Or if you simply want gutters you don’t ever have to worry about again.
Other systems that work on this same principle, such as Gutter Helmet, and Leaf Guard, are a whole lot cheaper and probably just as effective, although I found them to be less substantial, and presume them less long-term. Some pop on top of existing metal gutters. They just were not built like tanks.
07/27/09
