What are the different types of gutter guards?
There are multiple types of gutter leaf guards on the Australian market; while worldwide the choices are endless.
Australia has proven to be a world leader in gutter protection innovations. Many of our country’s inventions have even shipped across the sea to other markets, such as New Zealand. In this post, we talk about some of the homegrown and imported options available to the Australian consumer, to help you understand which are the best leaf gutter guards to use in every situation.
Bottlebrush
Bottlebrush gutter inserts are widely available both online and through local hardware stores. They’re super easy to install and require absolutely no special tools, which is why they’ve become so popular.
Bottlebrush gutter inserts can be useful if you need a filter over your downpipe entries, but they’re not enough to handle heavy leaf falls. They block up faster than other gutter protection options, and they lose their shape easily when tree shedding breaks down into mud. Their tendency to get clogged with debris and difficulty to clean means they are generally not a recommended option for Australian homes.
Metal Plumbers Style (Clipped in)
Plumbers sometimes clip in a steel or aluminium gutter cover when they fit new gutters. These clipped-in type sections of metal screens can be great at holding shape even with total gutter neglect. Clipped in metal gutter guards come in prefabricated lengths of about 2 metres, so there’s not much room for customisation with them.
When shopping for such guards, homeowners should pay close attention to quality. Some varieties of clipped in gutter guards are well-designed with appropriate hole sizes, but unfortunately, there are also many on the market that are badly designed and can actually contribute to gutter blockages.
Ski-Slope Fitted
Ski slope fitted gutter protection has been a Leafshield installation favourite for many years. If your house has a tile roof or a corrugated roof, the gutter protection is fixed to the roof edge with special bolts and other parts. You can look through our Leafshield installation gallery to see photos of this type of gutter protection. Ski slope fitted gutter shields almost always offer the best level of protection. However, even with these fitted systems, it’s still really crucial that you select high-quality meshes, fixing bolts, and accessories.
Rolled In Systems
Thanks to the improvements in plastics manufacturing in recent years, the old school method of rolling flexible mesh into gutters has been modernised and significantly improved. Time has taught us that the old meshes that we saw in the late 1900s and early 2000s were not quite stable under intense UV sun exposure, but technology has moved forward and there are now some great “Rolled in” gutter guards on the market that remain stable for years and years and offer easy customisation and installation.
If you’d like to discuss your gutter guard options, send us message or call us now on 1300 LEAFSHIELD (1300 532 374).