Gutter Guard Installation
Our installation prices include material and labor. We will install an aluminum commercial product to perfectly match the existing gutters. The gutter cover that we will install is called Real Cover by the company Raytec. It is one of the leading gutter cover products across the US, and Raytec is one of the leading manufacturers of all commercial gutter products.
How and why we choose Real Cover:
I’ve installed almost every gutter cover you can find, and we've even subcontracted for premium patented gutter cover products and companies such as Leaf Filter. However, Real Cover is still best. I really believe in the product and we switched over exclusively two years ago. It has an attractive design and it’s one of the most functional covers I have found. Most importantly - it works, and I don’t have service calls or frustrated customers. There’s a lot of gutter covers that do not work. Below is my explanation of issues I’ve seen in the field.
Unrecommended Products:
There’s mesh products that usually have threaded wires. Costco and Home Depot sell the most common of these products and calls it Easy-On Gutter Cover. The product is manufactured from a company called gutter glove. It’s no good. It fills with bits of needles and clogs the top over time. It doesn't take long before it becomes a solid ramp and the gutter covers need to be serviced. At the extreme version of this we would need to scrub the tops of them with a hard bristled scrub brush to try to open the spaces between the mesh again. The greatest problem with this product is found on inside corners where excessive debris gathers and where a greater a mount of water travels. The gutter covers can't keep up and water quickly pours over the top edge regardless of installation quality. Even with custom modifications to the inside corners it’s an inferior design and nearly impossible to make function as well as the Real Cover. Personally, I've installed this product for a year. We had to stop. I must have installed approximately 500 homes and had to remove the covers off of at least 200 of them because they did more harm than good. Overall, The wire mesh is too fine and it does not give enough time for the water to sift through. The other problems are that it’ll easily fill the voids with tiny bits of particle and even sap from pine needles and it essentially becomes a ramp. Inside corners fail quickly, and sometimes the product won't work from day one.
Real Cover
I’ve completely switched to Real Cover. It’s a product that’s more like a colander or strainer for your kitchen sink. The maintenance is incredibly simple because it’s in aluminum product which matches a 5K gutter perfectly. Although, small little bits might get in the gutter, but the water should wash it through. This is similar to the best practices from the high end friction/surface tension based products such as Leaf Guard and Gutter Helmet. They keep all large debris out of the gutters and the small bits get in as they travel within the water. With the correct gutter installation and gutter alignment, all of that small debris will travel through the gutter with ease and through the downspout. Real Cover is different from the higher end products though. Water won't cascade into the gutter from a large opening on the upper front face. Rather, the water will find small holes on the top. Due to the pathway of the water much less debris will enter, even when compared with the patented products that cost 20x-50x the amount. Real Cover has a recessed design where the front lip would catch water during heavy downpours. That’s what makes this design unique and special. Water will actually travel from side to side on the front edge of the gutter covers out of sight. Also, if the water hits the front edge, it disrupts the surface tension between the water and any needles being carried down from the roof. Almost all of the small debris that would have travelled into the gutter for the high end products will be stopped at the edge of the real cover prior to the water entering. It’s a product made from a company named Raytec which is the largest metal manufacturers for all gutter products as well as the coil used to build the gutters themselves. They produce nearly all of the gutter coil for Washington state. Almost all distributors sell their coil exclusively.
Real Gutter Cover By Raytec
Gutter Covers Overall
No gutter cover is maintenance free, but the maintenance is much easier and faster. Also, servicing the gutters is needed less than gutters without covers. Gutter covers will provide consistency throughout the season. Often times in large wind storms leaves and needles will create an immediate clog. Almost all covers keep the gutters functioning properly. Although, some covers create more issues and require attention regularly.
Maintenance After Installation
We only need to sweep off the top of the covers if leaves and needles ever build up. We typically take 25% off of the cost of a standard gutter clearing since we need only need to sweep the roof and sweep the covers. It's important to remember to have us out to sweep the roof so that leaves and needle don't get built up behind the roofing accessories such as the vents, boots, or even the flashing around the chimney or dormers. Every homeowner should have us on the roof at least once a year to sweep and to place down a roof treatment on the asphalt shingles to stifle future moss growth. We recommend a customized maintenance plan to ensure good health on your home.