In this article you ll learn the pros and cons of the three most popular gutter guard systems.
Solid gutter guard vs mesh.
Micro mesh gutter guards.
They feature a finely perforated metal surface that sits atop the gutter.
Screens are usually made of wire mesh nylon or foam and are simpler and cheaper to install but usually don t last as long.
With the sheer number of gutter protection systems on the market and every manufacturer claiming a miracle product shopping for a solution can be overwhelming.
The premise behind the design of these products is that water adheres to the solid surface of the gutter guard and flows around a nose into a slot that is near the front edge of the gutter.
Tougher more solid looking micro mesh gutter covers are also popular in large part because they don t let in any large debris.
These gutter guards have a pvc frame and support a micro mesh filter that covers the gutter and is supported by a center beam and brackets.
But a close inspection shows that those plates are perforated by thousands of tiny holes that are as small as 50 microns in diameter.
This can cause mold growth.
Micro mesh gutter guards work on an entirely different technology than solid top gutter guards.
This material is also exceptionally strong for its thickness and weight.
Solid surface gutter guards.
Gutter guards fall into 2 categories.
First the leafsout gutter guard is mostly made out of stainless steel.
Micro mesh gutter guards solve the problems posed by solid top gutter guards.
Mesh gutter guards are one of the most common types that are to be found and the one that most people tend to go for.
Micro mesh gutter guards look like metal or upvc plates that fit over the top of your gutters.
That s about 1 500th of an inch or 1 20th of a millimeter.
Screens are usually made of wire mesh nylon or foam and are simpler and cheaper to install but usually don t last as long.
These guards fit under the roof and have a mesh that is made up of stainless steel while the frame on which this mesh is attached is made of aluminum.
Polyurethane inserts micro mesh screens and metal gutter covers.
Available in a variety of options from inexpensive plastic frames and lightweight screen type material to solid metal frames and mesh made from stainless steel.
Gutter covers and gutter screens.
The mesh that makes up the micro mesh is stainless steel which provides a number of benefits.
Solid surface gutter guards work similarly to one another by using surface adhesion tension as the basic principle of physics.
However any type of debris is blocked from entering the gutter.
When it rains the micro mesh allows the water to enter the gutter freely.