What gutter guards are worth it in Myrtle Beach, SC

A regular part of our services involves gutter cleaning and often (as in over 20 times this year) we have had to remove gutter guards from peoples homes that were failing. The main point of a gutter guard is to avoid needing gutter cleaning and keep things from getting in to your gutters so water can flow freely. If your guards are still letting things into the gutters they are failing.

As you can imagine it's much more expensive to not only clean gutters but remove and dispose of the guards than just cleaning gutters normally. One customer recently paid over $500 for us to clean and remove the guards that were so bad it was growing trees through the holes in the guards. He paid $3700 for these guard installations. Unfortunately this is not uncommon.

Another customer had a custom builder upsell them guards that failed within the first year that we had to remove. So why is this the case? Simply put, in Myrtle Beach any guards that have holes big enough for roof granules or pine straw to get through will fail. In our area with the heat roofs loose tiny rock graules often and we have a lot of pine staw that gets stuck in the guards. This and other tiny debris will get through. Most people are installing guards with holes WAY to big to work longterm.

Here are a few culprits that in our experience we have had to remove often:

Each of these suffers from the same issues. They either don't secure well enough to hold the weight of accumulating pine straw or have holes to big to actually keep the debris we deal with out.

So which ones may be worth it? That being said for many, they have so much pinestraw or debris that cleaning their gutters 3-5 times a year is a hassle, or paying $200-$300 to have it done is a lot of money adding up.

Our reccomendation is what is commonly referred to as "Micromesh" guards. They are stainless steel or aluminum mesh screens that keep even tiny roof granules out while allowing water in. They install under the shingles which allow for slope to help keep debris from accumulating, and they are rust or corrosion resistant for our salty air.

A typical home may cost $1000-$3000 for the installation of these types. Whereas a LeafFilter product may cost $15,000. (not joking). That cost is just not worth it, considering these may not last forever and are not that much better than these. The other options above are typically installed because they are cheaper, but as with most things that are cheaper, they are not going to last or be worth your money.

If you feel guards are helpful or needed for your home, consider mircromesh and if you'd like a quote for installation on these, give us a call or fill out the free quote form below!