About 5 years ago I had my son Nathan dig a trench for a drain line that would take the gutter discharge out to the ditch. I might mention that Nathan’s work standard was “excellence”, and he did an exceptional job on this! Anyway, this drain line was intended to not only handle sending the gutter drainage to the ditch, but also the planned future discharge of the washing machine “gray water”.
One problem we have had is the clogging of the gutters each fall by the tree leaves and needles. We have several large maple trees along with a large spruce tree in close proximity to the house. This results in a lot of leaves and spruce needles building up in the gutters. Very annoying to the effect that if you don’t get up on a ladder at least weekly, they will end up clogged. I researched some ways to eliminate the clogging and, consequently, I went to Lowes and purchased some 3′ sections of plastic “screened” mesh gutter guards. I think this will actually work for me. BTW, I have a metal roof, which presents some “unique” problems that call for “customized” solutions. I think I have found it.
I have roughly 300′ of gutters to deal with and have installed approx 64′ of material so far. I will be installing more of this material over the next couple weeks and will report my progress (and results) as the leaves begin to fall and the fall rains begin.
((In a couple of the gutters I utilized a “hinged” type metal gutter guard (also purchased at Lowes), that seems like it will work well)). My metal roofing calls for various customized solutions!!!
Good move on the gutter guards! It would surely help the water flow freely from the gutter to the sprouts. Twig and leaves clogging the gutters is a normal scenario, but if left unattended, it cause gutter problems that might lead to bigger problems. Aside from gutter guards, I would suggest that you clear debris from your gutters regularly.
–Willie
Dry leaves on the gutter are certainly annoying because it only takes a couple of days for them to pile up and cause a clog. Every week, I had to clean our gutters to make sure that I rid them of leaves. I even called for professional help at one point. Now, I have steel mesh that covers our gutters. It has definitely lessened the buildup of dirt and debris!
Eulalia Symonds