DIY Gutter Guards

This is not as flat as it looks.

If you’d like to add gutter guards to your gutters, but are put off by the high cost, usually thousands of dollars, here’s an alternative.

I bought the gutter guards from Costco, but you can also get them on Amazon. I got them for $1.53/ft. on sale. That means my two story house would cost around $300 in material cost.

Here are the main tools I used. A leaf blower to clean out the gutters, a drill with a clutch, and various pliers and cutters. I found the aluminum hard to cut and tried various options including a hack saw, Dremel and bolt cutters. Use whatever you have and whatever works for you.

I used both ladders, but the extension ladder worked well most of the time.

For the easy straight sections, I can install a four foot section in five minutes. The ends and the angles take more time.

I found the screws harder to put in than their description – “hot knife through butter,” but just used constant pressure to get them in.

In general, you want the gutter guard at an angle, so the leaves will blow off more easily. You do that by putting the gutter guard under the shingles.

The tricky parts are the end which requires you to cut off the aluminum and fold the screen down over then end to cover the opening.

When you register, they supposedly send you a brush which you can use to brush off the gutter guards when necessary.

I did pay someone to do the 2nd floor, but he only charged $225.00.

Below are a couple good videos about the process. I’d watch them to see the process.

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