I'm eager to cover my gutters - I am up there 3 - 4 times a year cleaning out leaves (and we don't have trees near our house! and it could likely go for more cleanings).

Home Depot and Costco sell gutter guard by gutter glove. This is highly rated. But it only comes in 5" widths?

We have 4" wide gutters. The instructions talk of tucking the guard under your shingles, or bend it down so it goes behind the gutter (and you have to undo the screws holding the gutters to the facia), or bend it up so it's up against the facia.

Not sure about your houses, but my gutters start high / close to the roof. But by the time they get to the downspout, there's a couple inches of facia.

So I'd have to be doing a mix of bend down, bend up along the length.and or tuck under shingles. I don't want to disturb the shingles if I can avoid it.

Any thoughts on bending the back edge 180 deg ? so the effective width is 4"
a) would that work?
b) how would you do that?

Or any other advice?

 

Recent post for Gutter Stuff, would easily fit a smaller profile. I have tried every type of panel/guard/grate/grill, these are much better!

More durable gutter strainer?

 

I'd be surprised if you have 4" gutter. Are you sure it isn't 5"? Here are the specs for 4" k-style.

I would go with a version of diagram b, and rent a metal brake to make an upturned bend on the back side. And if you measure and bend it correctly, the top of the gutter guard should sit fairly flat and level on top of the gutter. The bend in back should not be a perfect 90... it should be more like 100 degrees, so that it hugs the fascia as you drop it in place.

 

Marq1 - thanks! I thought I was reading that the foam material holds needles, the material gets brittle / crumbly over a couple years and it becomes a moldy mess. How long have you had these? What type of maintenance do you do with them?

 

If you have a moldy mess the problem is not the gutter covers.

The picture is showing material that was 6 years old at the time of the photo. It's been over 10 years currently and the only material I have replaced was in the inside corners where all the gritt from the shingles collected. It was nothing to just remove and replace than try to clean out.

The problem with the covers, if you have steep roof pitch it's impossible to get the guards attached to the back of the gutter. Plus all the screw holes and/or installing under the first shingle layer is not good practice.

Not to mention the installation time, takes just minutes per 4' section, I have done an entire ranch home in just a matter of a couple hours!