November 10, 2009 12:05pm by Team | 
Joe chimes in with another Reader Report, this time we get a little expert advice and then an endorsement of the GutterMaxx Leaf Protection System. Here is Joe’s lengthy report:
The main problem I have found for using ANY cover with your standard open tray gutter is that this type of gutter installation has major flaws.
First of all, it is never installed with a drip edge on your fascia board (thats even if you have a fascia board at all, if not, your troubles are compounded… will touch on later) A drip edge is designed to keep water off of your roof line wood surfaces (fascia board, rafter tails, roof decking) otherwise they will begin to rot, eventually causing you to spend thousands of dollars on a roof line repair. The reason a drip edge is never used with a standard open tray gutter is that the spike or screw has to penetrate it in order to mount the gutter to the home, thus rendering it useless.
Roof Line Gutter Damage
(Image above courtesy of Gutters911.com)
Often, we see a gutter mounted directly to the rafter tails with no fascia at all! With this type of scenario, the only surface to attach the gutter to is the end of the rafter tails. In summary, the standard open tray gutter installed on 99.9% of all homes is the cheapest system a builder can put up on a home to get it sold.
Drive around any neighborhood and soon you will see this type of gutter pitching, leaning, falling off etc. So explain this to me. If an open tray is eventually going to cause damage to my home and quite possibly fall off, what good is putting a cover on it? Now you get it!
From what I have seen with many no clog gutter systems out there, is that ONLY GutterMaxx stands tall. It is installed with fascia, with a drip edge, the gutter tucks up under the drip edge and the nickel plated screws that mount the system to the home are below the drip edge as not to penetrate it. The hoods have two ways for the water to enter the system, which causes a flushing effect keeping debris in the stream. And since the internal brackets are elevated, once it enters the stream it is a clear shot out to the downspout.
GutterMaxx in Action
This system is also the only system designed under the premise that stuff will get in! That’s why it works so well… it was designed to handle debris and not try to keep it all out! Listen to LeafGuards ads and you will hear something like this, “Keeps ALL debris out that can clog your gutters”. Really, ALL? In other words our system can stop nature, think again.
If you look into the history of no-clog systems you soon discover that LeafGuard was the first attempt at extruding a gutter on-site with a hood on it. It was designed and patented by K-guard approximately 16 years ago. They franchised it and low and behold LeafGuard was born. K-guard gave the franchise owners a 2-year no-clog warranty. Later, the franchises extended that to lifetime to build a book of business.
After putting the system up for about 5 years they discovered that the system had some major flaws.
- It was too small, it actually will fit inside a standard 41/2″ open tray gutter. So installing it with a thick roofing material became difficult.
- The design would not allow the use of a drip edge, and we have already seen what that causes. When this was discovered they started to put caulking on the back of the gutter when they installed it. (A short term solution at best)
- It clogged! what a no clog system that clogs, heaven forbid, remember the nature issue! When they went out to unclog it because of the Lifetime warranty the discovered another problem.
- It was very difficult to access because of the one piece design. Once installed it was like a soda can! And finally,
- Damage issues, if the hood was damaged the owner was forced to buy a whole new run of gutter! Yep, a one inch dent could cause the owner to purchase a new 40′, 50′ 60′ etc piece.
Imagine getting a ding on your car door, you take it in to get fixed and the repair place gives you a quote that makes you pass out. Then you learn that to fix the door ding you have to purchase a new hood, the other doors, all the quarter panels, the trunk, everything because its all connected. One piece is great on paper and in theory but in reality – not smart.
So after discovering and dealing with all these design set backs, they went back to K-guard and asked them to design a system to replace the first attempt. They did! the GutterMaxx system was born. Now, it was not called that when it was presented to the LeafGuard franchise owners obviously because it was going to be their new product. K-guard looked at the problems and solved them all because, like I stated earlier, they figured out that you cannot stop nature but you can control it to an extent.
K-Guard in Action - so this is identical to GutterMaxx?
No, the system is not perfect, but what it does along with its crown molding type majestic appearance backed up with Lifetime warranties from K-guard, it is without doubt the best system available to date. Oh! why isn’t it Leafguard? Well, when they found out that they would have to re-tool at a cost of $65,000 per truck per franchise owner plus re-do all their advertising from a one-piece system to a two-piece system, they turned it down. K-guard decided to market it themselves through dealers across the country. Smart choice.
When it comes to price, well guess what, with gutters and so called leaf-free hoods etc, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
Wow! There’s some interesting history there. We can now begin to see how these product are all connected.
We’ve got downspouts that are permanently connected to underground pipes, so if GutterMaxx really is designed to allow some debris into the system, it may not work for us. We need a system that will not allow leaves or large fragments into the downspouts.
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I am not sure who installed Joe’s roof, but I have only lived in houses that had drip edge installed. Gutter or no gutter drip edge is one of the only ways to keep water from coming off the roof and getting your fascia board wet. They usually install with 4 or more inches of metal extending under the first layer of shingles giving you another layer of protection although not where the nails are driven in to hold it to the roof decking. With out a drip edge no gutter would work very well because a lot of water would get between the gutter and fascia boards.
Well, i really would like to see ( at least ) some credit for my picture being used in this website. I know that get pictures from internet is the faster way, but i hate piracy too. So, feel free to use my website pictures, but remember to mention where did you got the material. The original picture was taken May 17 2009 1:06 PM. Thanks.
Sorry about that. We have edited the post to give you credit (and a link) for the photo. If you’d rather we remove it altogether, we would oblige. Also, if you’ve got any comments or commentary regarding gutter protection systems, we would love to hear from you. Maybe feature guest posts from an expert in the field. That sort of thing.
Cheers!
Adding a link is more than we expected. We take around 50 new pictures every day. Feel free to use all the pictures you will need, if you do the same. Thank you.
I have had a GutterMaxx system for 5 years on my ranch home and it has 2 major problems. It can’t handle a large water flow on the numerous valleys I have on my home and it has icicle problems in the winter. Don’t waste you money on Gutter Maxx, it is way too pricey.
I am still wating for GutterMaxx Houston to solve my problems as outlined above.
I have had GutterMaxx products on my house for eight years and have recently had a problem with them getting clogged with pine needles. The company advertises they will clean the gutters if they ever clog. Here is where my problems begin, I have spoken to the company headquarters in Houston on four separate occasions and have been promised someone will be out to take of the problem; it has been 21 days since my first call and still no resolution. BEWARE DON’T PAY THE HIGHER PRICE FOR THIS PRODUCT THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY SELL.
We have had the GutterMaxx System for about 3 years now. We are surrounded by a forest of very tall trees and decided after moving in that it would be worth the pricey investment (especially given the near 40 foot peak on our house in some areas.) In theory, it should work. We saw the demo, did our research but now are beyond disappointed. The installation was messy. The installers did not put 1 downspout where they were supposed to because it was under a deck and they didn’t want to crawl under it (Guttermaxx did come out and fix that). The biggest problem is the water that pours OVER the gutter in two main areas leaving little water to actually go down the downspout. One overflow led to leaking into our basement, something that NEVER happened previously. We had to pay a contractor to put flashing in to alleviate this problem. We have called Guttermaxx at least 8 times. They have not shown, cancelled, came 1 time but did not BRING a ladder so they could not assess the gutter???!!! We were dealing with Hartford (more local) and finally called the headquarters in Texas a couple times. They told us if there was a problem we should be calling them. Nobody had told us this and our problem has yet to be resolved. Their customer service is truly the WORST of ANY business I have ever dealt with in my entire life. It may be a quality product but sadly we will never know and we are out $5000. If you are thinking about using GutterMaxx, spend your money elsewhere. The only way you will be pleased is if you get lucky with your initial installation and the system works as it is supposed to.
I agree with your assessment and have been dealing with issues myself with a gutter that had water pouring over it and then a gutter falling off. I have submitted a complaint to the Co. headquarters to the president Frank Fulco, custome service manager Tom Queen and Installation contact Phil Bruce. My issue seems to be the installation and durability of the product. I suggest submitting a complaint in writing to the Company headquarters and also to Hank Philippe Ryan at helpmehank@whdh.com and to the BBB, this company needs to stop their misleading advertising, poor workmanship and indifferent customer service!! Best, Cindy
This is the worst gutter system and company. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY. We get ice damns in the winter and when it rains it totally runs off the smooth tops. The only thing this gutter does is keep leaves out.
We would love to have our old gutters back! The people that work at this company are true ripoff artists and it only cost us $4,ooo.oo to find out!! POS gutter and company!
I have had the guttermaxx system for over 8 years now and it worked much better then the normal gutters on my house. I have had a few problems, but I called and they came out within the next few days and fixed my problems (installed some flashing etc.).
It was a bit pricey but I paid once and never had to worry about it again. I recommend the product.
Well folks its just not Gutter maxx all these complaints are common with any hood system If it has and opening stuff will get in thats common sence.A smooth piece of metal at your roof edge will not stop heavy rains Imposible. You need a screen system and not just any screen system you dont need a (MICRO SCREEN) most of those are just to tight and heavy rains will run over. the other problem is oils/tar will leak off your roof when hot and clog the screen. I know this because i have installed/ serviced most major players products out there. I will not mention what i sell now just so you dont think this is a sales pitch. the installer can also make a good product bad by sloppy work just be carefull out there and do your home work you can get a great system installed for around $10.00 to $15.00 per foot paying a penny more will be a waste of your money.
Don’t be fooled by the salesman when he welcomes you to the guttermaxx family!This gutter system has almost as many flaws as the company. I have never dealt with a company that turns their back as quick as they get their check. We are from the north and this system contributes heavily to ice dams which in turn creates leaking in the house.
The system was not 6 months old when we started complaining. And don’t go to the BBB they are paid by the companies and will side with them as long as they respond to you complaint.
Someone was suppose to come out this past summer to fix some things and he never even made an attempt to schedule an appointment.
So this system when it rains normal to hard can’t catch any of the rain so it skips right off the gutter cover. Don’t be fooled by the salesman when he sprays water on the display he brings it never rains with the rain directed into the side like when he shows you. Rain comes down so fast it hardly ever makes it in this system so you have rain pouring off the house , worst of all over your entry ways so you get soaked entering your home.
When it snows you are plagued with ice dams. They will tell you this system does not “cause” this problem semantics it contributes more than you know. They will tell you your attic does not have enough insulation anything to pass the buck. We have contracted a roofer ( we have a young 5 year old roof) to give us more soffets and installing a solar power vent, when he came to look he brought a gutter expert who said this system which was not a year old should be removed cause it was going to cause many problems for us. And they do not use gutter aprons or give you all new facia board so that the old nail holes are exposed and will leak. We have leaking when it pours between the gutter and facia board. This system is not good but I have to say the people selling it are straight up bad and will do nothing for you . I would not advise anyone to get this system.