Your roof is more than just a covering – it’s an entire system, with different parts and components that perform different jobs, and which work together to protect your home from the elements.
We all immediately understand the importance of choosing the right roofing material, your rafters and insulation.
If you ask our roof plumbers in Melbourne however, there’s one part of the roof that doesn’t get anywhere near the attention it deserves: your gutters.
Your gutters play a crucial role in protecting your roof. Protect your gutters, and they’ll protect you.
One way you can protect your gutters on the cheap is with gutter guards.
Plastic guard over gutter on a roof with seed pods stuck in the mesh
Gutters need protection, too!
A blocked gutter may not seem like a big deal – take it from us however, it can be!
A blocked gutter doesn’t drain water as effectively as a clean one. Water builds up, gets into ingresses and slowly wears down your roof if it’s allowed to pool up.
Some other problems that come with blocked gutters include:
- Mould and mildew growth
- Wood rotting
- Roof leaks and water ingress
- Infestation of pests
- Water damage
(Incidentally, this is why it’s so important to clean out your gutters at least once a year!)
Luckily, gutter guards can stop this from happening.
Essentially, gutter guards form a physical barrier to leaves and debris, only allowing water into your gutters. This protects your gutters from blockages.
Remember, though, that even with gutter guards, your roof’s gutter may not be completely safe from clogs – some debris may make it through. Additionally, there are other factors that play into gutter clogging.
That having been said, they can be quite helpful in keeping your gutters from clogging!
Just be sure you’re getting the right type of gutter guard installed. Our roof plumbers in Melbourne have worked on many homes with cheap online gutter guards that don’t fit, or are straight-up not fit for purpose!
Mesh and screen gutter guards
If you’ve bought a gutter guard online or at your local hardware store, chances are it’s of the mesh or screen variety.
Think of it as a cover for your gutters, but with tiny holes that allow the ingress of water – think cheese grater, net or grill, and you get the general idea.
These particular types of gutter guards are perfect for homes with metal roofs. Since these sit on top of your gutters, they’re also invisible from the street-level, maintaining your home’s appearance.
Some of these gutter guards are even made of metal, helping you maintain a consistent appearance across your roof, including your gutter guards.
Just be sure to clean them out regularly to ensure that the holes and gaps don’t themselves become blocked by leaves and debris!
Bottle brush gutter guards
Imagine a pipe cleaner, only sized-up and plopped right in the middle of your gutters and you’ve essentially got a bristle gutter guard!
The idea is that the bristles of these brushes catch leaves and other debris, while continuing to allow water to flow into your gutters.
The benefit of this type of gutter guard over other types is that it’s much easier to install on your own. Not to mention, they’re also easier to clean – just remove the brush, knock out all the leaves that have built up and put it straight back.
There are just two problems:
- Appearance – these guards tend to stick out
- Wind – these guards tend to blow away easier
Foam gutter guards
Here’s a quick experiment: take a sponge and run it under a tap. Notice how after a point, it soaks up all the water it can and remaining water goes right through.
Foam gutter guards use this principle to protect your gutters from leaves and debris – water passes through the sponge, while leaves and other debris remain on the surface.
They follow a similar principle to bottle brush gutter guards, besides the obvious difference.
These gutter guards are a cheap option, and are a great temporary solution – however, they have their own problems:
- They’re difficult to clean (debris and bacteria can soak into the sponge)
- Foam gutter guards are short lived (few last more than a year)
- They can attract oil, mould and mildew (since they trap water)
All of these come together to make foam gutter guards a less-than-ideal solution, if you ask us!
Installing gutter guards
While many gutter guard manufacturers advertise their products as easy-to-install on your own, that doesn’t mean that you should!
Working from heights is dangerous. Without proper training or safety equipment, your risk of falling is simply way too high – especially if you live in a two-storey home.
Instead, we suggest leaving it to a professional roof plumber in Melbourne.
In addition to carrying out the installation safety, we’ll also help you decide on the most appropriate type of gutter guard for your home and gutters.
We don’t just mean the type of gutter guard, either – we’ll also help choose a suitable material.
For example, what you may not know about metal is that certain metals undergo a chemical reaction when in contact with one another, which accelerates corrosion.
These dissimilar metals are a major concern for those with metal roofing – metal gutter guards need to be carefully chosen to ensure the materials are compatible with each other.
Our roof plumbers in Melbourne are experts in all things metal roofing, including which metals don’t play nicely with others. Our team will provide compatible gutter guards,
Finally, our installation team ensures that your gutter guards are properly secured, and won’t fly off when the wind picks up!
Call our roof plumbers in Melbourne
You might not think of them too often in your day-to-day life, but gutters play an important role in protecting your roof from water-related damage.
As such, you’ll want to take active measures to ensure that your gutters are clean, healthy and performing as intended.
Gutter guards are a part of that.
Whether you’re thinking of getting gutter guards installed or are simply in need of a gutter repair, you’ll need a qualified roof plumber on your side.
That’s where we come in.
Our roof plumbers in Melbourne have the training, skill, professionalism and experience needed to fix all parts of your metal roof.
All you need to do is contact Thom and the team for all your plumbing and roofing services.
Call us on 1300 576 075 – alternatively, click here to send us a message.