Anonymous
map-marker Vancouver, Washington

Step One Towards A Balanced Perspective

Circumstances vary. I have no favorite nor axe to grind-- while reading the "problem with payment" complaint it was obvious that: (1) not everyone must clean gutters once per year ($200); (2) one must hire insured contractors with experience; (3) a sinking fund for replacement of existing gutters was overlooked; (4) not many seniors should have the majority of their retirement reserves invested in the Standard & Poors 500 stock index or in a fund that emulates, imitates or copies it. As one ages stable income assets become increasingly more suitable [example: use current age and invest that as a percentage in very stable cash instruments [bonds, CD's, fixed rate guaranteed vehicles]; then subtract current age from 100 years, and consider investing the balance as a percentage in balanced funds such as an S&P copy. (example 100-65 current age = 35% in S&P). Concerning gutter maintenance, I found in the Pacific Northwest, west of the crest of the Cascade Mountains, that cleaning 4 to 24 times per year is prudent-- it depends upon the amount of plant debris that falls and blows into open gutters, and it depends upon how much dust, dirt, pollen, and yes, how much roof grit washes into gutters. The amount of rainfall in each micro-zone also should be considered. As soon as dirt accumulates, then "dams" build that hold water and other compostable debris in place. Once that occurs, then moisture continually collects. Bees nest under roof eaves because they love the water source close to the hive. 99% of gutter systems appear to be installed level rather than slightly sloped to the downspouts. Think about the entire concept and personal circumstances when making decisions about maintaining your house, please. Thank you.
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Reason of review:
I was only making a comment concerning another author
1 comment
Guest

My point was that if you're thinking of gutters consider your time horizon for living in the house and whether or not the gutters that are designed to not need cleaning will generate sufficient payback in that time. I focused on LeafGuard specifically because that's where my estimate was from.

And it seemed quite excessive for what you are gaining. First time home buyers and the elderly should strongly consider the timeline for payback when considering a costly item such as these gutters. The same way they would factor in stain and labor when considering a deck or fence with pressure treated wood versus vinyl.

The point about money growth was meant toward the first time home buyers and the thirty somethings like myself, who are going to be more aggressively invested in the market. While your calculation of 100 minus age is a calculation that is often mentioned, I have rarely seen it followed by anyone except the most conservative investors who are most likely of retirement age or approaching it and even then, that isn't always true.

My 96 year old great uncle is not 4% invested in stocks, more like 80% nor is my 80 year old father, 20% in stocks, more like 85%. Therefore, I think it is very reasonable for people to use a passive investment like a Vanguard Index 500 to determine the growth of their money over the period in which the payback on a gutter system would occur.

Regarding your comment about the Pacific Northwest, it is a small part of the country. Although, if it makes more financial sense to buy a gutter system that doesn't require cleaning, then by all means purchase it. My point is, do the math first.

Be well prepared.

The point of my post was to make everyone stop and think and get the most out of their money.

I want others to think long and hard before falling in love with the idea of no gutter cleaning. To ask, at what cost? I hope that's what happens. And I hope people think even longer and harder about taking loans to purchase gutters.

Again, at what cost would financing such a purchase do more harm than good?

I've even read opinions from those in the building trade that suggest that in many cases, no gutters make the most sense. People work so hard for their money, I want to see them get the most out of it, not pay private school tuition for the kids of executives at Beldon/Englert/LeafGuard or any other company.

Anonymous
map-marker Maryville, Tennessee

Other Product Review

Total d-bags. No show for a appointment then total *** and clueless on the phone. I'm so glad I cancelled the deal
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Tim Nelson
map-marker Portland, Oregon

Non Response for Warranty Claim

I installed Leafguard gutters in 1999 on my house in Western Washington State. Within 2 years all of them were plugged with Fir needles and other organic fine material. I have tried numerous times to get them to honor their warranty but no one will respond. When I call any of their local or toll free numbers, I hear the same recording from the same person " Our office hours are 8:00am to 11:00pm please call back when we are office is open". The problem is that this same message comes up regardless of the time... 10:00am, 3:00pm, 9:00pm. It doesn't make difference because they don't want to address warranty issues they just want to sell these horrible gutters to the next one suckered by their claims. I am not sure what to do?
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Loss:
$4000
Anonymous

Leafguard - Installation Review

Purchased a home with Leaf Guard gutters. Gutters on back side of house were completely clogged. After several calls, we were finally able to get Leaf Guard to come out and unclog the gutters. After making certain that we have no method of communicating with the original owner, the service technician told us that our warrantee is void because the gutters had been removed and reinstalled by an unauthorized contractor. The only solution they could offer to fix the problem of the gutters being out of plumb is to replace the existing gutters with a new installation. Perhaps we'll end up replacing the gutters, but the new ones certainly won't be Lead Guard!
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Anonymous

Incompetent Employee Review

Man who came out told me I needed to takedown me back porch pergola and throw it away. He also said there was a limit to the amount of fascia they would replace. In essence saying, call someone else. I shall!
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Tawanda Qim

Huge Icicles and 4.5 in of Ice

We're here in the NorthEast - Long Island. We have a real problem with the Black Locust Trees that the builder had planted in the neighborhood. They drop those little tiny leaves (~one inch long). there's millions of them and boy, do they clog up the gutters. We were having flooding problems because you just can't keep up with clearing the gutters and the water backs up. We finally found and installed LeafGuard Gutters. They were very expensive but if it saved us from water damage we were fine. Now comes the Polar Vortex. The entire house has icicles hanging from the roof (we never had this problem before). Some are over a foot long and ~2.5 nches in diameter. I went out to investigate today, and there is also 4.5 inches of solid ice resting on the top of the gutters. It's as if a waterfall just froze right on top of them. The other neighbrs (who btw, recommended LeafGuard to us) also have the same problem. A brief walk arond and everyone with the LeafGuard gutters has the same issue. We found that the LeafGuard did solve our clogging problem, however, this one is much more dangerous. If you are in the cold climates be very careful before you buy. I absolutely agree with the other poster from Chicago!
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2 comments
Guest

I have to chime in with the people who live in the colder climates about the icicle problem. We live in Ohio and never had 4' icicles before Leaf Guard.

They have fallen and annihilated our landscape lighting. I had to build a wooden cover for over our generator as the largest icicles of the season seem to form over it, and I do not want one to fall and sever the gas line or severely dent the aluminum generator cover. We spent $1,000 on heated roof cables to try to alleviate the problem. This helps the icicle situation somewhat, but adds another $150-$300 to our electric bill every month.

The Leaf Guard gutter system has added much expense and apprehension to our household. I wish we still had the man who used to clean out our standard gutters twice a year for $75 a pop.

John N Mzy

Don't know about any "polar vortex" but the weather is actually bitterly cold. Maybe you are referring to what we call "bitterly cold" weather?

As for LeafGuard, thanks for the info.

Seems like you need to get rid of some trees. I would buy a chainsaw and go to work with your neighbours.

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Anonymous

Water Leak Repairs Review

Very slow to fix problems,told me the water leaking in my wall from the clogged gutters was no emergency and they get to it when they could.I told them to go fly a kite and I fixed it the right way they are as *** as a bag of rocks
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Anonymous
map-marker Charlotte, North Carolina

Leafguard Estimate Review

Juste called to set up n home estimate.. typical info request.. then all of a sudden she wanted my mortgage info.. when questioned as to y.. she said its just to make sure we have the proper owners. Y in the *** would I pay to put gutters on a house thats not mine.. STAY THE "F" AWAY FROM LEAFGUARD !!!! FRAUD COMES TO MIND !!! NONE OF YOUR *** BUSINESS WHO MY MORT
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Anonymous
map-marker Chattanooga, Tennessee

Gutters Review

I bought my house in 2008 and it already had the Leaf Guard system on it. I have had to take it off twice since 2008 to clean out the mess in the gutters. Mostly pine needles. It's terrible and very time consuming to do. The next time it's clogged I am taking them off for good and throwing them away.
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Manar Bwz
map-marker Atlanta, Georgia

Very unhappy with product and service

I purchased LeafGuard gutters on my home Sept 2004 with a Exclusive No-Clog Warranty. I have since had a service man out to unclog my gutters twice but they kept clogging so I have unclogged them myself about 10 times. I recently called the service dept and after 5-6 days they called back and when I said that I wanted the section that was clogging reinstalled or replaced they said that they woud have Craig Glasgow the General Manager call me back which he still has not done even after 3 calls to his office. I would not recommend Leaf Guard to any of my friends or neighbors. It is very expensive does not work as advertised and the service is poor.
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Loss:
$3129
Anonymous
map-marker Clay, Alabama

4 Inch Gutters Review

4 inch gutters were installed, which turned out to be inadequate. Water poured over the top and was a torrent in the valleys. We complained and were told that severe rains might overflow. Well, every rain was "severe". Leafguard might be a good product, but this dealer installed gutters unsuitable for our home. Do not deal with the Leafguard distributed in Home wood, Alabama.
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Amil Pcv
map-marker Houston, Texas

Leaf guard is not useful for flat roof

My townhome has flat roof and sloped roof. I wanted to get new gutter at the shingles roof area which has a pitch. The salesman checked my home and recommended me to get leaf guard gutter to replace the traditional gutter at the shingles roof and flat roof area. He told me it would work better, no leave get in the gutter, water will flow better. Although the gutter at the flat roof had no problem, I listened to him. He told me it only took 4 hours to finish the installation.

2 workers installed leaf guard gutter at the flat roof area first and did not finish the installation in one day. i found there is a gap between the flat roof and the leaf guard gutter. i called the project manager and asked him how is he going to fix the gap. He told me he will use good sealant to close the gap. If it leak in the future, i can call them to put more sealant to cover the gap. That mean i will need to take some days off and wait for them to fix the leak problem in the future. it does not make sense to me. i called leafguard headquarter and asked can i use leaf guard gutter if my house has flat roof. The answer is no, Leaf Guard is useful for the roof that has a pitch. Flat roof should use traditional gutter. i am very upset. Their contactor mess up my flat roof flashing to install a useless gutter for me. I asked their project manager to take leaf guard gutter down, install traditional gutter back to the flat roof area and fix the roof. Their contractor asked me to pay them to fix the problem. The problem is caused by them. I do not trust that contractor.

I ended up paying my roofer to reinstall traditional gutter and fix the flashing. i also took 4 days off. I complaint to Leafguard headquater, they told me they have no control on the money, they just sell their leafguard material to the contractor. They will report the complaint to the VP. NO GM or VP call me. I try to get a refund on the deposit.

Conclusion is contractor just want to sell, install, take your money and go. They do not care if it will cause leak or roof problem to their customer. Leaf guard keeps leaf out, look nice, but does not have a good function of a gutter. i saw most of the rain can not flow into the gutter. Rain goes over the gutter and pouring into the ground. I do not want people make a wrong decision.

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Loss:
$1610
Anonymous

Leaf Guard Gutters - A Very Expensive Mistake

I believed the sales woman had had Leaf Guard Gutters installed on my home. While the front, where there were no trees, turned out to be OK, the rear constantly clogged with leaves and other small stuff off the trees. These Leaf Guard Gutters cost aprx $2000. Due to the shape of the gutters it is almost impossible to clean them out. The Leaf Guard people would not respond as they promised to do. The local manager was sarcastic when I called. I finally had all the Leaf Guard gutters removed and replaced with five inch gutter system with guards which work wonderfully.
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Loss:
$2000
1 comment
Guest

I was just about to buy/switch to the leaf Guard system gutters, but after hearing you guys complaint I guess I will replace my gutters with what I already have plain 4 inch seamless gutters.

Atlantis Oev

Bad Housekeeping Seal of Approval

Updated by user Oct 21, 2013

After one aborted attempt to repair the damage ( tech never showed up for repair) we eventually got the "right" guy, John Lewis.

John is dependable,a good diagnostician and makes the appropriate fixes.

This is a guy leaf Guard should clone!

Original review Oct 07, 2013
We contracted with Leaf Guard Northwest in June 2010 to install new gutters,downspouts,etc. The cost was $3900. As part of the contract "new" fascia board was included. Guess what? Never happened! As a consequence I disputed the unpaid portion of the invoice with the credit card company. Eventually Leaf Guard caved and had a private contractor replace rear and front of home fascia. In mid September,following a heavy rain we awoke to water dripping from the entry way ceiling on our wood floors.I immediately sought out a local contractor who traced the damage to rotted fascia board on the side of the home which caused the gutter to sag.This allowed water to run down the side of the roof which in turn damaged the shingles and created the leak inside the home.The leak has caused damage to the ceiling and oak floors. I contacted Leaf Guard Service and an appointment was arranged for 4 October.The Service Manager Jeff Johnson called to confirm on 3 October. Today is 7 October and Mr.Johnson is nowhere to be found. Under OR Law I will notify Leaf Guard and pursue all available legal remedies.
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Loss:
$1000
1 comment
Guest

I used to work at Leaf Guard. They blow goats

Veneda Fhj
map-marker Washington, District Of Columbia

Denise R. Thompson

LEAFGUARD COMPLETED THEIR GUTTERING AND DOWNSPOUT SERVICE IN OCTOBER OF 2007. THE STORM AND BAD WEATHER IN OCTOBER OF 2010 BROKE THE GUTTERING AND NOW LEAFGUARD WON'T RESPOND TO REPLACE THE GUTTERING AND DOWNSPOUTS. THEY CLAIM GUARANTEED SERVICE AFTER AFFIXING THEIR TYPE GUTTERING. I TRIED TO MAKE A CLAIM WITH NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER BACK IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. ALSO, I NEVER RECEIVED THE $50 U.S. SAVINGS BOND FOR THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY. I AM IN CURRENT NEED OF GUTTERING AND DOWNSPOUTS IN THE READ OF MY HOME. MY NAME IS DENISE THOMPSON AT 607 ELFIN AVENUE, CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD 20743. PHONE: 301-735-****.
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Loss:
$1128
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