When it comes to upgrading your home, every homeowner wants a good return on investment. Homeowners may be skeptical that a gutter protection system is a worthwhile home improvement, but there are a number of reasons why gutter guards increase your home value.
Gutter guards are an accessory you add to your gutter system to keep debris buildup out of your gutters. Not only do they protect your property from severe water damage, they also decrease gutter maintenance by reducing the number of times you have to clean your gutters every year.
But like any home improvement, you want to know if the cost is worth it. It is. Not all homes have gutter guards, but there are at least nine reasons you should consider installing leaf guards to add value to your home.
What Is a Gutter Guard?
Gutter guards, also referred to as leaf guards or gutter covers, come in many different materials and designs. Depending on the type, they can be installed either on top of your gutters or inside your gutters.
Their purpose is to create a barrier that blocks out large debris such as leaves and twigs while allowing water to filter into the gutter trough.
This gutter protection may not keep out every last tiny piece of debris, as shredded leaf pieces or tiny shingle granules may still fall into the gutters. But gutter guards keep the majority of debris out of your gutters.
9 Reasons Why Gutter Guards Increase Your Home Value
There are several benefits to adding gutter guards to your home. Since they play a big role in protecting your property and preserving your landscape, they increase your home value in several ways.
1. Prevent Foundation Deterioration
A house divided against itself cannot stand – and a house with a bad foundation can’t stand either. Too much foundation damage causes serious problems to your house and makes it unsafe to live in.
When gutters are clogged, overflowing rain water falls in sheets over the edge of your gutters and pools on the ground below. Over time, this erodes the soil and deteriorates your home’s foundation. Eventually, this leads to cracks in your foundation.
Weakened foundations are very dangerous and expensive to repair. Gutter guards reduce the chances of a gutter clog, which prevents overflowing gutters.
2. Prevent Water Damage
Overflowing gutters cause a whole slew of water damage problems to a home. When they are working properly, rain gutters direct water off the roof so there won’t be gutter overflows. But when they aren’t functioning, gutter blockages result in water damage, such as:
- Discolored or damaged siding
- Water pooling around the house
- Landscaping erosion
- Rotting wooden boards and siding
- Rusting gutters
- Cracks in pavement or sidewalk
- Flooded basement
- Windows leaking at the joints
- Gutters pulling away from the fascia board
- Damaged landscaping plants
- Standing water on the roof and in the gutters
- Mold and mildew growth
- Roof damage
You don’t want to deal with repair expenses for water damage, so it’s always a good idea to take preventative measures. Using leaf guards as additional gutter protection keeps your landscaping and property safe from water damage.
3. Reduce Home Maintenance
Anything that saves time is valuable, and gutter guards are certainly a time saver. Homes without gutter guards need their gutters cleaned twice a year.
You still have to occasionally clean debris stacked up around the gutter guards, but less frequently. It is also easier to clean gutters with gutter guards.
4. Reduce Maintenance Costs
Everyone loves to save money, and gutter guards help save money on gutter maintenance expenses:
- Repair costs: Water damage to your home is more likely without gutter guards. Repairs are expensive, and it’s always better to maintain your gutters rather than wait for your gutter system to break.
- Gutter cleaning costs: If you rely on a gutter cleaning company to clean your gutters, gutter guards save you money by reducing the number of times you have to pay for a gutter cleaning service. Without gutter guards, homeowners need to clean their gutters twice a year.
5. Extend Gutter Lifespan
Gutters don’t last forever, but installing gutter guards can protect your gutters from deterioration and other damage that will force your gutters into an early retirement.
Accumulated dirt and debris in your gutters leads to rusting and deterioration. Eventually, rust corrodes your gutters and may prematurely shorten their lifespan.
Aside from that, the amount of debris gutters must handle can sometimes be overwhelming. In extreme cases, clogged gutters get so bowed by the weight of the debris that the gutters eventually pull away from their fastenings and fall to the ground.
Gutter guards help your gutters stay in good shape, thus ensuring that they last as long as possible.
6. Prevent Ice Dams
Overflowing gutters are extra problematic in the wintertime when snow and ice buildup can’t drain quickly enough off your roof. As a result, trapped or overflowing water freezes in your gutters and forms an ice dam.
Ice dams are dangerous. For one thing, all that heavy water and solidified ice weighs down your gutters. It causes the gutters to sag, bend, and eventually break when the weight is too much for the gutters to handle. Gutter guards prevent this by keeping your gutters debris-free.
7. Stop Plant Growth in Gutters
Gutter guards ward off squirrels, which reduces the number of sunflower seeds that squirrels enjoy hiding in your gutters. Not only will this reduce the likelihood of plants unexpectedly sprouting up in your gutter system, it also helps maintain your home’s curb appeal. After all, weeds growing in your gutters are an unwanted eyesore that make your house look uncared for.
However, some seeds are small enough to slip through the cracks of a gutter guard, so seeds dropped on your roof from an overhead tree or from a bird soaring by your roof may result in seeds rolling into your gutters.
8. Discourage Wildlife Visitors
Animals and insects enjoy a water supply waiting for them in the gutter troughs. It can serve as a drinking source for small mammals or a nesting habitat for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.
Here are just some of the problematic pests that standing water in your gutters attracts:
- Ants
- Bats
- Bees
- Birds
- Cockroaches
- Gnats
- Mice
- Mosquitoes
- Opossums
- Rats
- Snakes
- Spiders
- Squirrels
- Termites
- Wasps
Insect infestations are never good for improving a home’s value, so installing gutter guards helps reduce these animal infestations. Clean gutters act as a kind of pest control by discouraging wildlife from getting too close to your home.
9. Reduce Fire Risk
In hot, dry areas that are prone to wildfires, dried leaves and twigs stacked up in the gutter are the perfect fuel for a fire. All it takes is a tiny spark or ember to set the debris in your clogged gutters ablaze.
These brush fires can burn your home to the ground if you’re not careful. So if you live in a hot region where wildfires are a regular risk, it’s a good safety measure to install gutter guards to keep your gutters clear of debris.
When You Need Gutter Guards
Although gutter guards boost the efficiency of your gutter system, they are not necessary, so you want to know if your home needs them and if they’re worth the cost.
For example, if you have a two-story home located in a wide, open area with no nearby trees, your gutters should stay relatively clear of debris, so you probably don’t need gutter guards.
But if you live in a single-story home in a wooded area surrounded by towering trees, it’s almost impossible to go without gutter guards.
If you are having to clean your gutters an excessive amount of times every year and the amount of debris in your gutters is getting unmanageable, you should consider installing gutter guards on your home.
What Type of Gutter Guard is Right For You?
Before you install gutter guards on your home, be aware that certain types of gutter guards are better than others, so you want to accurately assess how much gutter guards will increase your home’s value.
What kind of gutter guard you need for your home depends on several factors:
- Aesthetic: The right gutter guard for your house should match your home. Certain types of gutter guards can be seen from the ground, so you want to factor in how it will affect your home’s appearance.
- Budget: Choose gutter guards within your price range.
- Climate: Foam or brush gutter guards don’t do well in extreme temperatures. If you live in an area that experiences rough weather, opt for a hardy type of gutter guard such as screen or mesh.
- Installation: If you install your gutter guard yourself, you want an easy-to-install option. For homeowners who hire professional technicians to install their gutter guards, keep in mind that the difficulty of an installation job affects the cost.
- Environment: Homes surrounded by a lot of trees are far more likely to need gutter guards.
- Material: To get a quality gutter guard, they need to be made out of high-quality materials.
Look for gutter guards that are coated to prevent rust and corrosion. Here are some of the common gutter guard materials:
- Aluminum
- Copper
- Foam
- Plastic
- Stainless steel
- Vinyl
6 Types of Gutter Guards
There are six main types of gutter guard designs that you will have to choose from in order to select the best gutter guard for your home.
1. Brush Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 5 years or more
Like a stick of oversized pipe cleaner, brush gutter guards are a round, stiff-bristled brush that sits inside your gutter system. The stiff bristles block debris from entering your gutter system while still allowing water to slip past their defenses.
2. Foam Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 1-2 years
A foam gutter guard, a triangular piece of foam that slides into the inside of your gutters, may look too solid for water to slip past them, but it’s made of a porous, sponge-like substance that allows water to soak through it while also blocking debris from entering.
3. Mesh Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 10 to 20 years
A mesh gutter guard is a slatted mesh grate installed over the top of your gutters. They arch over the top of your gutters, acting as a gateway that keeps unwanted debris from entering the gutters.
4. Micro-Mesh Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 20 years or more
Micro-mesh gutter guards are basically the same as mesh gutter guards. The difference is that the holes in a micro-mesh gutter guard are smaller, which makes micro-mesh more effective at blocking out debris.
5. Reverse Curve Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 10-20 years
Also called surface tension gutter guards, reverse curve gutter guards have a strange shape but are the most popular in the United States. The sheet of metal hangs over your gutter guards, but the edge curves back almost like a hook and directs water into the gutter trough. Reverse-curve gutter guards rely on surface tension as water follows the path of the curving metal into the gutter while all the debris falls over the edge of your roof.
6. Screen Gutter Guards
Lifespan: 5-10 years
Made of metal or plastic, screen gutter guards are grates that slide over the top of your gutters. If leaves are the most common item clogging your gutters, then a screen gutter guard will be a good fit for your home.
How Much Do Gutter Guards Cost?
Gutter guards typically cost between $684 and $2,213 depending on the length of the gutter system and the type of gutter guard you choose. The national average cost for a gutter guard is $1,448, so gutter guards can be a hefty investment. Expect to pay $0.39 to $10.90 per linear foot for materials.
Factors that affect or influence the price of a gutter guard include:
- Materials
- Type of gutter guard
- Installation costs
- Brand
- Height of the building
- Accessibility
Here’s a chart comparing the different prices depending on the gutter guard type:
| Gutter Guard Type | Average Cost Per Linear Foot (materials only) |
| Brush Guard | $3.00 to $4.30 |
| Foam Guard | $1.95 to $3.25 |
| Metal Mesh Guard | $1.16 to $2.75 |
| Micro-Mesh | $2 to $4.25 |
| Reverse-Curve | $3.75 to $10.90 |
| Plastic PVC Screen | $0.39 to $1.13 |
| Steel Screen | $2.13 to $4.44 |
FAQs About How Gutter Guards Increase Your Home Value
The outdoors are messy, and it doesn’t take long for gutters to get clogged with debris. Debris you find in your gutters can include things such as:
● Asphalt shingle granules
● Bird nests
● Dirt
● Leaves
● Pine needles
● Plants
● Plastic bags
● Seeds
● Screws
● Toy balls
● Twigs
In the majority of cases, your home definitely needs gutters. However, if you live in an arid area that doesn’t receive much rain throughout the year and the amount of precipitation is not enough to cause significant damage to your foundation, you can go safely without gutters. But for areas that receive a decent amount of rain every year, you cannot afford to go without gutters. Otherwise, it will result in costly damage to your home.
In most cases, you shouldn’t remove your gutter guards during the winter. Debris doesn’t stop falling into your gutters during wintertime, so you still need your gutters to reduce the chances of ice dams forming on your roof during the cold season.
Instead, winterize your gutters by making sure to clean them out before the snowy season hits.
However, you may want to remove your gutter guards during the winter if you have foam or brush gutter guards. Foam gutter guards freeze in extreme cold, and gutter brushes don’t fare well in extreme temperatures.
Ready to Install Gutter Guards on Your Home?
Gutter guards increase home value by preventing severe water damage. They also save homeowners time and money on keeping their gutters clean. Although gutters usually only need to be cleaned once every six months, it can be a hassle to keep up with, and it’s easier to use gutter guards to reduce your workload.
If you’re looking for a professional gutter cleaner or a roofing contractor who will install gutter guards on your property, then don’t wait to find a local pro near you.
Main Photo Credit: inga / Canva Pro / License
