Follow along with the audio and graphic above or read the transcript below to learn how GutterDome micro mesh gutter guard performed in the 2024 Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge series on YouTube.
GutterDome Audio Transcript
Audio Transcript:
Edited for clarity
Commentator: Johnathan Skardon
Audio from Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge, Season 2024, Episode 24
Now we’re looking at GutterDome from the north side of the garage.
I first got my hands on GutterDome in about 2011 or 2012. It was, I believe, a spin-off of another system. I really like the look of this one. I think if you were looking for a gutter guard that was really attractive, this one fits the bill. However, that’s about where it ends.
It is also a micro mesh gutter guard. You can see on the top right photo there in the May shot that it has a relatively fine micro mesh screen. You can see the debris: Locust flowers, a couple of pine needles and even some shingle granules that have come off the roof. By and large that stuff is too large to get through the screen opening on that system. So it’s kind of a nice combination. It’s a nice look. It’s an extruded metal system. Nice look and a relatively nice screen on this system.
When you drop down to the October photo you can kind of see it a top-down view there. Some of the leaves and debris are shifting off the roof. Some of it’s sitting up on the gutter cover, but by and large the gutter cover screen is too fine [to allow debris to pass through into the gutter].
That stuff isn’t like clinging to the gutter, per se, or into the screen itself; it’s just sitting on top of it. When you drop down to the April photo, you can see, by and large, that stuff shifted off the top of it.
From beginning to end, this thing always did a really nice job keeping most of the leaves and debris off the gutter covers. Whatever sat up there, sat up there for relatively short period of time before it shifted off the top.
This was a system that I always felt — you know — it’s strong suit is its ability to shed leaves and debris. It is designed to slide up under the first course of shingles, so it has a nice forward slope to it and, overall, I think that’s its strong suit.
Where it where it falls down is its ability to take in the water. And this was something that I saw in all the way back in 2011. So kind of jump forward to today, they made a couple of modifications to the product. This was the modified product that I had received from them at that time.
Its shortcoming is just its design. It just is not designed to take in as much water as the other systems are. It looks great. It’s going to do a great job keeping the leaves and debris off. It’s just not going to do a great job keeping the water inside the gutter. You’re going to see more of that water go over the top.
If we go over to the left hand column, you’ll see the amount of leaves and debris. Mostly small stuff that got through that screen was 2.3 ounces over the course of the year.
That was strong enough to put it in third place overall. One place behind the solid gutter cover that you can buy at Home Depot and Lowe’s, this fancy micro mesh gutter guard didn’t do quite as well as that, which is really hard for me to believe, but that’s what it is.
[It got] third place out of eight for its ability to keep leaves and debris out of the gutters, but it did a lowly seventh place for its ability to take in water, and that is the sad truth of the system.
Great looking system; just not designed to take the water in like you would think it should.
I mean, it’s basically a screen over top of a framework. It should have the ability to take in the water. It’s a great-looking system. It just falls down, and you know when you’re at the bottom of the pack for a gutter guard that one of its two jobs is to take in as much water as possible, this baby just isn’t cutting it.
Great job on the debris aspect of things, [but a] really poor job on its ability to absorb the water.
Therefore you know this is not a product that I would recommend based on its current design.
GutterDome
Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge
Year Tested: 2024
Debris Intake Rank: 3rd Place
Water Intake Rank: 7th Place
Material & Design
Frame: Extruded Aluminum
Screen: Stainless Steel Micro Mesh
Screen Density: Fine
Screen Connection Method: Factory applied rubberized sealant
Available Colors: Mill Finish (Silver)
Dimensions: 5 foot lengths
Installs: Under Shingles
Fits: Conventional 5” and 6” gutters
GutterDome Review
GutterDome is one of the older entrants in the crowded gutter guard field. Operated by a former employee of Gutterglove, GutterDome is similarly made of heavy-gauge extruded aluminum, but that’s generally where the similarities end.
Out-of-the-Box Observations
GutterDome is heavy! Each five foot section weighs 3 or 4 lbs, which is a considerable amount for a gutter guard. The heft is driven by the fact that this is one of a few extruded aluminum gutter guards on the market.
The design is more refined than Gutterglove, whereby there is an almost seamless transition from the screen to the framework. One of the benefits of a smooth transition between the screen and framework is that it allows leaves and debris to easily slide off the screen surface to the ground below.
When viewing the gutter guard’s profile, the aluminum frame incorporates a channel design whereby the screen is rests on top of three vertical ribs. The center rib is slightly higher than the upper and lower ribs, which gives it a slightly convex shape.
GutterDome Installation
GutterDome installs under the first course of shingles and rests on top of the gutter lip (front edge of gutter). GutterDome is secured to the front lip of the gutter with sheet metal screws. The extruded aluminum design makes it easy to install for the most part; however, we noticed that in areas where the gutter sits more than a few inches below the edge of the roofline (i.e., near a downspout), the slope at which the guard is installed forces the shingles to push upward.
Since GutterDome is made with heavy-gauge aluminum, it cannot be easily bent or cut to work in these situations. The pre-drilled screw holes on the front edge of GutterDome were undersized for the screws we used (1/2 inch, #8 zip screws), so if the screws didn’t sink into the gutter on the first try, we had to back them out, firmly hold the guard down against the front edge of the gutter guard, and screw them in a second time. The screws rarely caught on the first attempt, but typically worked after following this procedure.
GutterDome Roofing Applications
Because GutterDome is designed to slide under the first course of shingles, is will work on any roof that allows the rear portion of the guard to slide underneath the roof surface. The most common application is roofs with asphalt shingles; however, it may also work with cedar shakes and corrugated metal roofs.
GutterDome will have to be modified to work with rubber, standing seam metal, and other roofs where the rear portion of the guard cannot be inserted under the roof surface. Note that due to the rigid nature of the aluminum, the gutter guards may have to be cut or modified, and/or the gutters may have to be adjusted in order to work properly with this product in some situations.
Leaves and Debris Handling
Overall, micro mesh gutter guards do an above average to excellent job of keeping leaves and debris out of gutters.
GutterDome did well enough to rank in 3rd Place out of 8 gutter guards for the 2024 Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge, placing it in the top 40% of the gutter guards tested.
GutterDome Water Handling
GutterDome Manufacturer’s Price vs. Street Price
GutterDome is available through a network of independent dealers. This is not a franchise operation, so it is up the dealers to set their own prices for the product. According to the manufacturer, the typical installed price for GutterDome is $25-$35 per foot, which is in line with other premium gutter protection systems.
