New 6-inch gutters and MasterShield gutter guards transform exterior of Dublin home.

We inspected the gutter guards and gutters for damage, and didn’t find any issues that warranted pushing for a second look by the insurance adjuster. Despite this, the homeowner decided that it was time to give his home a full gutter makeover. LeaFree gutter guards are designed to slide under the first course of shingles, so they had to be removed in order to replace the shingles properly. Since the guards were coming off anyway, the homeowner decided it was also time to remove and replace his 20-year old 5-inch gutters with new 6-inch seamless gutters.

He requested multiple bids to get the work done. We were asked to provide an estimate and explain our solution. We sell LeaFree and could have simply suggested swapping out old for new, but the homeowner wasn’t married to the idea of simply replacing what he already had on his gutters. This was a chance for him to upgrade to newer technology.

Based on the quantity and types of trees in his yard — mostly located in the backyard — we recommended MasterShield gutter guards as the best system in his specific situation to capture the water and repel the leaves and debris off the gutter cover. 

Most providers pitched the idea of a 6” gutter with a basic gutter screen. We suggested that anything less than what was currently installed on his house was a step backwards and a waste of money. 

After we spoke with the homeowner for a while, he liked the idea of moving away from the solid gutter cover into a micro mesh system. He appreciated that we offered several systems and could provide a candid assessment of his situation. He agreed that a micro mesh system would be his best bet based on his current environment where his trees were considerably more mature than the last time he installed gutter guards. 

We arrived at MasterShield because it accommodates a lot of water, yet the screen is finely meshed, so as to keep all the leaves and debris out of his gutters. Also, because it slopes with the roof line, it would do an effective job coaxing the leaves off the top of the gutters.

The installation was straightforward. His mostly hip roof — gutters going around all sides of the house — was standard fare for our crew. We incorporated hand-cut miters into the gutters. Hand-cut miters produce an upscale look and minimize seams at the inside and outside corners. As is our standard practice, the installation team used levels to make sure the gutters flowed properly towards the downspouts. We also ensured that the gutters were positioned on the fascia boards in an optimal location in order to position MasterShield with the proper forward slope.

The biggest challenge our guys faced was spanning the rear upper gutter over the lower enclosed bump out. The homeowner told me that he sat on his rock wall — at the edge of his patio — and marveled at how the guys marched the gutter up the ladder and over that room. At nearly 60’ long, it was a big section of gutter to maneuver up the ladder and feed over the roof of the enclosed porch.

We completed the job in 2 days, and the end result was just as the homeowner had envisioned.