Gutter Cleaning and Leaf Guards

[Mountain View 14]

I have customer that I have done some patio cleaning for who has asked for a quote to clean rain gutters and install leaf guards on said gutters. I'm wondering what labor charge any of you would qoute. The house is approx 3k sq. ft., half two story, half single story. I will charge cost for the leaf guards and have a ground man with me for the job. Any help appreciated.

Gracias.....

P.S. Patio before and after included. Note to self....buy squegee to get rid of persistant puddle on porch! I'm sure all of you eagle eyes can spot it.

[Lightning Gene 66]

I have customer that I have done some patio cleaning for who has asked for a quote to clean rain gutters and install leaf guards on said gutters. I'm wondering what labor charge any of you would qoute. The house is approx 3k sq. ft., half two story, half single story. I will charge cost for the leaf guards and have a ground man with me for the job. Any help appreciated.

Gracias.....

P.S. Patio before and after included. Note to self....buy squegee to get rid of persistant puddle on porch! I'm sure all of you eagle eyes can spot it.

Just curious....did you use hot or cold water? What chemicals did you use...?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

IMO, leaf guards are the lazy mans answer to clogged gutters and are misleading in the fact that they keep gutters clean. They in fact add an additional ability for smaller debris to get lodged in them creating a dam that prevents them from performing as designed. I have seen my share of screened gutters and don't recommend them because once dirty, they allow water to build up on top of the debris and soak in behind the gutters flashing and into the roof line which defeats the purpose of the gutters to begin with. Rot becomes a problem which is far more expensive to repair than cleaning and inspecting a gutter a couple of times a year which avoids the wasted costs of adding an implement of neglect that will cost even more later. penny wise/pound foolish.

my .02

Rod!~

[douseahouse 21]

a word of advice to you or anyone else that has not already found this out...be aware of the pressure being used when cleaning out gutters. it is so easy to wash the dirt out and to the backside of the gutter (between fascia). you then have a steady drip of dirt until you finally rinse it out which can take some time. i'm one of those dummies that found out the hard way.

rando

[A and J POWERWASHING 64]

rod is right about the screen type I did a house yesterday that had them there and pine needle sat right on top them and clog them up

[Mountain View 14]

Just curious....did you use hot or cold water? What chemicals did you use...?

This was done with cold water. I used the orange concrete cleaner from Delco. Mixed in a fiver; 3 cups of cleaner powder, 1 gal bleach, the rest water and downstreamed the mixture. Part of the problem with this was a previous contractor stained the pergola over the porch and dripped stain on the floor so I pretreated the stain drips with some stipper solution. The other contractor was not returning the customer's calls to fix the problem. Customer saw signs on my truck and called me.

Why oh why do my pictures never come out looking as good as the finished job does??? I have a 7.1mp Cannon Power Shot. I guess photogaphy isn't my forte.

[Mountain View 14]

a word of advice to you or anyone else that has not already found this out...be aware of the pressure being used when cleaning out gutters. it is so easy to wash the dirt out and to the backside of the gutter (between fascia). you then have a steady drip of dirt until you finally rinse it out which can take some time. i'm one of those dummies that found out the hard way.

rando

I found that out too. I scoop out all I can with a trowel and bucket then low pressure water flush.

[Rick2 42]

I'd say about 75 percent of my customers say "while you're up there please take out those damn leaf screens."

[Doug Dahlke 114]

I did a couple of homes this year where I took the leaf guards off. Like Rod said, they are more a part of the problem than a cure for it.

[Steve Small 14]

With regard to gutter covers/guards I install Waterfall gutterguards and have found them to be an excellent ad on to my business at $5.00-$6.00/ft installed. I would have to agree if anyone has the mesh gutteruards that you can purchase at your local home center, run and run fast. Those guards are the biggest pain in the butt and many times, with those type of guards they are installed improperly by the home owner. I find gutter guards atleast the Waterfall to be a good product with good results. The only problem I have had with this product is at the end of the gutter there is a opening, and I have had birds build a nest, other than that I have not had any problems.

[k2waterwerx 14]

I have installed them for a few customers. I always advise them against putting them in, however it's there money. I charged them for the covers plus time.