Gutter Guards, Gutter Caps, Gutter Toppers: What's the Difference?
For the abundance of Chippewa Valley homeowners, this past Fall undoubtedly saw them performing the yearly ritual of removing leaves along with other debris away from their rain gutters. Whether for safety reasons, or merely as it can simply be an annoying chore, a great deal of us reach a point where they despise getting on top on a ladder and cleaning their gutters. It's at this time that they often opt to install some kind of gutter protection system in order to keep leaves along with other debris from sneaking into the gutters to begin with.
Like many other home exterior products, there's a big selection of choices present on the market today to accomplish that goal. Consumers may find out about gutter guards, gutter caps, and gutter toppers. With a great deal of riding upon their decision, it may be tough and confusing to distinguish these items from one another.
Let’s get started with defining gutter guards. The term actually pertains to a category of gutter protection rather than a precise product type, like gutter caps or toppers. A related analogy would be comparing the terms soda and cola. Soda refers to a variety of carbonated beverages, while cola is restricted to one specific drink choice.
Within the gutter guard classification, there are a number of product offerings in addition to gutter toppers or gutter caps. Gutter screens are strips of mesh that lay across the top of gutters to allow water to flow through while stopping leaves, twigs, and pine needles. These screens typically are manufactured from PVC-coated metal, aluminum, plastic, or similar sturdy materials.
Gutter protection products which happen to be soft, malleable, and three-dimensional are classified as gutter filters. These filters are inserted contained in the gutters themselves, and they repel debris while absorbing runoff water similar to a sponge—enabling the liquid to flow through the gutters while keeping solid matter out. You can even find gutter brushes, which resemble large pipe cleaners, that sit inside the gutters and work much like gutter filters do.
Alternatively, gutter caps and gutter toppers form a part of a category of gutter guards often known as gutter covers. The most important difference between gutter covers and other gutter protection options may be that gutter covers do not allow runoff water to soak through them; instead, they channel the water across their outer surface and allow it into run into the gutters through a gap. This is evident among the looks of gutter covers, which consist of a solid surface that extends over most—but not all—of each gutter section.
Though gutter toppers and gutter covers work much the same way, there are a few differences. Gutter toppers have an edge which happens to be gently convex. The water holds fast to the surface and trickles down into a lip that's pushed to the outer edge of the gutter itself, which directs the water into the gutter versus into the ground below. Gutter caps are significantly more steeply sloped, providing them with a much lower profile than gutter toppers. The water runs through “nose” of a given gutter cap and trickles straight into the gutter, while debris slides past the gutter onto the ground.
Generally, both gutter toppers and gutter caps are usually more expensive options and can often be installed by a quality professional dealer. It is here that you'll be able to insert the "you usually get whatever you pay for" expression as these systems are normally tougher and longer-lasting compared to the above mentioned gutter guard options, that can easily be self-installed and purchased at many exterior remodeling stores.
Ultimately, it's up to homeowners to determine which sort of rain gutters and protection best suits their needs given the climate where they live, the volume of precipitation they receive, whether or not they might want a quality professional to install the gutter guards, and how much money they might afford to spend.