Best Gutter Guards for Heavy Rain
What is the best gutter guard for heavy rain?
If you are asking that question, you have probably experienced the nightmare of getting rainwater in your basement or the damage from overflowing gutters in heavy rain. Or, perhaps you just want to avoid the trauma, expense, and lost time of a flooded basement or cracked foundation.
To get right to the point we recommend Advantage Gutter Guard® by Gutter Cover KC® as the best gutter guard for heavy rain:
High-Flow Design: Gutter guards that can handle a high volume of water flow are crucial in heavy rain. Advantage Gutter Guard® boasts a high-flow design that efficiently channels heavy rain away from your home.
Debris Defense: The best gutter guard will effectively block leaves, twigs, and other debris to prevent clogging during heavy rain. With a precision-engineered solid design, Advantage Gutter Guard effectively blocks large and small debris, ensuring your gutters remain clear and water flows freely, even in the harshest rainstorms.
Durability Under Pressure: Crafted from robust materials, Advantage Gutter Guard is built to withstand the force of heavy rain, wind, snow, and ice, maintaining its structural integrity and effectiveness over the long term.
Low Maintenance: Guards that require minimal maintenance and cleaning will ensure smooth water flow even during heavy rain. Enjoy minimal maintenance as Advantage Gutter Guard® eliminates the need for gutter cleaning. Spend less time on chores and more time on what matters most.
Proper Installation: Correct installation is essential for any gutter guard to perform optimally, especially in heavy rain. Trust our team of quality-trained technicians for a well-fitted & customized installation that can withstand the pressure of heavy rainfall without getting displaced.
Ready to safeguard your home? Take the first step by requesting a free estimate from Gutter Cover KC today—because your home deserves the advantage in every storm.
The Heavy Rain Challenge – Overflowing Gutters
Gutters and guards that do not work, or that fail in heavy rain often result in foundation damage and wet basements. Correcting gutter issues is one of the first things a reputable foundation and basement repair company will recommend to prevent the reoccurrence of the same foundation issues after repair work is complete.
A local contractor related the following experience – he was called by homeowners to look at a basement that had been repaired 4 different times, with different processes. He found upon examination the gutters were clogged and not working properly to get the water away from the foundation.
Secondly, the sump pump was pumping water out of the basement, but then dumping the water right next to the foundation, rather than it being directed away from the home. This meant the same water would seep back in and around the foundation and then have to be pumped back out in a continual circuit.
We Correct Gutter Problems Before Adding Gutter Protection
The homeowners were never informed that the real problem was poorly performing gutters and improper drainage. Fixing this initially could have saved them thousands in basement and foundation repair. Rainwater control is critical to the health and structure of a home and gutters play a vital role in controlling rainwater.
Our team of experts at Gutter Cover Kansas City are all about rainwater control. What must be determined before gutter protection is even considered is whether the gutter system is properly handling the rain that pours down the roof. This is what we look for as we provide solutions to fix your gutter issues. Our process is to inspect and provide a custom plan to make sure your gutters are protecting your home before we install gutter protection.
We recommend as you get quotes from gutter guard companies, please make sure that your gutter problems are addressed first. If the estimator spends little or no time inspecting the gutters, that’s a red flag. They are going to slap on a product and not solve the problems.
What We Inspect to Keep Gutters From Overflowing In Heavy Rain
Proper downspout size. A 2×3 downspout properly installed can handle 225 – 600 square feet of roof. A 3×4 downspout can handle up to 1200 square feet of roof. A good formula is 1 square inch of downspout for every 100 square feet of roof.
Proper gutter size. Depending on the roofline and length of gutter runs, a 5-inch gutter may or may not accommodate heavy rain. Our consultants will consider many factors to determine if your existing guttering is the right capacity.
Proper slope. The gutter acts as a channel to move the water quickly to a downspout. If the gutter isn’t sloped correctly, the water doesn’t get to the downspout efficiently.
Debris in the gutter. Even if the gutter is not completely clogged, debris can keep the water from quickly exiting the gutter and can cause overflow.
Important Questions About Gutters and Heavy Rain
Which style of gutter can handle more water?
For residential installation, a 6-inch K Style gutter is usually sufficient to handle even heavy rainwater. However, with proper downspout placement other gutter styles such as half-round guttering can work well. There are larger gutter sizes, however except in rare cases, these are used more commonly in commercial applications.
What are the strongest gutters for heavy rain?
Aluminum 6-inch gutters with a gauge of .032 and a heavy-duty bracket placed every 24 inches would be one of the strongest gutters available. The most important aspect of strength is bracket type and how many are placed. Our consultants will demonstrate the difference in standard gutter brackets and the stronger ones used in our gutter installations.
Why are 6-inch gutters better than 5-inch gutters?
It is stated on many websites that 6-inch gutters handle 50% more rain volume than 5-inch gutters. Properly Size Roof Drainage (Gutters and Downspouts) – Mypdh.engineer We recommend 6-inch gutters on homes with peaks and valleys since these concentrate water from multiple roof lines into the gutter. 5-inch gutter is typically sufficient for modest homes with hip-style roofs. Of course, peace of mind is a factor and if you are replacing gutters, a 6-inch gutter may only add a minimal cost to a new gutter system. For just a little more money you can have a much larger capacity system.
What type of gutter guards work with larger gutters?
It depends on the brand or style. Advantage Gutter Guard® is designed to be custom and works with 5 or 6-inch gutters and larger ones as well. This can be a downfall of all-in-one gutter guard systems, they may be only one size and can be smaller than 5 or 6-inch gutters. It is good to see a sample and compare the actual size of gutter guards.
Advantage Gutter Guard Works in Heavy Rain
Gutter guards are an important investment. However, if the gutter guards don’t handle heavy rain, all that effort in making sure the gutters work and are clean would be a waste. Once the gutters are in proper working order, it’s vital to address keeping your gutters clean so that they don’t become clogged and overflow.
We wouldn’t use any other product than Advantage Gutter Guards® as it checks all the boxes in handling heavy rain, preventing clogs that cause overflowing gutters, keeping you off the ladder, and freeing up your time. With more than two decades of experience, this is the best product on the market in our professional experience.
Advantage Gutter Guard® handles extreme rain – up to two times more than the heaviest rain ever recorded in the USA! It can also solve basement water issues related to clogged gutters.
Gutter Cover KC® has been solving gutter problems and providing gutter covers for almost 25 years.
But don’t just take our word for it – our customers are the best reference, here is what they have to say from our Google Review page: (To verify these reviews please go to Google Reviews click our review, and select “people often mention section” and select “basement” to sort our reviews by customers we have helped with gutter related basement issues.)
“This is an awesome product! It does exactly what it claims to do. We have had heavy rains continuously since the installation of The Gutter Cover and have not had one drop of water in our basement!” – Brenda Baker
“We live in an area that has large, mature trees. If we didn’t keep up with cleaning out our gutters, we would experience seeping/leakage in our basement. Approximately 7 years ago we had Gutter Cover install their gutter cover system. That whole experience was seamless. We have not had any issues since. And there is no need to clean our gutters anymore, other than a very small amount of regular maintenance. Our experience with Gutter Cover has been amazing. 5 Star Rating, A1 service! Thank you Gutter Cover.” – Jennifer Pfanmiller
“I got Gutter Cover 20 years ago. They have worked great and I haven’t ever cleaned them or anything. No water in the basement since then either. We had a storm and a big branch fell on them so I called. Craig was out the next day and gave me the estimate. Work was done about 3 weeks later and looks great. I highly recommend them!”- Andrea Wurm
“Gutter Cover KC was recommended to us by 2 unrelated friends, so when it came time to replace our gutters, we chose them. They were effective, efficient, and we no longer get leaks in our basement when it rains because of the gutters now that they have been replaced! They just came by a few months later to make sure everything was good with no cost. Would definitely recommend!” – Jim Yanez
“Excellent company to do business with. I had them come out in the fall of 2015 and provide me with an estimate. This was a very fair estimate and I eventually called them in May 2016 to hire them to install new gutters. They kept to the estimate. There was never any pressure sales calls during that time. The sales person was very knowledgeable and drew up a great plan to solve my water issues the flooding basement. Their office person was super nice and kept me informed about the install date. The install crew was very professional, polite and went above and beyond to make me happy. 5 Stars all the way!!” – Patrick Wilhelm
Never Worry About Heavy Rain and Gutters Issues Again
Spring and early summer are when Kansas City tends to see more frequent and intense rain showers, often accompanied by thunderstorms. Just recently we had two inches of rainfall during December. These weather patterns can result in heavy downpours and occasional flash flooding.
With this in mind, many Kansas City homeowners have put their trust in the Advantage Gutter Guard ® to safeguard their homes from heavy downpours.
While the Advantage Gutter Guard® is a solid gutter guard system, it stands head and shoulders above similar products as it has been designed with a sleek, yet effective, nose-forward design, and is built from heavy gauge aluminum.
This not only makes it long-lasting, but more than capable of handling a heavy volume of water that a good old Kansas City rainstorm can throw at it. If you’d like to find out a bit more about this unique product and how it will add value to your home, simply contact us.
We understand that there are other products out there that might interest you. Products like brush guards, foam, and screen guards might seem like a quick and cheap fix. However, like with all things in life, there are pros and cons to different types of gutter guards.
So, if you’d like to see how these gutter protection systems compare to the best on the market, simply keep reading!
DIY Install Gutter Guards vs. Professional Gutter Guard Installation
While it’s true that there are many weekend warriors out there, ready and eager to take on any DIY gutter guards project at the drop of a hat, there comes a point where paying someone to do a professional job just makes more sense.
A DIY kit is often made from cheaper material and comes as a one-size-fits-all package. They will only take a few hours to install on the weekend and probably work for a limited time.
But, when the heavy rain comes you’ll probably be questioning your decisions as your system struggles to keep up with the water volume. Professional installers should consider all contributing factors like the pitch and square footage of your roof.
The materials they use also should be of higher quality and the installation process more efficient. A good installation crew will make sure that your gutters are installed with enough slope angle to allow every last drop to flow out of your gutter system after heavy rains.
The other issue is that fascia boards and anchor points on roof linings are often damaged with DIY installation jobs. So while a professional installation might seem more expensive, it will likely end up saving not only time but money in the long run.
Types of Gutter Guards
There are various types of gutter guards on the market today and while at face value it might look like they all do the same thing, there are a few serious concerns with most gutter guard designs.
Consider the following:
Micro Mesh Gutter Guards
Micro mesh gutter guards are filter-type covers made of perforated material such as aluminum, creating micro openings where water is intended to flow through.
It’s a long, slender, sieve or strainer that fits over the opening of your gutters. While the micro-fine mesh openings do keep larger materials like twigs and pine needles out of the gutter itself, they also have serious drawbacks. The mesh or filter gets clogged really easily. Resulting in searching for solutions on how to clean gutter guards.
Heavy rain will wash intrusive material that has been deposited on your roof straight onto your mesh. Overhanging trees will drop all sorts of debris that accumulates on top of the filter- choking it. Once the micro openings are blocked, heavy rain pours over instead of filtering through the clogged mesh.
So, these micro mesh gutter guards simply don’t offer a hassle-free solution to the homeowner as the micro mesh will need to be cleaned.
Foam Gutter Guards
Foam gutter guards are long pieces of shaped foam that look similar to a sponge. They are designed with the intention of water flowing through while the foam blocks or traps debris before it enters the gutter.
Unlike mesh gutter guards that are installed over the openings of your gutter system, these foam pieces fit inside the gutters themselves.
However, just like with mesh gutter guards, these foam inserts are bound to get clogged. This happens as seeds, oak tassels, and other finer materials collect on top of them. They also take up the space in the gutter designed to handle heavy rain.
The water eventually dams up underneath these foam inserts as dirt and debris washes into the gutter, and starts to rot and stink, leaving you with a yucky mess to clean. It’s not unusual to see little saplings growing out of the foam. Overflowing gutters are common with these types of guards.
While foam gutter guards (or inserts) are probably the easiest gutter protection system to install, they certainly aren’t the best option for permanent year-round protection.
Screen Gutter Guards
Screen gutter guards have long been one of the most popular choices for homeowners. They work similarly to micro mesh guards but have larger holes which also come with larger problems.
They allow quite a lot of material to get trapped in the openings. Which results in clogging the screen itself. They also allow debris into the gutter that ends up in downspouts as well. This means that they simply aren’t as effective as they should be and need to be cleaned, defeating the purpose.
Brush Gutter Guards
A Brush Gutter Guard is a type of gutter protection system with a core made of stainless steel or galvanized steel wire, and it’s surrounded by long black polypropylene bristles. These guards typically come in 3 or 4-foot sections and have a diameter of around 4.72 inches.
They also fit into the gutter system rather than sit over it. The bristles are quite sturdy and are designed with the idea of blocking debris from entering the gutter.
However, this gutter protection has two drawbacks.
Firstly, they require regular maintenance. The bristles will become entangled as trees drop debris on top of them. Picture a round hairbrush or vacuum bristles entangled with hair – same concept. So eventually you’ll find yourself on the top step of your ladder to remove the brushes. Fortunately, the cleaning process is quite simple. You should be able to rinse them clean with a garden hose and a bit of effort.
The other drawback is curb appeal. The brushes often stick out from the top lip of gutters and are visible from ground level. This can be unappealing for many homeowners.
Surface Tension Gutter Guards
Surface tension gutter guards are a completely different type of gutter guards. Instead of openings that filter water in, but are prone to clogging, they are solid on top to prevent debris from entering the gutter. Instead of flowing through openings, the rainwater flows around the curve or nose of the guard into the gutter using the principle of surface tension.
That’s right, they have no holes or openings on top, rainwater isn’t intended to go through them but around them. By that, we mean that the water will naturally cling to the surface of the gutter guards and follow the curve around until it eventually drops into the gutter system.
Debris like leaves, twigs, tassels, and blossoms are simply washed over the system and fall to the ground, while the rainwater gets directed into the gutter, down the downspouts, and away from your home.
The right product will be a nose-forward design. This means the gutter opening is completely covered so debris is deflected away from the gutter. Some surface tension guards do not fully cover the gutter, providing a space to allow debris into the gutter.
Also important is the size of the gutter. Some all-in-one surface tension systems have a very small gutter size. It is good to compare these with an actual 5 or 6-inch gutter for actual rain-carrying capacity.
So, when considering solid gutter guards for your home, make sure that you get one that has been well thought through. One that is designed to check all the boxes, and installed by professionals.
Gutter Cover KC®: Your Trusted Gutter Guard Partner
At Gutter Cover KC ®, we’re more than just a business; we’re a family with strong values, dedicated to helping other families in caring for their homes. With over two decades of serving the Kansas City community, we’ve honed our product and process to become industry leaders.
See the top-rated gutter guard as endorsed by our satisfied customers. Watch testimonials on why our guard is the best choice.
Our Advantage Gutter Guard ® stands out as the top gutter guard in KC. The ultimate solution for gutter protection. It completely covers the gutter opening with a nose-forward, debris-blocking design. It easily installs on 5 and 6-inch guttering. Crafted from durable, rust-free heavy-gauge aluminum and secured with robust brackets, it offers unmatched reliability. Backed by a lifetime warranty against clogs, it ensures long-lasting performance.
When it comes to heavy rain it is a champion, handling 3X the water volume of a typical Midwest storm.
Recognizing the importance of a precise installation, we refrain from DIY kits. Instead, our team of skilled installers manages the installation process with professionalism and expertise.
During inspections, we consider all factors to devise a tailored solution, guaranteeing clean, free-flowing gutters. Our dedicated installers prioritize your home’s care, treating it as their own throughout the process.
Benefits of Gutter Guards Installed
There are several benefits to installing proven gutter guards. One is to protect your gutter system, especially when a heavy rainstorm looms. So here are just a few of the pros to installing a gutter protection system guaranteed to work:
Preventing Gutter Clogs:
Overflowing gutters often happen not because they can’t manage rainwater volume but rather due to blockages from debris like leaves, twigs, or nests obstructing gutters and downspouts.
Quality gutter covers block debris, enabling free water flow through the system, safeguarding your home and investment for years.
Extending Gutter Lifespan:
Gutter systems are durable but can break down from clogs and standing water. Installing gutter guards that work preserves their appearance and function by preventing debris buildup, decay, and dams inside gutters.
These dams accelerate deterioration, leading to gutter system damage and eventual leaks.
Minimal Maintenance With the Right Gutter Guard:
Big trees like oaks or maples are great for homes, providing shade and a haven for wildlife. However, their shedding leaves become a hassle in fall, particularly in open gutter systems, leading to blockages in downspouts.
For many, gutter maintenance is a tedious task. Climbing ladders and wrestling with debris isn’t anyone’s idea of a fun weekend activity.
The right gutter guard eliminates this hassle, ensuring weekends are yours again. They keep out debris, maintaining a clear passage for rainwater without requiring frequent cleaning.
Remember, not all gutter guards offer low maintenance. Unlike some, the Advantage Gutter Guard ® stands out with a lifetime warranty against any clogs, providing hassle-free gutter protection
Conclusion
The best gutter guard for heavy rain is one that will not only handle the volume going down its spouts but also leave the homeowner confident that they’ve made a solid investment.
A solid gutter cover is simply the best type of gutter guard. It’s great at keeping everything where it needs to be – water in your gutters and debris out of it. But within this category, the homeowner needs to do their homework and decide on a product that will offer a one-time solution to a recurring problem.
While most gutter guards will need regular maintenance, the Advantage Gutter Guard® system guarantees your gutters will never need to be cleaned out again. It’s installed by seasoned professionals who understand what works in Kansas City. They go above and beyond to leave their customers satisfied. The customer is taken care of the entire process, from call-out and inspection to installation and clean-up. Advantage Gutter Guard® can even be installed on your existing gutter system if the inspection passes from our consultant.
If you need advice on your current gutter system and would like to know more about how we can help with water dispersion, contact Gutter Cover KC today and we’ll be glad to send someone out in no time at all.