Do gutter guards work on steep roofs?
When it comes to leaf accumulation, steep roofs will always gather less debris than flat roofs. The steeper the roof, the more likely it is that objects will just slide off. Flat roofs on the other hand, can literally be covered in a blanket of leaves, twigs and branches. Sometimes we find these roof blankets to be over 30cm thick. The construction of very high pitched roofs is also important in areas where there is massive snowfall in winter. At Grayson’s Gutter Guard, we have a wide variety of gutter protection options for almost any roof type.
What is the best gutter guard for a steep roof?
Gutter guards can work to eliminate leaf entry on steeper roofs just like they can on regular pitch roofs. But that said, working on a steep roof is more difficult, if your roof is 45 degrees it is definitely so steep that even a bird wouldn’t land on it. We consider about 30 degrees, to be about the angle where installing screwed down gutter guards can become too difficult without scaffolding in place. If your roof is 30 degrees or higher, it might not be possible to install our ScrewTight systems, this is because there are a lot of fiddly parts involved and we need to be up on the roof for a much greater amount of time compared with the non-screwed Triple-G system. Triple-G gutter guard is much easier to install and is often best suited for steep angle roofs. With a more radical slope, the leaf matter will not be inclined to bank up behind the curled part of the Triple-G and it will just glide off to the ground.
Aperture Size for Gutter Mesh on Steep Roofs
The steeper the roof, the more likely it is that water can ‘sheet off’ the gutter mesh and never make its way into the gutter. For this reason it’s advised to use a mesh with larger holes, such as our Full-Metal mesh with 3mm by 4mm apertures. Triple-G was manufactured with a hole aperture of 2.7mm by 4.7mm. If your roof is any steeper than about 22 degrees we will caution that 2mm ember guard may experience some sheeting.
Some Helpful Figures:
- Zero degree roof or almost flat (be aware that some pooling can occur behind gutter guards so regular roof sweeping may be needed)
- 22.5 degree roof or lower (generally okay to use finer meshes of 2mm)
- 25-30 degrees (choose carefully and consider apertures greater than 2mm)
- 30+ degree (only use mesh with larger holes of 4mm>)
Steep Roof Information summarised:
- Between about 5 degrees and 22 degrees is the ideal roof pitch for ember guards.
- We recommend that on steeper roofs a mesh with larger holes should be used.
- About 95% of roofs in Victoria are less than 30 degrees in pitch.
- In many new build suburbs, almost all the pitched roofs are now about 22 degrees.
- Avoid using very fine meshes on steeper roofs as the faster falling water can”sheet off”.
- Don’t use Clipped in gutter guards on steeper roofs as they don’t have enough holes and will sheet water.
- Many people believe their roof is 45 degrees, but this is quite uncommon.
- Older terracotta and slate roofs are often the steepest, but many newer roofs with concrete tiles are also being built with a very high pitch.
Access Issues with Steeper Roofs
If working from ladders, we need the ladder to be positioned on a 70-75 degree angle, therefore there must be enough ground space for the ladder base to be set up safely. For every 4 metres of height to the top of the ladder, we need the ladder feet to be placed 1 metre out; this is called the “4 to 1 rule” in ladder safety. Our easy to install Triple-G gutter mesh can be installed in more awkward gutters, if you have scaffolding in place let us know and we can explain the range of options. Ember Guard and ScrewTight Full-Metal is always an option if you have proper scaffolding at your site.
Call 1800 GUTTER (1800488837)