Never Clean Your Gutters AgainGutter Guard Installation in Perry, IA

Does a guard add weight the gutter has to carry?

It is a reasonable question and the answer is that the guard itself is nearly irrelevant. An aluminium or stainless guard weighs a small fraction of a pound per foot, which against the weight of the gutter and its hangers is not a meaningful addition. What does add weight is water and ice, and a guard changes that in both directions. It keeps the trough from filling with sodden debris, which is genuinely heavy and is the usual reason a gutter sags. It can also hold a sheet of ice across the top in a hard freeze. On balance a properly installed guard reduces the load a gutter carries over a year rather than increasing it. The real weight question is about the hangers, not the guard: if they are spaced too far apart or fixed into fascia that has softened, the gutter was already marginal, and that is worth correcting while everything is open rather than discovering it in February.