Do Gutter Guards Work, and Are They Worth It in Queensland?

Yes, when the mesh suits your roof and it's fitted well. It covers the top of the gutter and fixes at the roofline. Rain drains through the holes, and leaves and twigs stay on top. The owner complaints we read tend to be about plastic mesh, or guard that sits inside the gutter and holds leaves there.

That's the job our gutter guard installation is built around. We look at your roof and the trees around it first, and clean the gutters out for free. Then the aluminium mesh goes on over the gutters you already have. We fit it on tile and metal roofs across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

What guard won't do is keep leaves off your roof. Some will sit on the mesh until wind or rain moves them along, and fine dust can still wash through the holes. So when we say guard works, we mean the gutter stays clear of leaves and keeps draining. The roof above it still needs a look now and then.

Yes. Look for two things: metal mesh that holds up in the Queensland sun, and a written guarantee that covers the whole system. Ours is 1 mm thick aluminium, in 3 mm expanded or 2 mm woven mesh. Every install comes with four written guarantees, including a 10-year no blocked gutter guarantee.

Here's what the four cover. The 25-year full system guarantee takes in the mesh, clips, trims and screws. The 20-year workmanship guarantee is for the installation itself, from the day we fit it. The 10-year no blocked gutter guarantee is in writing, and we're one of only two companies in Queensland who offer it. And the 10-year coating guarantee is against fading.

Some owners with metal mesh say it's held up for years. On CHOICE Community, one owner with fine metal mesh under a lot of gum trees said it had been great for at least 10 years. They still get up with a leaf blower now and then, because some leaves and twigs build up on top.

Fit counts as much as the metal. We set our mesh at a shed angle, so debris can blow or wash off instead of sitting on top. On a tile roof, it's fitted to work with the tile profile.

Yes, a few real ones. Guard costs more upfront than a clean. Leaves still land on your roof, and fine dirt can wash through the holes. Some products bring trouble of their own, like plastic mesh that traps twigs. The table below shows what owners report, and what we do about each one.

These reports come from owners on a CHOICE Community thread. They're talking about other companies' products, so we name the materials and leave the brands out. Some of it is fair warning for any gutter guard, ours included. If overflow in a storm is your worry, read our guide to gutter guards in heavy rain.

Whoever you buy from, a guarantee is only as good as its terms, so ask to see them before you sign. You can read what's covered on our written guarantees page, and we'll walk you through the terms at the free quote.

In the owner reports we read, the worst results came from cheap strips and from plastic mesh bent down into the gutter. Both let leaves and dirt build up in the gutter anyway. Members also warned about foam inside the gutter, and galvanised steel near the sea. Here's what they said, by material.

Plastic mesh. One CHOICE Community household found the plastic mesh bent into their gutter trapped twigs and leaves. Getting them out was a chore, and the gutter still needed flushing. In the end, they pulled the mesh out.

To be fair, not every plastic guard fails. One CHOICE Community owner has a plastic guard that covers the gutter and tucks under the second row of tiles. They said they'd had it on two homes over 18 years with no problems, even under a tall oak that drops piles of leaves every April. How a guard is fitted matters as much as what it's made of.

Cheap strips. One CHOICE Community owner said cheap strips are hard to keep in the gutter, and possums or birds can pull them out. Their bigger holes let finer leaf through too, so over time the gutter still fills up with fine leaf silt. If birds or possums are the worry, we've written up keeping birds and possums out of your gutters.

Foam. Foam that sits inside the gutter might slow the water running along it, one member warned. They suggested telling the plumber before a new build, since more downpipes or a bigger gutter can make up for it.

Galvanised steel and mixed metals. The member who warned about the sea had a tip: look at how the metal roofs and fittings near you are holding up. If they last well where you live, it may not be a problem. Another member said aluminium touching bare zinc or steel can corrode. Their fix was rubber or fibre washers, or a painted surface, to keep the metals apart. Whoever you get, ask how the mesh fixes to your roof.

Everything we fit is aluminium, from the mesh to the clips, trims and screws. The mesh is 1 mm thick, in 3 mm expanded or 2 mm woven, and finished with our proprietary coating.

Weighing up micro mesh as well? We've set out micro mesh vs aluminium mesh side by side.

It can be, if the guard itself traps leaves. One CHOICE Community owner had plastic mesh that trapped twigs and leaves. They said it “caused more of a fire hazard than it solved”, so they took it out. Our mesh is aluminium, which is non-combustible, and we set it so debris can blow or wash off.

The Queensland Government's bushfire checklist (opens in a new tab) is for people in bushfire-prone areas. Among the jobs to do each year before bushfire season, it lists keeping gutters clear of leaf litter. Guard keeps the leaves out of the gutter itself. It doesn't stop them landing on the roof, so a bush block still needs a look before fire season.

Some suburbs have it harder than others. In The Gap, homes back right onto the forest, and a gutter can refill within weeks of a clean in a dry, windy spring. We've written up what bush blocks in The Gap are up against. It also covers why we usually suggest the finer 2 mm woven mesh for homes that back onto bush.

When few leaves reach your gutters and the roof is easy to get to. If the home is single-storey with no trees nearby, a clean booked each year may cost you less over the years than guard. Guard makes more sense when trees drop leaves all year, or the gutters are two storeys up.

No trees near the house? Then you may not need guard at all. Gutters under open sky fill far slower than gutters under gums or palms. A clean before each storm season may be all they need. If that's your place, book a yearly clean instead. We clean gutters on their own across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, and you don't need gutter guard to book.

The sums change with everything that makes a clean harder. Trees that shed all year mean more cleans. A second storey makes each one a bigger job, and a steep block can put even a single-storey gutter well off the ground. And if nobody in the house should be up a ladder, every clean is one you pay someone else to do.

Not sure which side you're on? Ask the neighbours. Two CHOICE Community members suggested asking neighbours who have guard how it's gone. One said to look for neighbours who've had the same product for years. “Local knowledge is very helpful,” said the other.

For the right home, yes. Think of homes under gums that drop leaves all year, and two-storey homes where cleaning off a ladder is hard and risky. It also suits owners who shouldn't be climbing any more, and homes near bush. If that's you, get a quote and compare it with what you spend on cleans.

Two-storey homes are where it makes the most sense, because nobody wants to clean those gutters off a ladder. Some have a lower roof over the garage as well. Overflow from the top gutter lands on that second roof, and you can't always see the cause from the ground.

Then there's who's doing the climbing. If you're not as steady on a ladder as you were, or nobody in the house should be up there, guard means fewer cleans to book. Our guide to how dangerous gutter cleaning is sets out the risks.

Under gums and palms, the leaf never really stops, so that's where guard saves you the most trips up the ladder.

The main one is a regular gutter clean. Trimming branches that hang over the roof helps too, and some owners weigh up taking out nearby trees. With any of these, someone still has to get up a ladder and clean the gutters now and then. That's the job guard cuts back on.

One CHOICE Community household pulled out their plastic mesh. Now one of them walks the roof two or three times a year and scoops out whatever hasn't blown away. That works if someone in the house can do it safely. The same post points out that roof-cleaning services will clean and check your gutters if you can't, or would rather not.

Taking out trees is a big step. For the owner with about 150 m of gutter, it looked like the cheaper one.

If you're leaning towards guard, the next step is picking an installer. Our guide to what to check before you buy lists the questions to take to every quote. They run from what the mesh is made of to what you'd have to do to keep the guarantee valid. Get every answer written on the quote.

When you're ready, we'll quote on site for free after a look at your roof and the trees around it.