Gutter guards come in three basic families, and each solves a different problem. Matching the family to your trees matters more than any brand name.
Screens are the simple ones: a perforated or woven panel over the gutter. They stop leaves and big debris, they're affordable, and they're easy to service. Their weakness is small debris — oak tassels, pine needles, and shingle grit pass through or lodge in the openings. Under light-to-moderate tree cover, screens are honest value. Under heavy fine debris, they're a partial fix.
Micro-mesh is the fine-filtration option: stainless mesh tight enough to stop nearly everything, including tassels and grit. The catch is that the same fineness can work against it — pollen film and organic residue build on the mesh surface, and an unmaintained micro-mesh guard can start sheeting water over the edge in hard rain. It stops the most debris and demands to be rinsed periodically in exchange.
Surface-tension (reverse-curve) guards work on a different principle: water wraps around a curved hood into the gutter while debris slides off the edge. They handle volume well and shrug off big leaves, but they care about roof pitch — on the wrong slope, heavy rain overshoots the curve entirely — and fine debris can ride the water around the curve with it.
The pattern: everything is a trade. Your trees, your roof pitch, and your appetite for maintenance pick the guard. That's the conversation we have at the estimate — with the trees in view, not from a script.
