O/T- Rainhandler Gutter Systems

[Ron in Nebr]

Anyone on here ever have any experience with the "Rainhandler" type of gutter system? They"re basically angled louvers that hang below the edge of your roof, and according to the ads, they distribute the runoff in a wide gentle spray...Thinking of putting some on my new house but thought I"d see if anyone here had been around them before. Thanks!

 

[Sammy in Kansas]

I have not, However, I will add my 2 cents. I was advised by an old time contractor years ago, that putting up gutters, just creates a maint. prob. and then in the freeze thaws cycle, you can end up with seepage under roof and then have leaks. He advised to take money you would spend on gutters and pour a 2-4 foot wide walk way all around the house, gets water off of roof away from foundations and no gutters to clean, repair etc. I have done that on several houses and never regretted it one minute.

 

[Ron in Nebr]

Not a bad idea..however, the main selling point of the "rainhandler" deal is that it's mainenance free. They can't fill full of leaves and debris, no downspouts, etc. etc. Just basically a "diverter" so that instead of a waterfall coming off the sides of the roof, the water is spread out like, as they claim in their ads, "a gentle rainfall"....but here in northern Nebraska, we got 10 inches over the last weekend, and spread out or not I wonder if these things would really have made much difference.

Still wondering if anyone out there has some actual experience with these...they're cheaper than normal gutters and easy to put up...just not real inclined to believe only the advertising and "reviews" on their website, would rather hear some firt-hand experiences, which it seems no matter what the product, somebody on this site has had...
Untitled URL Link

 

[woodbutcher]

I bought some of those and took them down. I sent them back. They don't work on my roof. Even though it breaks up the runoff, the same amount of water accumulates on the ground where I did not want it. At the inside corners, the louvers did not make any difference. Runoff still came down the valleys in a solid stream to the ground.
Butch

 

[oliver power]

There is no better gutter system than good quality, properly installed, seamless gutters. Install good covers (not screens), and forget it. Go to (Leaf Relief.com) for good covers. As woodbutcher says; the louvers don't get rid of water. You still have the water. Gutters catch, and direct water away. That is, if they are properly installed.

 

[guido]

Hello Ron in Nebr.,
This is my drain system. 4 In. pipes draining in the low spot of the property. Stoned area at the end of the run. Seemless gutters are a must.
Guido.

 

[guido]

Hello Ron in Nebr.,
I installed 1/4 in. or 6 MM. metal mesh in my gutters. It comes in a 30" roll. Home Depot or Lowes will carry it. I have trees around the house that were clogging the gutters up. The 1/4' mesh has done a good job for me, it stopped most of the leaves going in there. I used self drilling, galvanized screws to fasten the mesh to the gutter lip.
Guido.

 

[Dusty MI]

I've always been intrigued with the Gutter Helmet. Don't know how well it works in real life.

Dusty

 

[El Toro]

You can get seamless guttering made with gutter guard made on site. It's all formed in one operation. I did what Guido did in draining the water away from the house. Mine goes out to the street and into the storm drains. There's a lot of water that comes off a roof. That gutter guard will keep out leaves and does a pretty good job on the redwood needles as they lose these every Fall. Hal
PS: If they're not doing much new home building around you may get a good price since work is scarce in this area .

 

[El Toro]

I used this system with the catch basins where its low in our backyard. I plumb the gutters into the piping too. Home Depot had this back in the 1990's. Used a trencher to do the digging and later on I sodded over the piping.
Hal

 

[Ron in Nebr]

I noticed on their website that they have some kind of diverter that goes in the valleys to help solve that problem.

But, I think I'm going to just go with some good seamless gutters. Thanks everyone!