Curb appeal of the home is important not only for resale value, but for the emotional attachment that one has for where they reside. “After all, home is where the heart is.”

There are many gutter protection products available which stick out or are not esthetically pleasing.

Gutter protection can be almost invisible and still work properly on the home. Here are some key factors to consider when purchasing gutter covers to maintain the curb appeal of your home.

Look for low profile systems that mount directly to the lip of the gutter and attach under the second row of shingles. This arrangement allows the gutter cap to follow the contour of the roof and blend in with the roof line. Some systems will mount on the lip of the gutter but attach under the first row of shingles. With first row shingle mount gutter protectors, gutters need to be lowered and more of the product is visible from the ground. The tight fit under the first row of shingles doesn’t allow for expansion and contraction and after a year or so, the panels ripple and look very unsightly.

Gutter protectors using brackets, or high profile systems, raise the panels up higher, and are limited in the ability to follow the contour of the roof

The color is critical for curb appeal. Homeowners should choose a color that best matches the color of the roof. Many homeowners make the mistake of matching it to the color of the gutters not realizing how much it contrasts with the roof with a two-tone saddle shoe look. The effect is not very appealing. If you match your gutter guard to the color of the roof, it should blend in with the roof line and appear almost invisible.

But the proper color is not enough. A long term issue is the quality of the finish. Most metal dome systems use a baked enamel finish. These systems claim in their warranties that the product won’t blister, peel, or chip. This is true of all baked enamel finishes. This is also the same finish that is on your car. But if you leave your car out in the sun for a couple of years, is it going to be the same shade of color that it was when you first purchased it, of course not. Many people wax their cars to protect the finish. Who wants to get up on a ladder to wax the gutter covers!

On top of it, dirt and tree resin tends to stick to a baked enamel finish. Within a couple of years, a crust forms on top of the gutter protector. Hence baked enamel finishes will blend in for a couple of years and then appear unsightly on the home.

Systems that have a pebbled surface are more likely to have issue with accumulated dirt and tree resin.

There is a solution. There are a few systems that offer a no-fade finish to their products. The finish is called Kynar-500 and incorporates fluorine into the finish. Fluorine is chemically inert and doesn’t react with UV sunlight, acid rain, or pollution. Kynar finishes are used on high end metal roofs in situations to where concern is keeping in the color of the roof. Kynar-500 is also very slick and dirt and tree resin are likely to be rinsed off by regular rain fall. Systems using this finish will keep their curb appeal for several years and are not very visible on the home. In most cases, you wouldn’t notice the system unless it was pointed out to you.

A recent finish is the incorporation of roof granules into the finish. While there may be natural fading, as there would be with roof shingles, the effect is not noticeable. These systems become the first row of shingles and blend in well with the roof line.

Homeowners don’t have to sacrifice the effectiveness of their gutter cover for esthetics. Low profile mounts that attach under the second row of shingles and use either a Kynar or roof granule finish will be almost invisible on your home. Your gutter protection can work great and not be noticeable.

Additional Resources
Kynar 500
Metro Roofing
Allmet Roofing Systems
Gerard Roofing

This Post Is From GutterRoof.com’s Gutter Protection Article Section