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How to Manufacture Gutter Guard

munruh

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Location
Kansas
I have attached some photos of an aluminum mesh gutter guard that a local guttering company uses. It appears to be powdercoated, but they don't require that. They have a really hard time getting this from their supplier and can never get more than a half pallet of it at a time. They are asking me what it would take to form/manufacture it. It would be some kind of roll machine I imagine. You can flex and manipulate it by hand. The current form is what they purchase it in, but they would like to modify the form some. Any ideas?
 

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That seems to be just expanded mesh cuts, done using partial piercing/splitting cutters that perforate the sheet, then a controlled stretching is performed to open up the mesh as desired. Perhaps a secondary embossing was done in order to "round over" the segments after piercing, this could be done in a rolling operation.

I doubt there's anything patented here, expanded mesh has been available for a dog's age (many dogs), and should be commercially available from metal sheet producers (unless all that's gone overseas now).
 
If I wanted to make 20 or 40 feet of the stuff, I'd buy 4x8' (4x10' if I could get them) sheets of premade expanded metal or perforated metal, shear off the necessary widths, and make the solid (unperforated) edges by folding over and crimping on sheared strips. Maybe adapt a lockformer machine for that.

If I wanted to make 1000's of feet of the stuff, I'd try to source the machine that makes it. Designing and debugging a homemade machine to produce it would be possible but a large investment in time. Light gauge aluminum is not too hard to pierce, so this would be a bit less troubling than trying to make expanded metal mesh from 1/8" stainless, but there's still a bunch of slits to make and register from row to row, etc.
 
I have some of that stuff for my gutters. What I have is just the expanded metal bent in a similar profile, no solid edges on it, 100% expanded metal. I think on the ones I have the expanded is going lengthwise, 90º to what you have there.
 
I have some of that stuff for my gutters. What I have is just the expanded metal bent in a similar profile, no solid edges on it, 100% expanded metal. I think on the ones I have the expanded is going lengthwise, 90º to what you have there.

Tried an earlier conventional "diamond mesh" version. It sucked. Grabbed leaves and held them 'til they rotted.

Plastic with round holes worked better. The leaves slid off or blew off once dry.

Still not great. Pine needles and airborne "winged" seeds went through.

NOW using a full cover with a reverse "S" curve to a slit that water follows, but leaves and such do not follow.

Works a treat! Looks better, too!

So I'm sayin' regardless of how to make this expanded metal version?

The product itself may no longer be as viable as it once was.
 
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Tried an earlier conventonal "diamond mesh" version. It sucked. Grabbed leaves and held them 'til they rotted.

Plastic with round holes worked better. The leaves slid off or blew off once dry.

Still not great. Pine needles and airborne "winged" seeds went through.

NOW using a full cover with a reverse "S" curve to a slit that water follows, but leaves and such do not follow.

Works a treat! Looks better, too!

So I'm sayin' regardless of how to make this expanded metal version?

The product itself may no longer be as viable as it once was.

I would like to see a photo of yours. What is the brand name?
 
I had the same stuff that Bill is describing at my old house. I bought it 25 years or more ago. Mine was actually called Gutter Helmet. The top of the gutter is completely covered and water flows along the top , to the front ,down a smooth ~3/4” diameter 180 degree curve (now under the gutter guard and above the gutter, where it hits a sharper 90 bend aiming straight down into the gutter.
As Bill described, the leaves can’t make the 180 and fall to the ground. I seem to recall In real heavy rain, some water flowed off the front too, but better than a clogged gutter.
9d0dc5631bfd76f8bf4841412b246cfb.jpg



Helmet Heat(R) Ice Reduction System: The Proven Ice Dam Solution | Gutter Helmet


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The helmet wouldnt work here ,we get torrential rain,and it would just cascade over......nightly drip would be OK though.....never seen it local.Every gutter guard Ive tried with holes sucked,cause leaves got under ,and then couldnt be got out.....On the patent is good ,too,I was asking a local crowd about steel fencing,and why they couldnt supply the flat with ribs type....patented ,he says,we only got this roofing sheet type....,which is hard to erect.
 
I would like to see a photo of yours. What is the brand name?

Simple principle, so there are several. Home Depot had the ones we are using.

Start here, do your own due diligence, based on type of environment, trees & such where YOU live.

Top Gutter Guards of 2020 | ConsumersAdvocate.org

As to overflow in torrential rain?

"BFD". "The wise" also have a drainage bed at ground level to divert SURFACE water away from foundations BEFORE it soaks down to the drain at the footer.

Clean that with an ignorant leaf rake or leaf vacuum/shredder. I never saw the POINT is blowing leaves away... so they could just blow right back again.

That's nothing more than a socially acceptable - if rudely noisy - form of public masturbation. Worse? Too-often "hired done".

No fear.

Looter-lie-bore-alls get elected, it will be "free", like everything else. At least until they run out of "OPM", about three weeks before they even start to re-allocate already-scarce ass-ettes.

WTF? Nobody understands grocery-store 'rithmetic these instant-gratification ear-bud and free drug days?

Darwin - and the Devil - must be getting ready to FEAST! Again.
 
The helmet works by laminar flow. The water will adhere to and flow around the curve quite a bit. It would take a huge flow for it to become free and go straight down. Even then plenty will still go in the gutter.
I have an air float table on my beam saw and felt a jet of air on my hand under the edge of the table. I looked and no hole. After poking around I found the leak was a horizontal leak at the top plate and the air wrapped around the sheet metal and jetted straight down. Laminar flow.
 
generally when it comes down so hard it's overflowing past the gutters, it isn't because of momentum of the water, it's because you can't fit any more water in that 2x3 hole that 500 sq ft of roof has to drain through.
 
Recently at a big box store I saw a new style eleaf guard. It is slightly bowed stainless sheet similar shape to the op. It is pierced with very small holes down the middle 3/4 or so with solid edges. the holes are about 1/16" spaced every 1/4-3/8 inches.
Bil lD.

Similar to this one But I think it was al lone piece with folded edges.
https://www.amazon.com/Raptor-Gutte...55BWHTMN11G&psc=1&refRID=YJF13DMCJ55BWHTMN11G
 
The helmet works by laminar flow. The water will adhere to and flow around the curve quite a bit. It would take a huge flow for it to become free and go straight down. Even then plenty will still go in the gutter.
I have an air float table on my beam saw and felt a jet of air on my hand under the edge of the table. I looked and no hole. After poking around I found the leak was a horizontal leak at the top plate and the air wrapped around the sheet metal and jetted straight down. Laminar flow.

Like to see how it works on a steel roof at a 12:12 pitch.....
 








 
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