Are you tired of cleaning out your gutters multiple times a year? Are you wondering if spending a few hundred dollars on DIY gutter guards is really going to save you time or just create more headaches?
You’re not alone. Many Seattle homeowners look at the moss, leaves, and needles piling up and think, “There’s got to be a cheaper way to protect my gutters.”
As the CEO of RoofSmart, who was previously a gutter guard salesman, I have several decades of experience installing gutter guards and diagnosing their issues. I’ve inspected hundreds of roofs with damage from DIY gutter guards and installed new gutter guards for homeowners who decided the DIY route wasn’t for them anymore.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the real pros and cons of DIY gutter guard installation, including what they cost, what can go wrong, and whether they’ll actually reduce maintenance. I’ll also talk about safety concerns and how to decide if it’s worth doing it yourself.
How much do DIY gutter guards cost?
DIY gutter guards are a much cheaper alternative to traditional ones. Typically, Seattle homeowners spend $300 to $500 on DIY gutter guards. There is a wide variety of options, so the price depends on how much gutter you have and which gutter guard you choose.
You can get micromesh, screen, hood, foam, or brush gutter guards for DIY install. Some of them are made of metal, but even cheaper options are made of plastic.
You can find DIY gutter guards at retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Costco. The prices might vary somewhat depending on where you buy them, but overall, they should be about the same.
What are the risks of installing gutter guards yourself?
A lot of homeowners in the Seattle area opt for DIY gutter guards because they are a much cheaper alternative to the other options out there. However, even though they save you a lot of money, DIY gutter guards do have some risks:
- You do it wrong: If you’re pretty comfortable using power tools and doing other DIY projects around the house, then chances are you feel comfortable enough installing gutter guards yourself. But, since you’re not an experienced professional, there’s always the possibility that you make a mistake (potentially without even knowing) that damages the gutter guard, your gutters, or your roof.
One risk is that the debris piles up on the gutter guard and causes water to shoot back into the roof instead of into the gutter. As a result, the wood roof decking begins to rot without you noticing:
- You can get seriously injured: Another risk of installing gutter guards yourself is the potential for getting injured. This is not always guaranteed to happen, but accidents can happen pretty easily when you’re climbing up ladders and using power tools. You’re potentially at risk of falling 10 feet or more when you’re installing the gutter guards or servicing them. For example, we had a customer who hired us to install MasterShield on his roof after he shattered his hip while attempting to clean his gutters. He set up his ladder and thought it was secure, but it turned out it was sitting on a mole trench that collapsed under the pressure of him standing on his ladder. He tumbled over and broke his hip. Fortunately, he is ok now.
Although you’re saving a lot of money by installing gutter guards yourself, you run the risk of damaging your house or injuring yourself. You might not even notice that your roof was damaged for a while.
As with any trade, you're doing it for the first time, but a professional installer has probably done this hundreds of times a year.
So they’re familiar with the little tips and tricks to make sure that the water flow is where it's supposed to go or to prevent backflow into the shingles that causes wood rot and water damage. They have those advantages, whereas you're doing it for the first time.
Are DIY gutter guards difficult to install?
DIY gutter guards are designed to be fairly easy to install, but it also depends on how comfortable you are using a ladder and doing DIY projects around the house.
Typically, if you're interested in a DIY gutter guard, that means that you're perfectly comfortable using tools and a ladder to go over every square inch of your gutters right now.
So if you're already in that frame, then all you're doing with these gutter guards, ideally, is spending as little as possible to make it so that you have to clean your gutters less.
For some, it will be a relatively quick and easy process, whereas others might struggle and take longer. You know your abilities better than anyone, so only you can really determine how it will go for you.
Installing DIY gutter guards on your roof can help you reduce the number of times that you have to clean your gutters. Keep in mind that this doesn’t completely eliminate the need to clean your gutters. They’ll still require some maintenance.
All of these DIY gutters sit flat on the roof, so they’ll collect all the debris that falls on them:
You’ll have to decide if the time it takes you to install these gutter guards is worth it in exchange for potentially only needing to clean off the gutter once or twice a year.
How do I know if DIY gutter guards are right for my Seattle home?
If you are somebody who has a high risk tolerance and you want to save every penny you can, in the hopes that you'll reduce your gutter cleaning over time, then DIY gutter guards might be right for you.
You're going to have better success if you have mostly leaves. Needles will tend to plug these pretty quickly.
Many of our Master Shield customers have tried a DIY gutter guard. And if somebody is considering DIY gutter guards, we typically encourage them to give it a try. That way, they'll be that much more certain that they want to spend money on the real thing.
It is a massive cost difference. If you've got 200 feet of gutter and it's going to cost you $500 for your gutter guard, that sounds way better than spending $10,000 for professionally installed gutter guards (but only if it works!).
The good thing is it's so cheap that you're not really risking money to try it. What you're really risking is your health if you fail. You also risk damaging your roof. So, if you don’t want that risk, then you should consider professional installation instead.
What if DIY gutter guards aren’t the best fit for your Seattle roof?
While DIY gutter guards can be a tempting, low-cost solution, they often come with trade-offs, especially in the Seattle area, where moss, pine needles, and heavy rainfall are constant challenges.
If you're worried about water backflow, roof damage, or having to climb a ladder every season just to clean off your “low-maintenance” system, you’re not alone.
That’s why it’s worth taking a closer look at which styles of gutter guards actually work best in our climate and which ones will truly minimize maintenance in the long run.
If you're starting to wonder whether a different approach might better protect your home (and your time), this next article will help you make the right choice: “Best Gutter Guards for Seattle Homes (2025)”
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