Material specification is one of the most important aspects of any building project. When it comes to specifying gutter guards or ember guards for your project, you have to ensure your vision is understood by your building contractor so that the most appropriate product is selected for your application.
Quite often, a broad specification can result in corners being cut and the cheapest material chosen over desired outcomes. Many building projects are compromised due to these misguided choices, gutter guards included.
Screen Tech Industries lists out four key considerations when specifying gutter guards or ember guards for your project.
1. Material
When it comes to gutter guards, the most important consideration is the material. Gutter guards mostly come in aluminium, steel and poly options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Aluminium: While aluminium is corrosion-resistant, strong and malleable enough to conform to the roof, it cannot be used in buildings with BAL-40 and BAL-FZ ratings.
Steel: Recommended for BAL-40 and BAL-FZ homes, steel is, however, a brittle material with a less-than-pleasing aesthetic as it has a thinner wire strand.
Poly: Ideal for coastal areas where saltwater corrosion might be an issue, poly is also often used on galvanised roofs where there is a risk of other metals chemically reacting with the roofing material.
2. Mesh thickness
Aluminium, steel and poly mesh come in different mesh thicknesses:
Aluminium mesh: The standard thickness is approximately 0.4mm whereas a premium mesh has 0.7mm thickness. A thicker mesh will provide increased strength and rigidity especially across wider box gutters and can be more aesthetically pleasing, but it will cost you more. However, don’t go by numbers alone when assessing a gutter guard for your application. Request samples before making a decision – most companies are more than happy to provide some free material samples to architects.
Steel mesh: Also available in standard and premium options, steel mesh varies immensely in quality and strength, depending on the steel used as well as the powdercoating on the mesh. Try out samples if you are building in a BAL-40 or BAL-FZ area to ensure correct selection.
Poly mesh: The poly variant is also available in different thicknesses based on standard and premium options; however, we recommend that you choose the premium option. Standard thickness poly mesh normally comes with a 10-year warranty, which is much shorter than other mesh options. Given that most poly mesh products on the market are of poor quality, we would advise getting samples first.
3. Colour
Gutter guards come in a broad range of colours to match almost every roof colour. Additionally, all manufacturers offer custom colours to get you the perfect match. You should match the colour of your mesh and roof fittings to your roof colour and the gutter trim colour to the gutters. For instance, tiny details such as colour matched screws can make a huge difference to the final look.
4. Ember Guard or Gutter Guard
From a functional perspective, this is perhaps the most important consideration. The main differences between the two types are (a) the size of the hole aperture – on an ember guard the hole must be less than 2mm; and, (b) the material – all ember guards must be made from metal.
Ember guards are also used outside bushfire areas for pine or jacinda trees that shed lots of fine debris. When installing ember guards, care must be taken to ensure that water does not sheet off the roof. This means the ember guard must either be pre-shaped to capture water or installed by an experienced installer who can shape the mesh during installation to ensure maximum capture.
