leaf filter or leaf guard?
DAMN!Leaf Filter is BY FAR the superior design. Leaf Filter, the company, is possibly a scam sold by potential shitbags, and I'll explain my experience from 5 years ago:
I called Leaf Filter. "A Leaf Filter representative will come to your home". I just want to know the cost, but whatever.
Guy shows up, pushy as hell, takes over an hour, won't tell me the price until he jumps through ALL the hoops, including using a piece of paper towel to show me how it works by running it under my sink (last I checked, paper towels don't act at all like dry leaves in water).
He finally quotes me $9000 to do my whole house. My house is a thousand square feet with single ridge roof, and a two-car detached garage and small shed. Thanks bye.
He calls me ten minutes after he left. "Oh they're having a Spring sale, it's HALF OFF, $4500". In other words, you tried to rip me off and it cost you a sale so now you're telling me what it should have cost to begin with. "I don't play games. Thanks, bye."
The next day, some other Leaf Filter guy calls. "I'm so-and-so's boss. He made a mistake, we can do it for $2500." I calmly and politely told him no and hung up. He calls back two minutes later. "We can do it for $1500, I have a crew that needs work, blahblahblah" and now I KNOW that they basically tried to rip me off for $7500. At this point I realize that Leaf Filter is a franchise deal. I call Leaf Filter, and they do not talk to customers. "Work it out with your local salesperson yadda yadda.". The guy starts calling me AND emailing me every two hours. I emailed back, "Contact me again, and I'm contacting the police." He stops.
Two days later, I decided to bomb out of work a little early, so I leave at 2p instead of 5p. I come around the corner to my house, and there's a truck full of ladders and crap in my driveway. I slam to a stop behind it, and run in the house, grab my buddies Smith and Wesson, and start looking around to see who is robbing me. I go outside and three guys come around the corner and all three have their hands in the air immediately. They are (rightfully) scared shitless. I'm 6'2" and my 8" Smith looks big even in my hands (God I wish that was true for other things).
They're installing Leaf Filters. The house is about 3/4 done, and the garage and shed are about half done. I've signed no work order.
The lead guy explains and I have him pull the work order. Not signed. He calls the boss. The same guy that's been bugging me. The guy offers to finish the work for $900. I tell him to **** off. I ask the install guys how much they're getting paid. "We get $200 per house". I told them to take all the materials to finish this job off the truck, and lay it in the yard. I move my car. I gave them $300 and said, "Don't tell your boss I gave you this money. Tell him you finished the work and he owes you for the job, and I'll handle him later. Even if he stiffs you, you got paid extra, did less work, and I'll finish it myself. If he stiffs you, call me. Now get lost and don't do another job without a signed contract or next guy might not have the self restraint I have." They peeled outta there like someone was putting out a fire on their asses with a pitchfork.
The guy called, threatened legal action, and laughed so hard I almost busted a ********. I told him to fax me the signed work order and I'd pay him $9k. I called Leaf Filter and said I had it installed and wanted to file a warranty claim over improper install, and even with photos they said, "Not our problem, take it up with your local installer.".
After 5 years, several pieces have warped in the sun (it's extruded vinyl). The stainless screens work well enough but in a harder rain, lots of the water still just runs over the side and then it's like you have no gutter at all. I hate to think about if that's back-flowing against my fascia boards. If I remove it, I have visible holes in my gutters. They did NOT do a good job installing it and it's clear, they assume you'll never climb another ladder if you pay to install it.
And I remember the salesman telling me that 'they wipe out every gutter before they install it'. He clearly mistook me for someone that doesn't think to check on **** like that. All the trash in my gutters was still there, except it was now trapped under their 'system'.
Like I said, I like their design, the vinyl extrusions said 'made in USA' on them, and the concept is sound, but there is a LOT of MLM going on and you REALLY need to know who is selling/installing the product. It's WAY TOO EASY to get some fly-by-night assholes that aren't really responsible to Leaf Filter in any way.