Learn How to Install Gutter Guards with snap in gutter guards. Plus, get the cost of leaf guards installed by a professional with metal mesh guards.

At our first house, we had two baby trees; and that was it. The house was new when we bought it and both trees had just been planted. They both needed rope to keep them from blowing over on a windy day, so you can say that leaf guard installation on our roofline wasn’t even something that crossed our minds.

Our current house sits on just under an acre, with 15+ mature trees. The trees are truly beautiful and provide such visual interest to our yard. Honestly though, when we first moved in we had no idea what we were in-for with regards to keeping up on all the leaf maintenance.

All About Gutter Guards (DIY Installation and Professional Installation)

Now, that we’ve lived here 10+ years, we’ve added DIY gutter guards but also had them installed professionally.

Both the DIY leaf guard installation and the professional gutter guard installation were good and perfect for us in both situations. I’ll share about both processes so that you can decide which installation method is the better fit for you!

Supplies Needed for Leaf Guard Installation

Can you install gutter guards on existing gutters?

Yes! Our gutters are old and bent out of shape and, even with those issues, going the DIY gutter guard route was easy.

Are gutter guards worth it?

Yes! We installed these back in 2015 and they worked great for us! We had been having water drainage issues, due to leaf build-up and the gutter guards solved those issues.

How to Install Gutter Guards Yourself!

1. Use a leaf blower to blow out as much of the leaves, twigs and acorns as you can. Don’t be surprised when not all of it comes out with the leaf blower.
2. Next, go to manual cleaning. Use a scoop or work gloves and scoop out the rest of the debris.
3. Grab your mesh. Lift the shingles of the roof slightly with one hand and with the other hand, slip the guard underneath the shingles.
4. Tap down into place.
5. Keeping going in a linear direction.
6. When you reach a corner, use the snips to cut to the right length.
7. Keep going until you have finished. 

The roofline that collects the most leaves is our sunroom roof (pictured below). It was an easy roofline to add the snap in gutter guards to because you can reach the roof without a ladder for most of it. For most rooflines though, you’ll need to use a ladder to install.

How Much To Install Gutter Guards?

The plastic mesh gutter guards run around $50 per box. Each box gives you about 75′, which is $.67 per foot.

The sunroom, pictured above, took one box; so cost just around $50 to install ourselves.

We enjoyed this upgrade for a few years. When we had the roof replaced and gutters installed we hired out the installation of this project.

Cost of Leaf Guards Installed by Professionals

We had a product similar to this micro mesh lock installed and the cost was $660 for 400′, which is $1.65 per foot.

As you can tell, the cost per foot is more expensive for the metal leaf guards and to have it installed by a professional.

Overall, we’ve been happy with both gutter guard installations but, as usual, if I had to pick the best one for us… having a professional do the install with a higher quality wire mesh cover was a bit better. They look a little more seamless and are a little more resilient when being blown clean (by a leaf blower).