If you’re cleaning your eavestroughs two or three times a year — or paying someone else to do it — gutter guards will save you the hassle. They sit over the top of your eavestrough and let water through while blocking leaves, seeds, shingle grit, and other debris that causes clogs. In Winnipeg, clogged eavestroughs are one of the biggest causes of ice damming and foundation water issues, especially on homes surrounded by mature trees in neighbourhoods like Wolseley, River Heights, and Charleswood. Modern Renovations installs gutter guard systems that fit your existing or new eavestroughs and are built to handle Manitoba’s heavy spring runoff.
Gutter guards are panels or screens that cover the opening of your eavestrough. They allow rainwater and snowmelt to flow into the trough while blocking leaves, twigs, seed pods, and other debris from entering. This prevents the clogs that cause water to back up, overflow, and — in Manitoba winters — freeze into ice dams along your roofline.
There are different styles of gutter guards, from basic mesh screens to solid-top systems with a narrow slot that uses surface tension to pull water in while shedding debris off the edge. The right system depends on your roof pitch, the type of trees around your home, and how much maintenance you’re willing to do.
Winnipeg is a city full of mature trees — elms, maples, oaks, and poplars — that drop massive amounts of leaves, seeds, and helicopters every spring and fall. If your home is anywhere near established trees, your eavestroughs are collecting debris every season. That debris traps water, which sits in the trough and — come November — freezes solid. Once your eavestroughs are packed with ice, melt water from your roof has nowhere to go. It backs up under your shingles, runs behind your fascia, and causes damage that’s expensive to fix.
Gutter guards don’t eliminate maintenance entirely, but they reduce it dramatically. Instead of cleaning out your eavestroughs twice a year, you’re brushing off the top of the guards once in a while. The water keeps flowing, and the ice dam risk drops significantly.
We install gutter guards both as part of new eavestrough installations and as a retrofit onto existing gutters that are in good condition. If your current eavestroughs are solid — no sagging, no leaks, properly sloped — we can add guards without replacing the trough itself.
If your eavestroughs are old, sagging, or undersized, it makes more sense to replace them and install guards at the same time. We’ll assess what you have and give you an honest recommendation.
Yes — quality guards installed correctly make a significant difference. They won’t stop every tiny piece of debris from getting in, but they block the leaves, twigs, and larger material that causes the real clogs. You’ll go from cleaning your eavestroughs multiple times a year to rarely needing to touch them.
They help. By keeping debris out of the trough, water flows freely instead of pooling and freezing. But gutter guards alone don’t solve ice damming — that’s also a ventilation and insulation issue in your attic. We can assess both when we’re onsite.
Most standard 5-inch and 6-inch aluminum eavestroughs can accept gutter guards. If your existing eavestroughs are a non-standard size, heavily damaged, or mounted incorrectly, we may recommend replacing them before adding guards.
Pricing depends on the type of guard, the linear footage of your eavestroughs, and whether we’re installing on new or existing gutters. We provide free onsite estimates so you get an exact number for your home.
Tired of climbing the ladder every season? Give us a call and we’ll come take a look at your eavestroughs and recommend the right gutter guard system for your home. Modern Renovations serves Winnipeg, East St. Paul, West St. Paul, St. Andrews, Headingley, and communities across southern Manitoba.