Reviews
What others are saying about MasterShield Gutter Guards.
AskTheBuilder.com
Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and writer of the top home improvement website, AskTheBuilder.com, Tim Carter has years of gutter guard reviews under his belt. In 2008, he allowed manufacturers to come to his home. They were able to install gutter guards on different sections of his garage. Tim has been writing gutter guard reviews for more than a decade. He’s always said he didn’t like gutter guards because they let debris in, particularly in the Spring. Tim chose his garage because it was under a very messy tree that dropped lots of small husks and helicopters. One system got the driveway side of the garage and MasterShield got the reverse side where his home had a courtyard with a patio. While we thought the courtyard might not get as much wind to blow debris off the system, we just made sure to pitch it with the roof and let the debris fall.
After more than 9 months, MasterShield Gutter Guards took top honors. Carter was so confident in its performance, he had MasterShield installed on his home, just in time for Autumn. We went out after the test was officially complete and saw the conditions. MasterShield looked like it had just been installed and had no debris on it. The other type of gutter guard sat flat and had trapped a lot of the Spring blooms as well as lots of sticks and twigs. It was only after this test that our competitor started to say they could pitch with the roof, too.
“MasterShield Gutter Protection does what it says, keeping all leaves, oak tassels, helicopters and even pine needles out of gutters,” said Carter. “I have tested numerous types of gutter guards all claiming they keep debris out and homeowners won’t have to clean their gutters again. As readers of my website know, my research has shown a very large percentage of these products fail in the springtime, and would not be a prudent investment. MasterShield makes me happy since I won’t have to clean out the gutters again and, my wife’s happy since I’ll stay off the roof.”
“Other gutter guards have jumped on the micromesh bandwagon. Although they might look similar to MasterShield, my gutter guard test results proved to me there are significant performance differences between these products. The filter alone is not what makes MasterShield work,” adds Carter. “If you’re going to spend your money on a gutter guard system, don’t settle; buy the one that works.”
Note: Tim Carter received no compensation for his test.
American Builder
Consumer Reports Video
Roof Shingle Warranties
MasterShield has had its installation methodology approved by GAF, Owens-Corning, CertainTeed and IKO and we’ve attached their letters rather than take our word on it.
GAF, the largest manufacturer of roof shingles, specifically addresses gutter covers in one of the many technical reports they have online. While they lay out parameters of what to do and what not to do when installing a gutter guard, they don’t specifically have issues with gutter covers going underneath their shingles.
In fact, MasterShield contacted GAF several years ago about our installation methodology. You can see their response to us to the right.
MasterShield’s installation was approved because the back of our product “floats” between the starter course and the first row of shingles. We do not use any fasteners on the roof, only on the front lip of the gutter. The weight of the shingles is sufficient to press down on the back of MasterShield and to keep it firmly in place.
Who else doesn’t have a problem with MasterShield and their roof shingle warranties? Shingle manufacturer Owens-Corning. Their technical team reviewed our installation instructions and methodology and gave us a letter saying it wouldn’t void their roof shingle warranties. You can see their letter to the right as well.
Recently, MasterShield reached out to CertainTeed and IKO. They have also reviewed our installation methodology. Their letters are also viewable from this page.
The key to the MasterShield installation is our Shingle-Safe™ back. Specifically, we don’t want to cause shingle lift, we want both our back fin and the shingles to maintain contact with the sub roof at all times, even as the gutter drops towards the downspouts. To note, this is not possible to do with thick and rigid gutter guards. Without our flexibility, troughs can form in the shingles or they can be lifted up from the sub roof. These situations can cause problems to your shingles you should look to avoid.
You don’t want an installation that looks like the picture below. This “strong” gutter guard has lifted the shingles, creating a trough behind the first row. Water pools here in the rain, just like it did when this picture was taken. You can also see that with this flat installation, debris is starting to collect on the filter itself. A gutter guard that traps debris is a bigger problem to a roof since the debris can wick water up the shingles where it can cause problems.
When water sits on a shingle like its doing here, it can work its way under the shingles at every seam. It can cause your roof felt and your wood sub roof to sustain water damage. Roof shingle warranties may be impacted if a gutter guard is installed in this manner. MasterShield’s thin back fin ensures this can’t happen to your home and your shingle weight will always “win” over the back of our gutter guard.
