Can you install gutter guards yourself, and how is it done?

Tools and materials

An extension ladder with a standoff, a cordless drill or driver, the short self-tapping screws the guard maker specifies, aviation tin snips, a tape measure, a marker, work gloves (cut panel edges are sharp), safety glasses and a garden hose.

The installation sequence

1. Clean and flush. Scoop out every run, then run a hose into each downspout. If water backs up, clear the downspout before going further.
2. Fix the gutter. Tighten or replace loose hangers, reseal leaking end caps and corners with gutter sealant, and confirm a slight fall toward each downspout, commonly about a quarter inch per 10 feet.
3. Dry fit. Start at an end cap or corner. Set the first panel so its front edge sits on the gutter lip and its back edge lands where the instructions say, usually on the back of the gutter or against the fascia, never forced up under the shingles.
4. Fasten. Drive screws through the front edge into the gutter lip at the spacing given, often every panel end plus the middle.
5. Overlap and cut. Lap panels the amount specified and trim the last piece with snips. At inside and outside corners, miter the panels or use corner pieces so there is no open gap.
6. Test. Run the hose on the roof above the gutter. Water should drop through the guard, not sheet over the front.

Mistakes that cause trouble later

Setting guards over a gutter with no slope, skipping the downspout check, leaving gaps at corners, and lifting shingles to tuck the back edge under them. Where two roof slopes meet in a valley, water hits the gutter hard; a small splash diverter at that corner helps. If your roof edge lacks drip edge, read drip edge explained first, and see gutter sizing and guards for fit.