Can You Reuse Old Gutter Guards When the Gutters Go Back Up?

Old gutter guards often come off in one piece when a gutter is replaced, and that makes reusing them tempting. Whether they go back on depends less on how they look from the ground and more on what the metal, plastic or mesh has been through since the first install. A guard that lies flat and clean on the lawn can still fail once it is clipped to a trough, bent, and asked to shed water for another ten winters.

Gutters and guards

Start by separating the guard from the gutter it sat on. The gutter is usually being replaced for a reason: sagging, separated seams, rust at the joints, or a profile that no longer fits the fascia. The guard was made to sit on a particular gutter profile and lip height. If the new gutter is a different size or shape, the old guard may not seat at all, even if every piece looks sound.

Lay each section on a flat surface, outside, in daylight. Look at the edges first. A guard edge that has been bent up to clear a ladder or pried over a trough lip will show a crease or a gap. Check the corners where sections meet. Look for mesh that has lifted, screen that has sagged in the middle of a long section, and any place where the frame has been opened up.

Plastic and foam parts need a different eye. A plastic guard that has spent years in full sun can turn brittle, so it cracks when it is unclipped instead of bending. Press a corner gently. If it whitens, flakes or snaps, that section is finished. Foam inserts and brush-style strips can hold leaves and seed, and they can also hold moisture against the trough if they have not been cleaned out before the old gutter comes down.

Metal guards show their age at the fasteners and at the mesh. Look for rust where the guard touches the gutter, and for corrosion where a steel guard was set against an aluminum gutter. Dissimilar metals in contact can speed up corrosion, which is one more reason not to assume a guard that survived the old gutter will survive the new one unchanged.

What it costs

Reusing a guard saves the price of new guard material on the run it covers, but it adds labor that a plain install would not carry. Each section has to come off clean, be inspected, be cleaned, and be fitted to a gutter that may have a different profile. If a reused section needs a new clip, a new bracket or a cut to fit a shorter run, those pieces belong on the quote as their own lines.

A quote that says "reuse existing guards" without a count of sections is incomplete. Ask how many linear feet are being reused, how many sections were inspected and rejected, and what replacement costs for each rejected section by length. A replacement priced by the foot is easier to check against the remaining run than a single lump figure.

There is also the cost of a bad reuse. A guard that does not seat right can let debris into the trough, leave a gap at the lip where shingle grit and leaves collect, and make the next cleaning harder. If a reinstalled guard fails within a season, the question of who pulls it off and sets a new one should already be answered in the quote.

Warranty status needs a check as well. Some guard warranties are tied to the original installation, the original owner, or the original gutter. Reinstalling a guard on a new gutter may change what the paperwork covers. Look at the warranty card or the manufacturer's terms, and ask the roofer to state in writing whether the reinstall is covered by the guard maker, by the contractor, by both, or by neither.

What to ask

• How many linear feet of existing guard are you proposing to reuse, and on which elevations?
• Will each section be inspected flat, outside, and marked as reusable or rejected before the new gutter goes up?
• What is the replacement price per foot for guard sections that fail inspection?
• Does the new gutter match the profile and lip height the old guard was built for?
• Who supplies new clips, brackets and fasteners for reused sections, and is that line on the quote?
• Is the reinstalled guard covered under the existing guard warranty, and who signs that statement?
• Who removes and hauls away the rejected guard sections?

Ask for these answers in writing before the old guard comes down. A roofer can often give a first read from clear photos of each section, but a flat inspection on the ground is the check that counts. If the answer to the warranty question is unclear, call the guard manufacturer or the dealer who sold the original guard and ask what happens to coverage on reinstall.

Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 if you want to talk through a particular run before you decide. Bring the measurements, a few sharp photos of each guard section, and the year of the original install if you know it.