“There are so many different manufacturers coming out with this and that, but we love Steve’s product and the company does such a great job,” he says.
Gabrione first installed a Raindrop Gutter Guard half a decade ago, but since then he’s installed hundreds of systems for his clients. It’s all part of a system designed for easy, hands-off use that has roofers like Mike Gabrione and his Chicago-metro area company coming back each year. Raindrop also offers a downspout clean-out system to assist homes with underground drain tiles or water harvesting systems. The feature ensures all water flushes through, taking micro debris with it. “We came up with a widemouth outlet that opens the downspout outlet and gets rid of snagging possibilities,” Ben Nitch says. Where other products lay flat to handle water, Raindrop guards are designed to be installed at a pitch, as a continuation of the roof, to keep debris moving off the gutter.
#Raindrop gutter guard system free
The earliest installed Raindrop guards are about 18 years old, and the team is planning for a free take-back program to have the old products recycled as well as offering a new product discounted rate.Ĭlogging is an annual gutter guard problem Steve Nitch’s team engineered away. Raindrop also offers a 20-year warranty on its product that the company has only had to use a handful of times. Where other materials break, the polypropylene bends and bounces back. Like the automakers that noticed the benefits of polypropylene’s flexible properties for car bumpers, Steve Nitch notes that his guards can withstand a lot of damage, even from trees. “Our product lifespan is expected for 23 years before you might see a breakdown.” 3. “Vinyl products only last one or two years in these temperatures before they become brittle and fall apart,” Ben Nitch says. Summer can be just as extreme, with temperatures near a building roof rising 20 or 30 degrees higher than ground temperatures. The company’s most concentrated customer is around Wisconsin, where winter temperatures sit below freezing for months at a time. Heat cables can also be installed just under the guard for added winter water flow. What’s more, the dark color of the product soaks in heat from the sun during the cold months, naturally melting snow and ice to keep water flowing into the gutters year-round. Raindrop polypropylene, with added UV stabilizers, is the same material automakers use for car bumpers. “The granules will flush through the system, and the gutters will work as they’re supposed to.” 2. “In letting the smaller stuff through you can handle a ton of water,” says Ben Nitch, director of Raindrop’s marketing and sales and second generation of the family-owned business. Unlike metal mesh designs-which keep almost everything out of the gutter, including water-the aperture size of the polypropylene grid prevents large debris from clogging the gutter but allows smaller debris to sweep through.
Nitch’s Raindrop Gutter Guard system starts with a sloped grid made of damage-resilient polypropylene that breaks self-cohesion of water droplets, immediately forcing water into a gutter. “I had some of the best minds working with me,” he says. They must do all this while offering curb appeal, adapting to different gutters and roof styles, and remaining cost effective. The group was fascinated with the gutter guard puzzle: Guards need to handle any amount of rainwater, keep debris out of the gutter, and withstand destructive weather, exterior degradation, and different climates.
At a barbecue one day, he found himself playing horseshoes with a number of corporate R&D engineers. Nitch decided to come up with his own solution. Even with the number of gutters and gutter guard options available, none were quite up to the task of handling large amounts of water, staying clean, and generally doing what they’re supposed to do. Steve Nitch started his roofing career in 1985 in the Midwest, where he learned the ins and outs of directing-and sometimes tricking-water to pour off roofs, into gutters, and away from the foundations of homes and businesses.
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