Do you like the Mister Landscaper products & does anyone else have any longterm experience w/ this sort of layout? I purchased the starter kit (50 ft. of tubing, asstd. stakes & drippers, the patio & potted plant kit, & the timer)-I'm going to try & set it up this weekend. I think a system like this might just as efficient or more, as the soaker hoses I currently have in the perimeter beds around the house. I'll move my soaker hoses to the outer edges, & water that way, instead of the intermittent sprinkler water they get now... My yard is a typical suburban rectangle, 103' x 167', just under 1/2 acre, lots of mature trees, so pretty heavily shaded. I value my few sunny spots & try to cram as much in there as I can, & I think if could get a handle on the watering, I could cram in even more plants!

There are various shields (mostly either net-type or an overlapping design) sold with the promise to keep leaves and other debris out of the gutters. I have not heard or experienced 100% satisfaction with any of them. OTOH, the dis-satisfaction seems to occur in direct relation to the number and types of trees in the area, lol. I have no personal experience with the overlapping sort, but those who like them love them, and those who don't, don't. Since my area often has truly heavy rains, and a neighbor noticed that really heavy rain had a tendency to shoot *over* his catchment gutter instead of the water curling down into the gutter, I didn't even consider putting the overlap-type on. I do think that they would be okay in areas not prone to tropical storms, but they just aren't quite right for my locale. My experience is with both plastic and aluminum mesh-types, and I prefer the very fine-meshed plastic. My present house is surrounded by pin oaks, maples, pines, hickory and several other types of oak. The first three listed are the prime offenders for producing gutter blockages. Oh yeah, that they are. Anyway, I have the gutters checked once a year (I'm too old for playing on the roof) and since installing the fine mesh covers, have not had any difficulties with leaves, pine needles, maple spinners or other stuff blocking them. The coarse-mesh plastic was not sufficient to stop pine needles, maple spinners, or the oak bloom. The aluminum had mesh that was a bit too coarse and several sections were damaged by branches during one the storms. The fine-mesh has been up for several (8?) years, and has done just fine, apparently just flexing when a branch hits. It's worth saying that even the plastic mesh guards are not cheap, and the cost is in addition to the gutters, so the total can be quite a bill. However, it sure beats being at the top of a 40-foot ladder scooping out gunk every couple weeks all autumn.

The roof cannot wear out faster whether an item is installed or not UNDER the roof. The drip edge kicks the water out away from the fascia and into the gutter. You shouldn't pay the contractor until you inspect the finished job to see all the job parameters have been completed and done to a skill level that is appropriate. It becomes more ardous for you now. If you paid for the drip edge then either get it installed or get a credit and call someone else in to do it. Get estimates first so you know how much of a credit to ask for. Ron

Ichabod, we're in the desert southwest, but I probably should have expanded on that comment! Our annual average rainfall here is under 10". Snow does happen but is not common. Ice dams are not a problem here, for example, so local code does not require ice and water shield at the eaves, either. We recently had a wet 6" snow but that is fairly remarkable for us, down here in the southern part of New Mexico. Also to you and tlbean2004, thanks for your thoughts on the metal flashing. We may request metal valley flashings, with ice and water underneath. Metal flashings got the roof through 17 years with no problems, so I'm not sure why to abandon them now...unless the technology of modern underlayments has rendered metal valley flashings obsolete. I thought that was what the roofer was implying, and we weren't sure if that was correct. I'll admit I am also a bit more worried about this roof than I would be if it was not such a low pitch. So you folks are a big help. klem1, thanks for your explanation. Nope, no interest here in removing the 2x2 trim to try to treat the rafter tail end grain (DH would leave me if I suggested that) so it looks like the consensus is to keep a very wide metal flashing. I guess it will be less distracting when painted to match the wood. Our house was built in 1965 and I sure don't want to make uninformed decisions that lead to damage...all for the sake of looks. (As much as I dislike the look of the big drip edge.) I guess a smaller drip edge and rotted wood would not be very pretty, either. I need to figure out which ice and water shield product will work in our hot temperatures, if we want it under the metal valley flashing. One bid specifies GAF Weatherwatch (but the contractor isn't local.) I don't know how heat resistant that product is. I know Grace Ice and Water has the best reputation, but I was surprised to see the Grace website says that only their most expensive product, Grace Ultra, should be used in the desert southwest: Grace IWS Contractor's Guide So if the esteemed Grace Ice & Water Shield (regular product) will not stand up to desert southwest heat, I wonder how any of the (much less expensive) GAF ice and shield products would work. There are a few scary stories in some roofing forums about "bitumen bleed" when ice and shield products are used in higher temps than recommended. (Roofing is not for sissies, have you noticed?)