Drip edge is a metal flashing that Roofers install under the first row of shingles. It serves many vital purposes. Here are five.
1. It provides support to the shingles so that it does not curl down over the years and cause the shingles to crack and break.
2. It prevents potential water to run down behind the Eavestrough (between the fascia board and back of the eavestrough.
3. It creates overlapping of the wooden fascia that can be prone to rot due to water penetration.
4. It covers small gaps between the roof sheathing and fascia which will prevent animals from seeing an opening which they will chew at until they are into your attic.
5. It is also perfect for sealing the start of the ice and water shield. Ice and water shield is a water proof membrane that roofing companies install before shingling and helps prevent water leakage in the event of an ice dam.
It is important to state at the beginning that drip edge is a part of your roof and not your eavestrough. However, from an eavestrough standpoint drip edge is essential to provide you with a roof that will drain water off the roof and into the eavestrough properly. MANY roofers take the short cut of not installing drip edge. Most homes I work on DO NOT have it. Roofers that take the short cut of not using drip edge will often leave the shingles extra long (2-4 inches) so that they will sag down into the eavestrough. This will eventually weaken the shingles and hinder proper installation of any new eavestroughs you may be considering after the roof is done. It also severely restricts the top eavestrough opening. See the pictures below of a house I worked on last year that only had an opening of about 1 1/2 inches.
The above roof had no drip edge on it and the shingle over hang was about 3 1/2 inches! Look at the picture below to see how much room there was to try and get your hand in to clean out debris or do repairs!
As seen in the picture below there is no drip edge which causes the shingles to curl down allowing water to drip behind the eavestrough. (the black mesh is a top quality gutter protection installed in the eavestrough)
Notice how the shingles are rounded and curled. This person had a moderate amount of water dripping between the back of the eaves and fascia. The shingles were so brittle that it was not possible to lift them up and install drip edge because they risked cracking and breaking the shingles. Below is another photo.
This picture below shows an obvious gap between the roof deck and the top of the fascia. The picture shows that the current roof sheathing is too short and so is the fascia! It is a disaster waiting to happen!
With a gap like you see above, in the Fall, squirrels and other animals seek warmth. Since most house heat escapes out of the ceiling of your house, a gap like this will rapidly exhaust heat and attract the animals. If an animal gets in there, it will enter straight into the attic or chew its way in like the picture below on a house I worked on in Hamilton last year. Look closely and you will see a round hole in the fascia. A squirrel had made its home in the attic!
1. It provides support to the shingles so that it does not curl down over the years and cause the shingles to crack and break.
2. It prevents potential water to run down behind the Eavestrough (between the fascia board and back of the eavestrough.
3. It creates overlapping of the wooden fascia that can be prone to rot due to water penetration.
4. It covers small gaps between the roof sheathing and fascia which will prevent animals from seeing an opening which they will chew at until they are into your attic.
5. It is also perfect for sealing the start of the ice and water shield. Ice and water shield is a water proof membrane that roofing companies install before shingling and helps prevent water leakage in the event of an ice dam.
It is important to state at the beginning that drip edge is a part of your roof and not your eavestrough. However, from an eavestrough standpoint drip edge is essential to provide you with a roof that will drain water off the roof and into the eavestrough properly. MANY roofers take the short cut of not installing drip edge. Most homes I work on DO NOT have it. Roofers that take the short cut of not using drip edge will often leave the shingles extra long (2-4 inches) so that they will sag down into the eavestrough. This will eventually weaken the shingles and hinder proper installation of any new eavestroughs you may be considering after the roof is done. It also severely restricts the top eavestrough opening. See the pictures below of a house I worked on last year that only had an opening of about 1 1/2 inches.
The above roof had no drip edge on it and the shingle over hang was about 3 1/2 inches! Look at the picture below to see how much room there was to try and get your hand in to clean out debris or do repairs!
Prior to a roof installation, drip edge is very simple and inexpensive to install. Drip edge costs only about 65 cents per foot, is installed quickly and comes in various colours. It is a tragedy that it is overlooked most of the time.
As seen in the picture below there is no drip edge which causes the shingles to curl down allowing water to drip behind the eavestrough. (the black mesh is a top quality gutter protection installed in the eavestrough)
Notice how the shingles are rounded and curled. This person had a moderate amount of water dripping between the back of the eaves and fascia. The shingles were so brittle that it was not possible to lift them up and install drip edge because they risked cracking and breaking the shingles. Below is another photo.
This picture below shows an obvious gap between the roof deck and the top of the fascia. The picture shows that the current roof sheathing is too short and so is the fascia! It is a disaster waiting to happen!
With a gap like you see above, in the Fall, squirrels and other animals seek warmth. Since most house heat escapes out of the ceiling of your house, a gap like this will rapidly exhaust heat and attract the animals. If an animal gets in there, it will enter straight into the attic or chew its way in like the picture below on a house I worked on in Hamilton last year. Look closely and you will see a round hole in the fascia. A squirrel had made its home in the attic!
Normal drip edge covers a gap of only about 2 inches. However, for a gap like this, drip edge can be custom made from eavestrough coil so that it extends about 4 to 6 inches up under the shingles and down 2 inches maximum down over the fascia. Any more than 2 inches can interfere with eavestrough and leafgaurd installation. One final tip is that the shingles should extend about 3/4 of inch past the drip edge to ensure proper water flow directly into the eavestrough. It is much easier to have drip edge installed in conjuntion with a new roof than installing it afterwards.
This final picture shows a potential problem with the shingles not hanging 3/4 inch past the drip edge. The surface tension of the water will cause the water to travel past the end of the shingle and then travel backwards toward the fascia / eavestrough. If the distance is not great enough, the water may hit the fascia in heavy rains and cause leaking behind the eavestrough and may require additional flashing work to make sure the water goes where it is supposed to.
There you have it! The importance of roofing drip edge! Demand it if you are getting a new roof because EVERY roof needs it! For all your eavestrough needs, contact The Eavestrough Company at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or phone us at 905-966-2564.
This is a very well done post, I own a roofing company and have been looking for something like this to help convince customers that it is worth the extra capital to install drip edge. Thanks for the blog!
ReplyDeleteDave Barton (Uxbridge Roofing)
Great job Eavestrough Company! I own a roofing company and I have been looking for information to help convince customers to invest the extra capital to install drip edge. This was very well done...
ReplyDeleteThank you David of Uxbridge Roofing. Obviously you care about what you do and do the job right. That's a rarity in roofing. There are no more important parts of your house than the roof (to keep the water out) and the eavestrough (to get the water away). I appreciate your comments.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has an area on part of her roof that has drip edge installed. The problem is that the person who installed the gutter did not install the gutter with the back edge of the gutter extending up under the drip edge, so the water goes down behind the gutter and causes rot on the ceiling behind the facia board. It just shows how inept some contractors can be.
ReplyDeleteThat is really unfortunate. I have seen this on a few occasions. For the life of me I can't figure out why any installer would do this!
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