Drip Edge

[Richard W. Washington]

I am trying to remember if the drip edge should be behind the gutter or not? This one was not.

[Tim Spargo]

I have a "brain fart" once in awhile too....

Drip edge would have been put on at time of roof installation, gutter after. Was trying to see if that was starter course on shingles or not... just curious.. we all have diff ways we do things, I will try to pull up the shingles a bit when I ladder up to the roof and look for layers, felt and metal config.

Take care.

Tim

[Michael Roberson]

Preferably behind, not always possible. My installer cut slots in my drip edge to get it high enough in the middle to drain to the sides.

[David P. Valley]

With the gutter butting up tight against the underside of those shingles, I wouldn't call out a missing drip edge. That installation is fine.

Then again, the drip edge flashing wouldn't even be that hard to install with the gutter in place.



Now if the gutter was installed a tad lower on the fascia board (leaving a fascia gap) then a drip edge would be considered missing.

[Darren Spencer]

All the roofing associations highly recommend the use of drip edge. You can find that info in the installation directions. I always make note of this in new builds. If we just make buyers aware then maybe one day the builders will start having better practice.

[William J. Decker]

Just had my roof replaced, by a company where I know the owners.

I had to re-write the proposal specs:

Ice & Water Shield (I&WS) on both the eaves and rakes.
Drip edges on both.
I&WS over the drip edge on the eaves and under it at the rakes.
6' of I&WS at the eaves, instead of the usual 3' (Chicago, home of the ice dam )
Chimney counter flashing cut into the mortar joints, rather than just caulked.

he thought I was crazy, but added $350 to the quote. I told him that these were the current "best practices". He told me that he didn't know that (even though he is a member of the CHicago Roofing Council).

Also, he is a good guy. He never uses nail guns to shingle a roof, only hand nailed.

But, he told me that it was getting very difficult to get work, doing a "best practices" job when there are so many other "shingle nailers" (NOT state licensed roofers, which is required in Illinois) underbidding him.

So, it's not just HIs that are getting low balled by non-professional competitors.

Hope this helps;

[rmaday]

Why I & WS all the way up the rake edge?

And why the problem with a nail gun?

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by dvalley

With the gutter butting up tight against the underside of those shingles, I wouldn't call out a missing drip edge. That installation is fine.

Then again, the drip edge flashing wouldn't even be that hard to install with the gutter in place.



Now if the gutter was installed a tad lower on the fascia board (leaving a fascia gap) then a drip edge would be considered missing.

Ditto

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by wdecker

I had to re-write the proposal specs:

Ice & Water Shield (I&WS) on both the eaves and rakes.
Drip edges on both.
I&WS over the I&WS on the eaves and under it at the rakes.
6' of I&WS at the eaves, instead of the usual 3' (Chicago, home of the ice dam )
Chimney counter flashing cut into the mortar joints, rather than just caulked.

I think you mean drip edge where bolded and underlined, no?...otherwise I don't get it.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by lkage

I think you mean drip edge where bolded and underlined, no?...otherwise I don't get it.

Over the drip edge. Sorry. I will correct.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by rmaday

Why I & WS all the way up the rake edge?

And why the problem with a nail gun?

1) to guard against water intrusion at the rake. Very common with our high winds and ice.
2) Nail guns are, rarely, properly adjusted and can dimple the chingle too much, or eve tear it. There should always me a little play under the nail head.

BTW: Good thing my daughers are fluent in Spanish. The actual installers didn't read the specs. I could have let them go on, and then called my fiend out to redo the work (as not complient with the contract, but we (my daughers and I) took it as a "teaching moment".

[Michael Roberson]

Nail guns are, rarely, properly adjusted and can dimple the shingle too much, or eve tear it.

I found one roof 3/12 pitch, 3 tab shingles, 10 years old, where the air pressure/nail gun was not adjusted properly, and the nails were held up, and allot were not sealed at all. You can get into trouble faster with one, however if you know what you are doing, you can haul butt, and still do it right. There is allot in the right gun, but way more adjustment in the user.

I have also heard from roofers that they are starting tear off whole sheets of sheeting, rather than attempt to tear off Ice/water shield. Plan on it when that time comes around again.

I do know contractors that will Ice/water shield the WHOLE roof, and wait to shingle it till they feel like it, (up to 3 months) wonder how much sheeting they will be tearing up in 20 years?

[Chuck Evans]

Originally Posted by rmaday

And why the problem with a nail gun?

Here's what you can get with a maladjusted air gun. This was a brand new roof. All the nails driven completely through the shingles. The shingles were just being held by gravity and were sloughing off in some places. I'm sure that if the sellers didn't get the roof redone, IKE must have stripped it bare.

[rmaday]

You can also find guys (hand nailing) swinging a hammer for the first time or skipping nails, or...

Well, you get the picture

Originally Posted by mroberson

Iif you know what you are doing, you can haul butt, and still do it right. There is allot in the right gun, but way more adjustment in the user.

And that is exactly my point. It matters not what tool is being used (hand or nail gun), it matters who's using the tool.

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by cevans

Here's what you can get with a maladjusted air gun.

Not the guns fault.

Guns don't kill roofs, people kill roofs.