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  1. #1
    J. A. Freus's Avatar
    J. A. Freus Guest

    Default New gutters and drip edge issues

    Last month I had a new composition shingle roof with new 2” drip metal edge put on my house. The house is a split level triplex (two stories in back, three in front), built into a Southern California hillside. The fascia on my house is angled, and the edge of the shiplap overhangs the fascia by about an inch. The roofer gave me the option of having the shiplap edge shaved back so the drip edge metal would wrap tight against the fascia, but he said it would be fine either way, so I left it as it was.

    Last week I had installers put up gutters. The first thing they did was cut vertical strips into the drip edge metal, which they said was needed for the spikes to go through. (Although I was originally told that I could have invisible hangers, when the crew arrived the foreman said that due to the angle of the fascia, spikes and ferrules was really the only option. I had read something about using wedges with angled fascia, but was told it was not necessary with spikes and ferrules.) In some portions of the gutter, the spikes do go through the cuts that were made in the drip edge metal, but in many other sections the spikes were put in just level with or below the drip edge.

    At this point I am confused. The gutter company told me that the crew can use sealant on the drip metal edges and that would work to close up the cuts and prevent rust from forming. But is it really okay for the spikes and ferrules to go into the fascia below the drip edge? Since the back of the gutters do not go up high behind the drip edge, will water splash up and damage the fascia? And should wedges have been used to tighten the distance between the drip edge and the gutters? Now a roofer (not the one who put on the roof) has told me that I should have the gutters taken down and new drip edge installed. The roofer also said that the right sealant would work on the drip edge cuts if I wanted to leave things in place, but for areas that are easily visible it would be not be attractive. (Only at one section of the house is it really obvious – see photo.) At this point, I am seeking sound advice for the best ways to proceed. Thank you in advance for your responses.

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: New gutters and drip edge issues

    Typically, gutter installers do not destroy the fascia like that as the gutter installers typically just drive their gutter spikes through the face of the drip edge.

    Typically, it is roofers who destroy the new drip edge they install when they replace a roof because they do not want the additional cost to remove and re-install the gutters - so the roofers do just what you described. I am surprised that gutter installers did that.

    Gutter installers are not all innocent clear of destroying the drip edge ... what the gutter installers do is to make vertical cuts through the face of the drip edge at the ends of where the gutter is and at inside and outside corners - they do this because it makes their job easier to be able to cut the drip edge and bend it out of the way.

    The only real and best correction is to replace the drip edge - but that rarely gets done. The next best correction is to use a high quality sealant and *completely* seal up the cut notches you described and the vertical cuts I described.

    Drip edge has to be lapped to properly keep water out, those notches and vertical cuts void that ability, the sealant - if done well and completely with a high quality sealant ... *not cheap caulk* ... the end result is the same thing is done - the drip edge is sealed against water penetration. The problem with this correction is that sealants do not last as long as the drip edge would if the drip edge had not been cut and destroyed like you described.

    It's an expensive lesson for a gutter installer to learn, but if enough of them learned it, and if enough roofers learned that same replacement cost, maybe fewer contractors would butcher the drip edge that way.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  3. #3
    TCattell's Avatar
    TCattell Guest

    Default Re: New gutters and drip edge issues

    As always , JP seemed to hitthe spike on the head. I just want to add that while the pitch is completely necessary to have positive drainage to the down spouts, BUT, in the pic it seems that because of the pitch..... those vertical cuts in the drip edge are unnecessary( and unsightly) they should be completely sealed( if not replaced), the problem is that the proper sealants don't come in gloss white as far as I know. I would call the gutter guy back and tell him that needs some "tweaking"-Tom


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Ben Lomond, CA
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    72

    Default Re: New gutters and drip edge issues

    The gutter guys did the unnecessary damage and should replace the drip. Ask them to make the correction, at least where it is so visible. The sealants will get you a couple of years, but they will pull away and you will be left with this scar on the front of your house. Ask, file with CSLB, post to yelp, city search, Google, Angie's list, etc. Best of luck.


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Wisconsin
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    274

    Default Re: New gutters and drip edge issues

    I’m confused too, why would they even cut the drip edge??? I have never seen cutters secured through the drip edge. Yes, I’ve seen roofers cut new drip edge because it hangs down farther than the old ones, but not the other way around.

    J. A. Freus, you are right, I have seen the shims used on angled fascia, insert, not sure what will stop your gutter from rocking back and forth on the bottom as rain pours in and out and loosen the fasteners.


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    Last edited by Mike Kleisch; 11-05-2012 at 09:30 AM.

  6. #6
    J. A. Freus's Avatar
    J. A. Freus Guest

    Default Re: New gutters and drip edge issues

    Thank you to those who posted comments. Here is an update. The gutter company owner first said that he would use sealant, but I told him that such an approach was insufficient, and I had been getting suggestions to replace the drip edge. At that, he blew up, stating that such an attempt would ruin the roof. As an alternative he said he would come to the house, climb up a ladder, take measurements, and draw up a plan to design some kind of long metal strip or cap that could be adhered to the face of the drip edge. He said it would not be necessary to remove the gutters to do the repairs, and that his employees would do the work under his direction.

    While the owner has licenses in general contracting and sheet metal, he is 74 years old, and had a stroke and a heart attack last year. The thought of him climbing a ladder against a three-story house is disturbing. And though he seems to have great faith in his crew, they were the ones who needlessly cut the edge metal and I seriously question their ability to get the job done right. I am afraid that if they attempt repairs on the drip edge it might make matters worse. And there is the 10-year labor warranty from my roofer that I am concerned about jeopardizing. (My roofer also said that he would be willing to make repairs, but he said it would be difficult to work around the gutters, and he wanted nothing to do with the gutter company for any sheet metal work.) The gutter company owner said I could have a lifetime warranty, but I am not even sure what that would cover.


    There is also an issue about the gutter slope. My roofer said the pitch was not only unattractive but too extreme. It is worse in the front of the house, where he thought rain water would go flying past the downspout and off the end. I had another roofer look at it and he said that would never happen, and aesthetics were irrelevant. Are there industry standards with regard to slopes? I attached some additional pictures, looking at the back of the house.


    At present, there are three sections on the back of the house that do not yet have openings or downspouts, and the rainy season is about to start. The gutter company owner said that downspouts could be put in when he came to the house to take measurements. While the gutters need downspouts, at this point I don’t know if I want this company to do any more work. I am seriously considering telling them to take back their gutters (which I have not yet paid for), and go after them for the cost of repairs. Thanks again for your input.


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