Drip edge

Hello, Iam having a problem with water going under the drip edge where it is nailed down under the shingles It is running down between the facia board and the back of the gutter. Some of the nails holding the drip edge down have raised up & so has the drip edge. Can i use some kind of caulking under the drip edge where it is nailed to the shingles? What do you suggest? Any help will be greatly apprecated. Thanks, Don Reed

 

Sound like a problem if the nails won't hold the drip edge down. Is the plywood edge under the shingles wet and not able to hold the nails? You might be better off to remove the metal drip edge and add another row of shingles. Slide them under the existing shingles up side down with the straight edge hanging just a little over the gutter to keep the water from going behind the gutter.

Check to see if the shingles were put on the right way. There should be two sets of shingles at the roof edge. First layer is up side down with straight edge toward the gutter. Second layer is on top of the first layer with the straight edge in normal position, away from the gutter, as is all the other shingles on the roof.

Duke of ....

 

Duke,

I believe your method is incorrect. For the starter row, you should cut the tabs off the shingle so the tar strip holds down the tabs on the first row of shingles right at the edge of the roof. Putting the first row upside down is a short cut people use but it doesn't work properly.

With architectural shingles they sell starter strips since the tar is on the bottom of the shingle instead of the top of the other shingle. I've seen guys just buy 3 tab in the same color and use those for the starter strip.

 

Don,

It sounds to me like your roof has d-style drip edge on it. I really hate it when that is used along the gutter, for several reasons. First, it isn't usually long enough to cover the back of the gutter. If the flashing doesn't cover the back of the gutter, you'll have a space where water can drip behind the gutters. Second, when you nail that down to the sheathing, it isn't holding onto much wood- and if the roof has any prior water damage, there's hardly any decent wood to nail to along that bottom edge- so the nails won't hold and you'll have pretty much the exact situation you've described.

You might be able to get the flashing to stay put by pushing it down where it belongs, then putting a few long screws (like galvanized sheet metal screws) through the face of the flashing, just above the gutter. I'm not sure that any type of caulking would be a good solution. It's hard to say what the solution is, but the problem is probably rotton wood along the edge of the roof, leaving nothing substantial for the flashing to nail to.

 

Yes rotten wood at the bottom really sucks since nothing will hold tight. I've used the Henry products. Home depot has caulk gun size up to 5 gal. buckets...and I like the elastomeric clear or tar variety. Works great for all areas to seal on roof, and much better than regular roof tar. It'll definitely keep the drip edges down and is waterproof.

 

You problem is not with the starter strip or that kind of stuff. It sounds like you have drip edge on the roof where the gutters go. This is a NO NO. You should have gutter spron. It goes about 3" up under the shingles, and goes inside your gutter. That way watter will not get behind and come down your wall and on the fascia. I see that alot especially with roofers who are trying to cut corners. Good Luck