Shingles causing gutter drainage problem?

I noticed that my gutters were leaking and thought it was due to them pulling away from the house, so I cleaned and reattached them with new spikes wherever they were either missing or loose. This reduced the amount that leaked but I'm still having a leakage problem. One of the problem gutters is visible/ accessible from a covered patio (with a little climbing) so I went up there during a recent rain storm to see what the problem was. The gutters appeared to be draining fine but the shingles appeared to be running the water behind the gutters instead of into it. I noticed that pushing down on the edge of the shingles that hang over the gutters the leaking in that area stopped so its almost like the edges are lifting causing the problem. Can I just bend them to stop this and will the stay in that position or is there a better way to solve this problem?

Thanks,

Erik

 

Erik:
I am not sure if they will stay down or not. It sounds like your problem is that you do not have any gutter aprons on your gutters. A gutter apron is an "L" shaped piece of metal that attaches to your roof, and drops down into your gutters. The shingles stick out over the apron. The apron stops water from going behind the gutters. Have a dry day.

 

Your other options would be to caulk along the top edge where the gutter meets the fascia. That's one of the more effective solutions, but personally I think it looks like crap and it makes it a nightmare for whoever has to take off your gutters in the future.

Alternatley, you could slip an upside-down L shaped piece of aluminum underneath your first row of shingles that extends them out far enough so the drops of water fall off cleanly in to the gutter. This is known as a drip edge (or drip cap). This is further to any drip edge that might already be on your roof. Most gutter/siding companies with a tin break can bend you up all the drip cap for pretty cheap (I do it for less than $1/ft)

 

yeah sounds like you dont have any gutter aprons.

 

My apologies for not replying sooner. I thought I would be notified via email when responses were made but never received one. Must not have enabled that option.

Thanks guys for the great information. I think you all hit the nail on the head about not having gutter aprons. I just went up there to check and there is definitely nothing between the shingles and the gutters. Maybe when the shingles were new they drained more properly but now over time have warped a bit causing the problem. I think we are in need of a new roof anyway (was told could probably get another 10 years or so when we had the home inspection at purchase 7 years ago) and will probably replace the gutters as well. In the meantime I will have to look into finding an inexpensive gutter apron solution to this problem.

Erik