Homeowner guide
Roof Flashing & Drip Edge
Drip edge is the thin metal strip at the roof edge that guides water into the gutter instead of behind it. Without it, water wicks back and rots the fascia.
Drip edge
The small part that protects the fascia
When rain runs off a shingle roof, some of it clings to the underside of the shingles and runs back toward the house. Drip edge breaks that path and drops the water into the gutter.
Many older Albuquerque homes were built without drip edge. When we hang new gutters we check for it, and we can add a gutter apron so water lands in the gutter, not behind it.
Flashing
Where roofs meet walls
Step flashing and counter-flashing seal the places where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or a parapet. On flat roofs, the same job is done by the roof membrane turned up the parapet and capped with coping. Leaks at these joints often look like gutter problems, so we check both.
