Gutters and Drip Edge With a New Tulsa Roof
The roof edge is where every drop of rain leaves the house. Here is how drip edge and gutters should be handled on a replacement.
The edge of the roof is where every drop of rain finally leaves the house. Get it right and water drops cleanly into the gutter and away from the foundation. Get it wrong and it wicks into the fascia, stains the brick and pools beside the slab.
Two parts handle that job: the drip edge, which is part of the roof, and the gutters, which usually are not. A replacement is the time to look at both.
What Drip Edge Does
Drip edge is an L- or T-shaped strip of metal along the eaves and the sloped gable edges. It does two things. It holds the shingle edge out past the fascia board so water falls clear, and it caps the raw edge of the roof deck so wind-driven rain cannot soak into the wood.
Many Tulsa roofs installed in the 1980s and 1990s, especially in older parts of Midtown and South Tulsa, went on without it. The evidence is usually visible from the driveway: peeling paint and dark staining along the fascia, and soft wood at the corners.
How It Should Be Installed
- At the eaves, drip edge goes on first and the underlayment laps over it, so water running down the underlayment ends up on top of the metal.
- At the rakes, the underlayment goes on first and the drip edge laps over it, so wind-driven rain cannot get behind.
- Pieces overlap at joints and are fastened as the maker specifies.
Gutters: Keep, Rehang or Replace
Gutters are often taken down during a replacement so the crew can install drip edge and finish the eaves properly. What happens next depends on their condition.
- Sound and well pitched: rehang after the roof is finished.
- Hail-dented, leaking seams or loose hangers:replace at the same time. Dents also show the shingles took hail; see hidden roof damage signs.
- Rotted fascia behind them: replace the wood first, then hang new gutters.
Some roofing contractors install gutters themselves; others leave it to a gutter company. Make sure the written contract says who removes, rehangs or replaces them, and who is responsible if they are damaged during the job.
Tulsa Clay and Where the Water Goes
Much of the Tulsa area sits on expansive clay soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Downspouts that dump water right beside the slab keep that soil cycling, which is hard on foundations. A new roof installation in Tulsa is a good time to make sure every downspout carries water several feet away from the house.
Questions to Ask
- Will new drip edge be installed at both eaves and rakes?
- How will the drip edge lap with the underlayment at each edge?
- What will happen to the gutters, and who is responsible for them?
- Will you check the fascia boards once the gutters are down?
For the rest of the scope, see the new roof scope checklist and what's under your shingles.
