Replies

1. 
   JTC1 | Dec 31, 2009 09:23am | #1

   Mistake?

   Not likely, skipped to save a few dollars - more likely.

   Kind of like his "forgetting" to add the ice & water shield = more $$.

   Leaving out the drip edge is a pretty stupid way to try and pocket a few extra dollars since it is directly visible on the completed job.

   Wunner if there is felt on the whole roof.......

   That being said, all I really know is that I was taught to always add drip edge to insure a problem free, long lasting, weathertight roof. Always have used it on my own roof and those done for others.

   Other, more experienced roofers will chime in with the exact "why".

   Jim

2. 
   webby | Dec 31, 2009 11:01am | #2

   I remember a discussion not long ago on the old breaktime, about using drip edge.

   There were a surprising amount of posts saying that no drip edge was used in various parts of the country. Kind of a regional thing. Hopefully someone else on here will remember that thread too.

   IIrc one of the areas that drip edge was not common was SC.

   I would use drip edge we always do at work, I would rather have it than not, but a 7/12 pitch probably would be ok without versus a 3 or 4 /12 pitch. Depending on the overhang the roofer put on the shingle. Hopefully he used a starter course too.

   Just watch putting a ladder up against the rake shingles.

   If your agreement, contract, or description of work to be performed, mentioned or specified the drip than the roofer would be getting a call back if I were you.

1. 
   cjeffrey | Dec 31, 2009 08:09pm | #3

   I always ask whether they want new drip edge. If there is none I recommend we put it on.

   Did you have some written agreement/contract? What does it say?

   As previously stated some areas do not always use it.

3. 
   MrBill | Dec 31, 2009 10:44pm | #4

   Scott,

   I live in Maryland about 20 miles south of Washington DC and I know that not a single roof in my area (probably the entire Washington DC area as far as that goes) had a drip edge on it when new. The original roof on my house lasted close to 30 years with no problems other than starting to look a little ragged. I had it replaced about a year ago and had to "insist" that drip edge be used on the new roof.

   Honestly if it was not for the fact that I was thinking of doing the roof myself and had bought a couple of books and done a bunch of online "research", I probably never would have known about it. I really cannot see how it adds a single thing to the actual performance of the roof. It does make it look a lot "neater" than just having the shingles hanging over the edge.

1. 
   MikeSmith | Dec 31, 2009 11:41pm | #5

   we use ... and insist that our roofing subs use,....drip edge on both eaves and rakes

   here's the main reason for drip edge... it's called DRIP EDGE because it forces water to DRIP..

   if you do not have drip edge , capillary action will make the water follow the bottom of the shingle uphill and then onto the top of the fascia board or the rake board...

   you can verify this yourself.. a house with no drip edge will have a wet top on the fascia or rake after a rain... AND.. most fascia and rake is not backprimed, so the water gets into the wood... rhen the sun comes out and heats uo the surface... the water trys to exit thru the face and lifts the paint from behind

   so the tops of the fascia and rake will blister and peel

   drip edge is shaped so the water will follow down the face... then the flare at the bottom forces the water to drip...which is important when installing drip edge... you do NOT want it to hug the fascia or rake ,,it has to be loose

   ( damn.... half my post disappears behind the right hand border so i can't see what has been typed )

   loose... so it can drip free.. if it hugs, the capillary action will bring it back onto the face of the fascia and cause complaints about water running behind the gutter

4. 
   catfish | Jan 01, 2010 06:43am | #6

   i leave a inch overhang without drip. 7/12 you'll be okay. Carolinas used no drip anywhere when I was around Charlotte area in the early 90's. Some places always use it.

5. 
   Matt | Jan 01, 2010 10:20am | #7

   Was drip edge written in the contract?

   It is rarely used around here. When specified, the going rate is around $1 a foot, installed.

6. 
   JeffinPA | Jan 02, 2010 12:22pm | #8

   Minor little detail you may want to research....

   What does the code for your area require?

   What does the shingle manufacturer require?

   International Residential Code requires a base flashing of either mineral surface roll roofing (77lb) which may include ice and water shield or equiv. or metal flashing. (that was IRC 2003 I dont know if later code books have change or not but you need to figure out what your local area code is and see if they were installed per code. My antaenna would be up since they almost forgot the ice shield. I am all for being profitable and cost effective, but there is not a fine line between cheating and being frugal.

1. 
   Matt | Jan 03, 2010 12:25am | #10

   Got a section/paragraph # on that?

7. 
   DanH | Jan 02, 2010 08:35pm | #9

   Drip edge isn't required, but
   Drip edge isn't required, but it makes life easier all around. The shingles should hang proud of the roof sheathing by 3/4"-1.5", to produce the effect of a drip edge, but the metal edge under that protects that shingle overhang from damage, and helps prevent it from sagging over time.

   Not real critical on a steep pitch roof with gutters (though it helps keep water from running behind the gutter), but needed more on a shallow pitch (as the edge will tend to sag more otherwise) and without gutters (to protect the edge from ladder damage).