The main portion of my 1950's house has a large shed-style roof (the
top edge is the end of the roof...it doesn't slant back down the other
side). I've had a very slowly building leak at the lower corners of
the chimney that is evident inside (the ceiling is cathedral style so
the drywall is right up against the rafters).

I had a guy out today to look at it and he says the drip edge on the
top edge was installed incorrectly. Whereas you want the drip edge
under the shingles at the bottom, he says on my roof they were also
installed under the shingles at the top. That, combined with the
shingles not quite covering the drip edge on that top roof edge is
allowing water to flow under the shingles. Then the chimney pokes
through the felt and that's where the water is coming in. He says
everything looks tight and solid around the chimney itself, which is
what led him to keep looking.

He proposes to install drip edge on top of those shingles and seal it
up, thereby keeping the water from coming in.

Does this make sense? I did some searching around, but couldn't find
anything about the proper way to deal with the top edge of a shed roof.

On Oct 23, 8:08 am, wrote:
The main portion of my 1950's house has a large shed-style roof (the
top edge is the end of the roof...it doesn't slant back down the other
side). I've had a very slowly building leak at the lower corners of
the chimney that is evident inside (the ceiling is cathedral style so
the drywall is right up against the rafters).

I had a guy out today to look at it and he says the drip edge on the
top edge was installed incorrectly. Whereas you want the drip edge
under the shingles at the bottom, he says on my roof they were also
installed under the shingles at the top. That, combined with the
shingles not quite covering the drip edge on that top roof edge is
allowing water to flow under the shingles. Then the chimney pokes
through the felt and that's where the water is coming in. He says
everything looks tight and solid around the chimney itself, which is
what led him to keep looking.

He proposes to install drip edge on top of those shingles and seal it
up, thereby keeping the water from coming in.

Does this make sense? I did some searching around, but couldn't find
anything about the proper way to deal with the top edge of a shed roof.

He is correct in the proper way to install the drip edge. Whether it
will stop the leak is another quesstion. Shouldn't be a high dollar
item to install the drip edge so you can't lose anything by trying.

Harry K

Thanks for the response. This was my feeling as well. He wants $180
for the work, which seems reasonable to me. Hopefully it will take
care of the problem.

He is correct in the proper way to install the drip edge. Whether it
will stop the leak is another quesstion. Shouldn't be a high dollar
item to install the drip edge so you can't lose anything by trying.

On Oct 23, 10:50 pm, wrote:
Thanks for the response. This was my feeling as well. He wants $180
for the work, which seems reasonable to me. Hopefully it will take
care of the problem.

He is correct in the proper way to install the drip edge. Whether it
will stop the leak is another quesstion. Shouldn't be a high dollar
item to install the drip edge so you can't lose anything by trying.

Installing drip edge on the top of shingles? That is new one to me.
His fix might work but don't let him tell you it's the proper way to
install drip edge, even on the top edge of a shed roof. That
statement calls his judgement into question IMO. The shingles should
be on top of the drip edge, and they should overhang it. Your problem
sounds like the shingles were cut back too far. There is nothing
wrong with his idea of putting the drip edge on top, but don't try to
tell me that his way is correct. More like a band aid until it's time
for a new roof.

His idea might work, but he could also be wrong about the chimney
flashing. Even if it looks sound, it could be flashed incorrectly.
For 180 bucks, try his idea, but keep your eye on those leaks too.

sounds like the shingles were cut back too far. There is nothing
wrong with his idea of putting the drip edge on top, but don't try to
tell me that his way is correct. More like a band aid until it's time
for a new roof.

Thanks for the feedback. The roof is only ten years old, so I hope to
get a lot of life out of it yet. If it doesn't work, I'm sure I'll be
back asking more questions.

On Oct 24, 4:28 am, marson wrote:
On Oct 23, 10:50 pm, wrote:

Thanks for the response. This was my feeling as well. He wants $180
for the work, which seems reasonable to me. Hopefully it will take
care of the problem.

He is correct in the proper way to install the drip edge. Whether it
will stop the leak is another quesstion. Shouldn't be a high dollar
item to install the drip edge so you can't lose anything by trying.

Installing drip edge on the top of shingles? That is new one to me.
His fix might work but don't let him tell you it's the proper way to
install drip edge, even on the top edge of a shed roof. That
statement calls his judgement into question IMO. The shingles should
be on top of the drip edge, and they should overhang it. Your problem
sounds like the shingles were cut back too far. There is nothing
wrong with his idea of putting the drip edge on top, but don't try to
tell me that his way is correct. More like a band aid until it's time
for a new roof.

His idea might work, but he could also be wrong about the chimney
flashing. Even if it looks sound, it could be flashed incorrectly.
For 180 bucks, try his idea, but keep your eye on those leaks too.

So if you are going to put the drip edge under the shingles at the
top, what is to keep the water from running right under the shingles.
I agree that it looks like crap but choosing a color that doesn't
stick out ameliorates that.

So since you think that is the wrong way to install, just how would
you do it? Keep in mind that water will want to work in under the
shingles even if they are installed with the standard 1/4"-3/8"
overhang.

There is, of course the "goop the hell out of it with tar while
installing" method that may or may not hold for 25-30 years.

Harry K

On Oct 25, 10:43 am, Harry K wrote:
On Oct 24, 4:28 am, marson wrote:



On Oct 23, 10:50 pm, wrote:

Thanks for the response. This was my feeling as well. He wants $180
for the work, which seems reasonable to me. Hopefully it will take
care of the problem.

He is correct in the proper way to install the drip edge. Whether it
will stop the leak is another quesstion. Shouldn't be a high dollar
item to install the drip edge so you can't lose anything by trying.

Installing drip edge on the top of shingles? That is new one to me.
His fix might work but don't let him tell you it's the proper way to
install drip edge, even on the top edge of a shed roof. That
statement calls his judgement into question IMO. The shingles should
be on top of the drip edge, and they should overhang it. Your problem
sounds like the shingles were cut back too far. There is nothing
wrong with his idea of putting the drip edge on top, but don't try to
tell me that his way is correct. More like a band aid until it's time
for a new roof.

His idea might work, but he could also be wrong about the chimney
flashing. Even if it looks sound, it could be flashed incorrectly.
For 180 bucks, try his idea, but keep your eye on those leaks too.

So if you are going to put the drip edge under the shingles at the
top, what is to keep the water from running right under the shingles.
I agree that it looks like crap but choosing a color that doesn't
stick out ameliorates that.

So since you think that is the wrong way to install, just how would
you do it? Keep in mind that water will want to work in under the
shingles even if they are installed with the standard 1/4"-3/8"
overhang.

There is, of course the "goop the hell out of it with tar while
installing" method that may or may not hold for 25-30 years.

Harry K

1/4" overhang is not enough IMO, on any roof. The edge of the
shingles will erode over time and eventually the drip edge will be
exposed and will rust if it's not aluminum. I've seen this happen.
In the case of a shed roof, I would go extra--3/4" or more of shingle
overhang. In the heat of summer, they will sag over the drip edge and
this is a good thing. Don't know what you mean by water running under
the shingles. No drip edge should be exposed. Blackjack should be
used to prevent wind driven rain from driving in under the shingles.
As long as it is covered and not exposed to UV, it is an effective
method. People get into trouble with Blackjack when it is used
incorrectly--exposed to sunlight and relied on as a primary leak
stopper.

Yes it is possible to put the drip edge on top of the shingles. It
shouldn't leak. The corners where it ties into the drip edge that is
under the shingles will look like hell.