Incompatible Drip Edge & Fascia Wrap
My house was built before drip edge was required. The top of the fascia wrap flares out ~1″ from the top of the fascia boards. How common is that style of flared-out fascia wrap nowadays, and is there compatible drip edge? A roofer told me the problem is not just finding drip edge to span the gap, but there was concern that the height of the top flared-out edge of the fascia wrap – which is at a 1″ distance from the fascia board – is level with the top of the fascia board so any drip edge with spanned beyond the 1″ gap would be horizontal/level without any downward slope so water could run up under shingles or wind blow up edge of shingles as the overlap of shingles would then also be level and not downward sloped. He said if I wanted drip edge – which is required by code – the fascia wrap would have to be replaced, or someone would have to saw/cut down the top 1″ of the aluminum fascia wrap all the way around the perimeter of my roof. My insurance company is requiring me to get a new roof and new siding in part due to problems attributed to lack of drip edge. The report does recommend removal of fascia wrap to inspect boards and replace any damaged boards, but more immediately per my insurance company I need to replace roof, which would result in installed drip edge. I read somewhere roofers if they are going to replace fascia board and a roof at the same time will install shingles first, and drip edge is usually installed first at the edge under underlayment and then shingles. The concerning part is it then stated to replace fascia boards drip edge might have to be removed and reinstalled – which might void manufacturer’s warranty. I don’t know if they meant manufacturer warranty for the shingles or the drip edge, but I was supposed to get the GAF Golden Pledge warranty, and wouldn’t want to mess that up. However, I would also hate to mess up the underlayment and not have drip edge optimally installed under the underlayment pretty much immediately – same day possibly – as the roof was installed. Is there any good reason why a roofer couldn’t first replace fascia boards and fascia wrap before installing shingles at the edge of the roof? Since it stated drip edge “might” have to be removed to replace fascia boards, how common is it that it has to be removed? Another consideration, is if the roof shingles were done first, then likely they’d install the longer style drip edge to span the 1″ gap, since a shorter one would dump rain water right into the gap if all work was not done on same day, so I’d be stuck with an extra long drip edge and shingle overlap, and then when I switched to a straighter, non-flared fascia wrap it would not be ideal, visually, and it is not recommended to have such a long drip edge and shingle overlap. Furthermore, the long drip edge might make it more likely that it would need to be removed to replace fascia boards. Why shouldn’t the fascia boards be replaced before the house is reroofed? Also, would replacing fascia boards necessitate new gutters? If I did have new gutters and new fascia board somehow installed before the house was reroofed, would the roofers likely remove the gutters to replace the roof? I know gutters are sometimes removed when reroofing, but is that mainly to check and repair fascia boards, or would they often do that to protect the gutters. It seems a shame to keep re-penetrating fascia boards and fascia wrap if I just had it all replaced, but I’m wondering if many roofers would think it important to remove the gutters to protect them.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Can you post a photo ?
I added picture showing flared out top to original post. Unfortunately I don't have one from the top looking down into the gap, but a roofer told me there is about a 1 inch gap.
I have used that type of molding, called poor man's crown in my area, many times. When building new I make the top portion of the crown molding plumb and extend the roof sheathing over it, so there isn't a big gap, but on renovations that look like yours I've also just had the drip edge hang down vertically and nobody has ever complained about it.
I don't believe the IRC requires drip edge on the rakes. My former boss hated drip edge so we rarely used it, but I think it's subtle enough and the benefits are great enough to use it on all rakes and eaves.
If it really bothers you, you could add a layer of 3/4" roof sheathing over the entire roof. But that seems like overkill for a relatively minor aesthetic issue. Or you could have custom drip edge bent; that's standard practice in some markets.
D-edge and gutter apron have been required by IRC for a while now, although I understand some homes have done fine without it. Due to the particulars of my home, it does need d-edge.
I can't tell what my fascia wrap looks like, due to gutters. If my house has this "poor man's crown molding" over my rake edges, is that most likely the same thing I have on my fascia boards?
Is there a more technical term for wrap/molding/cladding over rake boards than "poor man's crown molding" - such as "rake wrap" as I want to avoid miscommunication with contractor?
I received an estimate for fascia wrap replacement. Now I have no clue if "rake wrap," or "poor man's crown molding" replacement was intended to be included. It gave cost per LF as I recall, but there was no total LF or total cost, so there is no way to know. I had assumed it included "rake wrap", but at the time I discussed replacing fascia boards - as the contractor was examining the rake edge - I didn't realize the boards at rake edges were not called fascia boards.
It's pretty common for people to request replacement of fascia boards. Do they usually then replace rake boards as well, or is that pretty rare?
Can roofers usually reroof a house and replace fascia boards and fascia wrap on the same day? It seems like it would be at least a 2 day job. Is there any reason I should not request the fascia boards to be replaced BEFORE the roof, not just to avoid the potential of damaging new drip edge and shingles which a roofer told me can happen, but also to avoid removing the d-edge that was just very recently installed under the ice & water shield and underlayment - as that would be preferable and I read there is not a way to remove it and then get it under the I&W and underlayment again. I read it can void manufacturer's warranties as well, which I'd like to avoid. I'm not sure if that meant just the warranty for drip edge, or for the shingles, or something like GAF's Golden Pledge Warranty, which is the plan.