What You Need to Know About Eaves:

An eave is the bottom edge of a roof where water sheds. The drip edge metal is connected to the eave. The first course of shingles on the eave starts with a strip called “starter”. Eaves are more prone to water damage because all the water that flows off the roof passes off the eave. Improper installation of drip edge starter cause most of the leaks at eaves.

If you are experiencing a problem at the eave of your roof, you are most likely noticing leaks behind your gutter, down your fascia, or dripping from your soffit underneath your drip line. 

There are several contributing factors to ice dams at the eaves of your roof. The most common are insufficient ventilation, insufficient insulation, or improperly insulated pipes spilling heat into the attic. If you are experiencing an ice dam at the eaves of your roof, call Rooftops. We will come out and assess the damage. We do a thorough inspection to investigate the precise cause and contributing factors to the issue.

Improper installation on an eave includes using the wrong material altogether. Some roofs call for a two-inch drip edge metal face but the roofers will install a one-inch drip edge metal face. Drip edge is not a one-size-fits-all material. If the sheeting is ran too far away from the sub-fascia, a larger face edge metal is needed to bridge the gap. If a standard edge metal is used on a roof facing this issue, it will either level the edge metal or slope it back toward the home. It needs to slope with the pitch of the roof to shed water away from the house. 

Another common installation error is placement of starter strip in relation to the first course of shingles. Most manufacturers specifications require a minimum of six inches separating the seams of starter strips and shingles to prevent water traveling down through the seams.

We always want to make sure you get the best repair possible. If you are experiencing a problem at your eave, the most likely common solution will be to completely replace the three problematic components discussed above in this article.