What do pictures of drip edge show compared with a roof that has none?
Short answer. Side by side, pictures of a roof with drip edge show a clean metal lip carrying water off the shingles and away from the fascia, while a roof without it shows shingles drooping over bare wood, stained or peeling fascia, and rot at corners and behind the gutters. The difference usually becomes obvious after 10 to 15 years of Georgia rain.
With drip edge
- A crisp, straight line of metal between the shingles and the fascia.
- Shingle edges that stay straight and supported instead of sagging.
- Fascia paint in good shape, with no water lines on its face.
- Water dripping into the gutter rather than running down the board behind it.
Without drip edge
- Drooping shingle edges that curl down over the fascia and eventually crack.
- Stains and peeling paint along the top of the fascia and on the rake boards.
- Rot at corners, where water from the eave and rake meets.
- Dark streaks behind gutters, where water clings to the shingle underside and runs back toward the house.
- Gaps between the deck edge and fascia that let in wasps, birds and squirrels.
Why water does this
Water clings to surfaces. At a bare roof edge it wraps around the bottom of the shingle and runs back along the underside, straight into the deck edge and the top of the fascia. The kicked-out face of a drip edge breaks that path so drops fall free.
If your pictures show no drip edge
Retrofitting drip edge without reroofing is possible on rakes but awkward at eaves, where the starter and first course have to be lifted. Most homeowners add it at the next replacement, when it is required by code, and repair rotted fascia at the same time. Until then, keep gutters clear so overflow does not add to the damage.