Roof Drip Edge Flashing Alternatives?
Aluminum Fascia Wrap with a Lip may not work as well

Aluminum Fascia Wrap instead of Drip Edge?

Some roofers like to combine wrapping the building fascia and soffit with aluminum and might include a simple 90-degree "lip" at the top of that wrap as what we prefer to call a "faux drip edge".

Here we explain that this may look good but it can result in water leaks behind that aluminum wrap, leading to costly building damage.

It's perfectly fine to wrap the fascia and gable ends in aluminum or vinyl, but you should not omit a properly installed and spaced out drip edge as well.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Without this detail, water leaving the roof edge wants to run down building fascias, soffits, and walls, sometimes even entering and damaging the structure.

Article Series Contents

• ROOF DRIP EDGE DIMENSIONS & SIZES
• ROOF DRIP EDGE COLOR CHOICES
• ROOF DRIP EDGE PLACEMENT / LOCATION
• ROOF DRIP EDGE INSTALLATION on NEW or RE-ROOF JOBS
• ROOF DRIP EDGE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS & CODES
• ROOF DRIP EDGE INSTALLATION MISTAKES
• ROOF DRIP EDGE ALTERNATIVE: FASCIA WRAP? - you are on this page

What Happens if We Install An Aluminum Fascia Wrap with a Lip instead of Drip Edge?

The "faux drip edge" shown in these photos, courtesy of New York building inspector Arlene Puentes, is not, in our OPINION, a good building practice.

At the lower roof edge, or eaves, the detail shown in Arlene's photos above and below is a bad idea.

There is no water seal between the upper surface of that bent over, thin, sharp-edged lip formed by the aluminum fascia cover trim.

Water running off of a roof shingle wants to follow, by capillary action, the under-side of the shingle back up the shingle overhang and then on-to and down the fascia.

We guess that the installer of this faux-drip edge figures that as the fascia is wrapped there's not the same rot hazard we'd see if we omit drip edge on a building with wooden fascia boards.

It's not as much of a disaster on an aluminum wrapped fascia as shown except that sometimes we find, and as you'll see in later photos on this page, roof runoff water runs down the fascia, stains its underside, and too often continues up under the lower fascia wrap and into the soffit overhang itself.

And what happens when gutters are installed? The absence of a drip edge will mean that water runs off the roof edge and a good part of it then runs up the lip and down the fascia behind the gutter rather than into it.

At the building gable ends, this drip wrap detail is less of a concern, as we don't expect much water running off of these roof edges.

Here is IKO's illustration of proper roof drip edge at both eaves and gable end - cited in more detail below.

Bernie Campbalik taught us the best roof edge detail to keep water going where we want it to go: into the gutters and ultimately away from the building.

• Bernie Campbalik was a carpenter and roofer who taught building construction classes at Dutchess County New York BOCES in the 1970s and 1980s. Dutchess County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, 5 BOCES Road, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 USA, Tel: 845.486.4800 Web: https://www.dcboces.org/
• Arlene Puentes [Website: www.octoberhome.com ] , an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, holds five International Code Council Certifications, New York State DOS Certified Code Enforcement Official, ASHI Member 210232, NYS Home Inspector License No. 16000095212and has served on ASHI national committees (Bylaws, Standards), as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com She is a frequent technical contributor to InspectApedia.com.