Roof and Gutter Replacement in Hudson, Ohio

Why do the roof edge and the gutters belong together?

Every drop that lands on your roof leaves it at the eave. Three parts meet there within a few inches: the edge of the deck, the fascia board behind the gutter, and the gutter itself. When they are fitted to each other, water drops cleanly into the trough. When they are not, it runs behind the gutter, soaks the fascia and rots the deck edge from the outside in.

The part that ties them together is drip edge, an L-shaped strip of metal under the first row of shingles. Its lower leg should reach down into the gutter. On many Hudson roofs from the 1970s and 1980s there is no drip edge at all, or it stops short and the water wicks back along the wood.

What happens at the roof edge during a Hudson roof replacement?

1. Tear-off exposes the edge. With shingles gone, the last foot of decking and the top of the fascia can be seen and probed for rot.
2. Soft wood is dealt with. Deck edges that ice has ruined are cut out and replaced before anything covers them.
3. Ice and water shield goes down. The membrane runs along the eave and up the roof past the wall line, which is where ice dams push meltwater back.
4. Drip edge is set. New metal along every eave and rake, lapped so water lands in the gutter, not behind it.
5. Starter and shingles follow. The first course overhangs the drip edge slightly so runoff clears the metal.

When should gutters be replaced with the roof?

Not always. Sound gutters with good slope can stay, and the new drip edge is simply lapped into them. Replacement makes sense in these cases:

• The gutters hang on long spikes that have worked loose, a common sight on Hudson homes from the 1960s and 1970s.
• Runs sag, hold standing water or have pulled away from the fascia.
• Seams and corners drip no matter how often they are sealed.
• The fascia behind them needs work, which means they are coming down anyway.
• The roof is large and steep enough that the old five inch troughs overshoot in a hard rain.

Doing both the same week means one setup at the eaves and one cleanup. It also means the gutter is hung to the finished roof edge, at the right height under the new drip edge, instead of the roof being fitted around an old gutter.

Tall two-story colonials are the usual Hudson case. Their upper gutters are hard to reach, so they tend to go unwatched for years, and a reroof is the one time someone is already at that height with the edge open.

What about gutter guards under Hudson's trees?

Guards go on last, after new gutters or after the old ones are cleaned and checked. On wooded lots they earn their keep: oak tassels in spring, maple seeds in early summer and leaves through November all end up in the trough otherwise. Guttrz, the company behind this site, installs gutters and guards as its main trade, so the roof and the water system below it come from one place. The gutter work is quoted on its own line so you can take it or leave it.

Guards do not replace a sound roof edge. If water is getting behind the gutter, the fix is at the drip edge, and that is roof work.

How do ice dams fit into this?

An ice dam forms when attic heat melts snow high on the roof and the water refreezes at the cold overhang. The ridge of ice then holds a pool behind it. Gutters do not cause ice dams, but a gutter packed with frozen leaves makes the ridge bigger and heavier.

A reroof handles the part the roof can control: membrane at the eaves so backed-up water cannot reach the deck, and a ridge vent so the attic runs colder. Our post on snow and ice on Hudson's shaded lots explains what else helps.

To find out what shape your roof edge is in, start with a free roof inspection in Hudson. The photos include the eaves, the drip edge and the gutters. The full replacement scope is on the Hudson roof replacement page.

Related pages

• What goes under architectural shingles
• Free roof inspection in Hudson
• What a new roof costs in Hudson
• Roofs in Hudson Park Estates