Why Water Gets Behind Gutter

Capillary action is a water activity in which water adheres to a surface and follow the surface.

Why water gets behind gutter. Water gets behind the gutter. So instead of moving the water away from your home the gutter is actually contributing to water damage occurring to your roof. When siding is put back behind the gutter the lowest piece of flashing running down the pitch of the roof above must be fashioned to divert water into the gutter not behind the siding. Gutters are supposed to direct water away from your roof and into the ground.

Being a manufacturer of roof edgings and an installer of gutters i know first hand it s not always possible to get the gutter behind the drip. Some of the water may flow over the front of the trough and some of it may flow behind the trough. If the gutter is clogged some of that water will back up on the roof soaking it. A gutter apron is a bent piece of flashing that tucks up under the shingles and over the gutter.

However a gutter apron is different from a drip edge because it hangs over the gutters and then angles back toward the house. If water is dripping behind your gutter it s probably because it was installed without any flashing over the back of the gutter. The gutter apron prevents water from ever reaching the soffit by leading water straight into the gutters. The other element is if the gutter is not installed behind the drip edge it creates an air gap between the top of the gutter and the bottom of the drip edge which allows a place for the water to go.

Home centers sell a gutter apron in 10 ft. The gutter apron will prevent the dripping. When the latter happens it can seep in between the back of the gutter and the roof or soffit and fascia. And it doesn t stop there.

For example most ranch style homes have a 3 12 or 4 12 pitch roof. When the roof shingles do not extend past the metal drip edge the water will suck back on the metal drip edge this is called capillary action and run behind your gutters. Have rain water dripping out from between your facia and gutters.