Gutter Leaking Behind

On some homes water tends to drip behind the gutters down the fascia and soffit and then either down the side of the house or straight to the ground.

Gutter leaking behind.

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. Should you notice the gutter leaking in one or a few small ish spots you ll want to carefully inspect the area to see if you can spot either of these problems. Capillary action is a water activity in which water adheres to a surface and follow the surface around. Here are a few guidelines you need to follow to get it right.

Place downspouts in areas with the least amount of obstructions electrical wires hose bibs sidewalks etc. Water leaking in behind the facia of your roof could be caused by a couple of things. There should be no more than a inch drop in the direction of the downspout. There are a few elements that come into play that cause water to run behind the gutter.

If you can t see anything with your naked eye you can also try pouring water into the gutter and then making a note of every spot where it leaks out. Many of the solid gutter covers are design to take advantage of this water characteristic. Put downspouts in a hidden location to ensure that they don t detract from your home s overall look you can camouflage. 1 your roof sheets have a hole in them or your screws or nails or equivalent are not watertight anymore or 2 the more common reason is where roof sheets are cut too short or they don t overhang far enough into the gutter.

The first cause is when the roofing material is installed many roofers will not extend the roofing material past the roof edging or drip edge.