My Shingle Drip Edge Extends Over The Gutter
A customer explained that the roofer left the roof shingle drip edge extra long making it difficult for him to install his Gutterbrush brush gutter guard.
We find this problem to be common and we are very happy to explain that although it is a terrible practice to cover too much of the gutter with the lower roof drip edge, Gutterbrush can be installed very easily even if the opening to the gutter is extremely small. Due to the Gutterbrush flexible bristles, Gutterbrush can be fed into a very small opening and the bristles will spring back into place once it is inserted into the gutter. GutterBrush is a gutter guard that can be easily installed when the opening to the gutter has been closed off by roofing that is haphazardly left too long.
My Metal Roofing Edge Covers Most of the Gutter
Due to the fact that metal roofing panels are often pre-cut to length, it is common that the installer leaves them a little extra long just to avoid having to spend more installation time and labor and avoid having to cut the roof edge a second time. This becomes a terrible;e nuisance any time the roofing edge extends so far that it becomes difficult to clean and maintain the gutter. If you can not even get your hand in there, then it becomes a terrible dis-service to the building owner and I saw it time and time again in my gutter cleaning travels.
Below is a question from a Gutterbrush customer as to how to defend himself against the roofer who extends the roof too far making it difficult to clean the gutter and making it just a little more difficult to install Gutterbrush.
What to say to the Roofer Who Extends the Roof Edge Too Far Over the Gutter
7-23-24 Question from GutterBrush customer:
Dear GutterBrush,
What do you do if the roof shingles are covering 40% of the gutter, and we report that to the roofer, then the roofer says the problem is we are not using their leaf guard?
Is/are there gutter guard standards that we can say gutter brush complies with? I would like to know so I can best challenge the roofer to get the edges of the shingles trimmed.
Thank You
Robert
Dear Robert
Thank you for your question.
Thanks for your question about what to do if the roof shingles are covering 40% of the gutter.
When the roof shingles overhang the drip edge too much, future problems include the following
1) The excess shingle warms in the sun and sags
2) The gutters can not be maintained
The proper overhang past the drip edge only needs to be about a half of an inch ot 5/8 of an inch. Three quarters of an inch would be OK too. Any more than that, and the shingle begins to sag due to the excess weight out at the edge. Read the manufacturer's instructions and specifications.
Excess shingle extending past the drip edge is useless, sloppy and a waste of material. Every roofer should start off the roof with the shingle at the correct position so that all is straight, neat, and the owner can easily get his or her hands into the gutter to clean the gutters from leaves and debris.
Extending the shingle further and making it difficult to get your hand in the gutter, is wrong and hurtful but we see it over and over again. The excess shingle can easily be trimmed back to the correct position with sheers; the excess is useless.
The correct way to install shingles is written in the manufacturers specifications which are written instructions. When roofers deviate from the instructions, they are potentially making a mistake. With most manufacturers the instructions, specifications and diagrams are written on the shingle package so the roofer can see them. Specifications are often found on line and in the manufacturers shingle manuals.
When the shingle is installed properly, GutterBrush will be an excellent choice and will fit in the gutters just fine, or you can opt to use your hands to clean the gutter. With the properly installed gutters and shingles, you can install and remove and reinstall Gutterbrush just fine without affecting the roof shingles and you can also easily put your hand in the gutter to clean it.
When the roofer deviates from the spec and it causes a problem, the roofer should correct the issue or not get paid. Withholding payment is your leverage to get what you want. Do not pay the final payment until all adjustments have been made.
