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I've been troubleshooting some issues have been having with water getting into my basement. Today I took a hose out to try and find out how water is getting behind my gutters and believe I found some potential culprits.

A) In the first 2 pictures you can see there is some space between the drip edge and gutter. I think water is sneaking in there. Are there any DIY options to fix this? Could something like a gutter apron be slide under the shingles to help get it into gutters?

B) In the last 2 pictures you can see the siding and brick meet up with roof on this part of the house. I think the water is getting between them, running down, and then pouring out under the gutters. What options do I have to prevent water from getting in there? Just getting flashing installed? Is flashing a DIY project? It seems like something that may need professional installation.

Thank you!

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  • in most of the photos, it looks like the drip edge is way too close to the fascia. it should actually be a pinky width out, to stop fat water droplets from bridging the gap to the wall and capilariling (not a real word) behind the gutter. water should run down it and fall unimpeded into the gutter. water doesn't typically go up, so don't worry about some blowing behind the edge up into the gap; that's a tiny amount compared to water that will seep up a close cranny.
    – dandavis
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 16:14
  • @dandavis Would you recommend I bend that drip edge away from the fascia? Or if I hire out for some of the other issues have them just replace it with something else?
    – AroundPolandTravel
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 17:25
  • I disagree with that. Drip edge has always been installed tight to the fascia. That's part of what supports it (to keep the upper leg on plane with the roof). It would also look bad from below if there was a gap. Drip edge should usually shed water from the protrusion, not the bottom flange. Also, the drip edge actually secures the top of the fascia so you don't have to put nails in the face, which causes ugly dimpling.
    – isherwood
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 17:44
  • @isherwood I agree it looks funny, usually being a bit wavy, but that's the right way, at least according to my sources (thisoldhouse.com/more/installing-drip-edge)...
    – dandavis
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 21:29
  • diy.stackexchange.com/q/170171/46271. Closely related
    – Kris
    Commented Aug 10, 2019 at 3:27

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You will probably need professional assistance with this one. Whether there is a drip edge or not, the shingles should overhang the edge of the roof by about an inch. The bigger issue is that there is no brick flashing cut into the side of the brick where it meets the roof in the second two pictures. Some shingles are going to have to come up to correct these problems. A proper brick flashing should look something like this photo.

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  • Thanks! Should there also be flashing along the siding portion too or just the brick?
    – AroundPolandTravel
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 17:28
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If you install an apron for the gutter it could just go behind the lower flange of the drip edge. Like WoodAireGrill says, the shingles should extend a bit lower than they do. You could also cut some shingles lengthwise and bond them to the lowest existing course using roofing cement to extend the dripline. You'd slide them under and put dabs of cement between the layers.

Normally you'd see "step flashing" on the brick, which interleaves the shingles. Any water that finds its way under the edge of the shingles is directed down over the top of the shingle below. Without that, the water is able to run under all the shingles. You'll want to investigate whether there's step flashing hidden underneath that was installed behind the brick.

There should also be a kick at the bottom of that run, like so, to direct water away from the wall and into the gutter:

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  • Thanks! That kickout flashing would help a lot too. Should there also be flashing along the siding portion too or just the brick?
    – AroundPolandTravel
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 17:29
  • Depends partly on whether there's proper step flashing in place. Typically you only have a kick at the eave, but there are cases where a second one is warranted.
    – isherwood
    Commented Aug 9, 2019 at 17:42
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Does anyone see a starter strip? I don't. Thats a first line of defense and promotion for proper water shedding.

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On the first issue, I had a similar problem and fixed it by buying some aluminum flashing and shoving it behind the drip guard such that the bottom half was inside the gutters. Then I placed a screw every 10 feet or so to ensure it stayed in place. Worked perfectly. Note, however, that you don't want the flashing to be too long or twigs and stuff might catch on it. I think I trimmed mine such that the flashing was only 4 inches wide. With maybe 1.5 inches going under the drip guard. It was short enough that I didn't even need to cut around any of the gutter supports.

Btw, looking at that first photo it looks like water might also be following the shingle and going under it before it even reaches the drip guard. Mine wasn't as bad as yours but I was still worried so I bought some sealant designed for shingles and squirted some up under those areas. I have no clue if this is a good idea or not though since I didn't see any signs water was getting under there in the first place. So, doing this probably didn't matter in my case.

As for the brick/shingle connection. No clue on that one.

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