How To Install Drip Edge On a Roof In Under a Day

Installing drip edge flashing requires working from a ladder, scaffolding, or the roof. All of these are inherently dangerous. Follow all ladder safety procedures if you work from the ground, and familiarize yourself with safety when working from scaffolding. Use fall-arrest equipment if you choose to work from on top of the roof.

Drip edge installation starts at the eaves or the horizontal and lowest part of the roof. To start, remove any debris or material left behind from the old roof underlayment if applicable. Your new drip edge's position for the eave sections will be under the underlayment and placed to leave a gap of about one-quarter to one-half inch between the lowest edge of the drip edge and the surface of the fascia. 

Choose a corner of one of your home's eaves. To make the first corner piece, lay the drip edge in place and mark the end that overhangs the corner of the roof one inch from the end of the drip edge piece. Use tin shears to cut away the extreme lower and upper portion of the drip edge to leave an extending tab. Fold the tab toward the roof corner to wrap around its edge. Remember that making accurate, successful drip edge cuts can take some practice to develop the skill. 

Secure the first piece of drip edge by nailing roofing nails through the top flange into the roof deck every 12 inches. When complete, lay the second piece in place, overlapping the first by two inches. Secure the second piece with nails the same way as the first. Continue until you reach the end of the eave section and create another corner tab.

Because the upper flange of the drip edge that goes up the rake sides of the roof must lay on top of the roof's underlayment, install the underlayment after the eave drip edges are in place. Place a bead of roof cement on top of the eave-edge drip edge before laying out the underlayment. 

Starting at the bottom where the rake or slanted part of the roof meets the eave, install the first rake drip edge in the same way as the eave-edge pieces. At the starting corner, install the first piece over the tab in the eave-edge piece to create a clean-looking corner. Continue until you reach the final section before the roof's ridge. 

When you reach the roof's ridge, lay the last section of the drip edge in position and mark the location where the piece extends beyond the roof. Extend your mark to the bottom of the piece and make a vertical cut through the lower flange. Fold the upper flange over the roof ridge so the lower flange sections overlap to create a clean-looking corner. Nail a fascia nail through the overlapping section and into the fascia.