Valley leaks
Where two roof slopes meet
Drip edge is the L-shaped metal at the eaves and rakes that throws water clear of the fascia and into the gutter. Without it, water tracks back along the underside of the shingle edge and runs down the fascia board, which is the single most common reason fascia rots. It is inexpensive, it is required by most current codes, and it is routinely missing on older roofs — so it is worth checking whenever fascia or gutter work is being done.
Green County has a winter long enough and cold enough that ice damming, not storm damage, is the dominant cause of roof leaks. The mechanism is heat loss rather than weather: warm air escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof, the meltwater runs down and refreezes over the cold overhang, and the resulting ridge of ice backs water up beneath the shingle courses until it finds a way in. The roof itself is usually in perfect condition. Repeated through a Green County winter, freeze-thaw also works every flashing joint progressively looser, and spring brings hail and straight-line wind on top. The reason this matters is that fixing an ice dam leak by working on the shingles does not work — the problem is insulation and ventilation, and that is a different job.
It is why the fascia rots. Water clings to the underside of the shingle edge and tracks back onto the timber instead of dropping into the gutter. Retrofitting it is cheap compared with replacing fascia repeatedly.
At the eaves it can often be slid under the first shingle course. At the rakes it needs to go under the underlayment, which usually means lifting the edge courses. Both are localised jobs.
Where two roof slopes meet
The sheathing under the shingles
Cedar shake roofs
Condition assessment and report
Clearing, repair and replacement
Scheduled checks instead of emergencies
You will get a straight answer on whether Green County needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.
Call (706) 696-1888