Guttrz / Roof repair / Drip edge installation
Drip edge installation in Canton, Ohio
The owner inspects the roof edge himself, you get a same-day photo report of what is behind the gutter, and the work gets one written price good for a year before anything is touched.
Guttrz installs drip edge on existing roofs in Canton, OH and across Stark, Summit and Medina counties. Drip edge is the metal strip under the first course of shingles that carries water past the fascia into the gutter, and many Canton roofs shingled before the 2012 code change have none, so water runs behind the gutter and rots the fascia. The owner inspects the edge, sends a photo report the same day, and because Guttrz also hangs, repairs and replaces gutters, the roof edge and the gutter are set to each other in one visit at one written price, fixed before any work starts and good for one year.
Drip edge installation in Canton, OH is a small roof repair that fixes a big, slow problem: water running behind the gutter and rotting the fascia board. Guttrz adds drip edge to existing roofs, and because we also hang and repair gutters, the roof edge and the gutter get set to each other by one company. The owner looks at the edge himself, you get a photo report the same day, and you get one written price that is good for a year before anything is pried up.
Why do so many roofs need drip edge installation in Canton, OH?
Drip edge is an L-shaped strip of metal, usually aluminum, that sits on the edge of the roof deck under the shingles. The top leg lies flat on the deck and the vertical leg hangs down over the fascia, with a small outward kick at the bottom that throws water into the gutter. Without it the shingles overhang bare plywood or plank, and water that reaches the edge wicks back under the shingle and down the fascia instead of dropping into the gutter.
Drip edge was not a requirement of the model residential code until the 2012 International Residential Code, which the Residential Code of Ohio follows. Most Canton roofs were shingled before then, and skipping the metal to save an hour was common even where it was expected. The city's housing is old: the median Canton home dates to around 1941. On the prewar streets of Ridgewood, Harter Heights and Colonial Heights, and on the 1940s and 1950s ranches and Cape Cods off Fulton Road NW and Whipple Avenue NW, it is common to find drip edge missing entirely, present at the eaves but not the rakes, or replaced by a strip of wood molding that rotted years ago.
What happens when a roof has no drip edge?
Water runs behind the gutter
The back wall of a gutter sits a quarter inch to an inch off the fascia. Water that wicks along the underside of the first shingle finds that gap and runs down the fascia behind the gutter in every rain. From the ground it looks like the gutter is leaking at the back seam, and people reseal seams that were never the problem.
Fascia rot
Fascia is usually a 1 by 6 or 1 by 8 pine board. Soaked in every rain and dried in every sun, it goes soft along the bottom edge first, then around the gutter hanger screws. Once the hangers lose their grip the gutter sags, holds water, and pulls further off the wall, so even more water gets behind it. The fascia repair page covers replacing a board that has already gone.
Rot at the edge of the deck
The bottom inch of the roof deck takes the same water. On the plank-decked prewar houses in Ridgewood and Colonial Heights, the edge board is often the first one to turn spongy, and the starter course of shingles loses its nails along with it.
Stains, paint and winter ice
Peeling paint and a gray stain line down the fascia behind the gutter are the signs you can see from the yard. In winter, water behind the gutter freezes into a sheet between the gutter and the fascia that pushes the gutter outward.
Gutter apron vs drip edge: which does your roof edge need?
Both are roof edge metal and both tuck under the shingles. They differ in shape and in where the gutter sits.
| Drip edge (type D or T) | Gutter apron (type F) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Short vertical leg, about 1.5 to 2 inches, with a hemmed kick-out at the bottom | Longer, angled vertical leg, about 3 to 4 inches, that reaches down over the back of the gutter |
| Where it goes | Eaves and rakes, every edge of the roof | Eaves only, where a gutter hangs |
| Best when | The gutter hangs below the roof edge with a clear drop into it | The gutter is hung high and tight to the fascia, or the gap behind it is wide |
| On a retrofit | Needs the gutter dropped or loosened to fit the kick-out behind it | Often slides in with the gutter in place, because the long leg bridges the gap |
| Common mistake | Gutter rehung too high, so the kick-out lands inside the gutter's back wall and water still misses | Used along a rake, where it has nothing to drop into and looks wrong |
The usual answer is drip edge on every edge of the roof, plus gutter apron at any eave where the gutter sits so high that the drip edge's kick-out cannot clear the back of the gutter. The inspection decides which, run by run.
How is drip edge added to an existing roof?
- Inspect the edge. The owner lifts the first course, checks the deck edge and the fascia for softness, and measures how far the shingles overhang. Shingles should extend about a quarter to three quarters of an inch past the drip edge. If they stop short of the fascia, the metal is the only thing that will ever carry water to the gutter.
- Drop or loosen the gutter where the kick-out needs room. On a spike-and-ferrule gutter that is already sagging, this is the moment to rehang it on hidden hangers, which is covered under gutter repair in Canton.
- Break the seal. A flat bar slides under the first course and the starter strip to free the sealant. Warm shingles bend. Cold ones crack, so this work waits for days above about 40 F.
- Slide the metal in. The drip edge goes under the starter course and onto the deck, each 10-foot piece lapping the next by at least 2 inches, nailed to the deck every 12 inches or closer. Along the rakes it goes over the underlayment; at the eaves it goes under the underlayment where that can be lifted.
- Put the edge back together. Any shingle that cracked is replaced, lifted tabs are resealed, and the gutter is rehung so its back wall sits behind the kick-out with the right pitch to the downspout.
- Photos of the finished edge.
If the edge of the deck is rotten, it is cut back and a new strip of plywood is set in before the metal goes on, priced by the foot in the written quote so there is nothing new on the day. And because the shingles have to come up, drip edge on a roof that is itself near the end is money spent twice. The free roof inspection tells you which case you are in. On a roof rated Replace Soon, new drip edge at the eaves and rakes is part of every Guttrz roof replacement, and the roofing in Canton page covers what that involves on the city's older houses.
Why get the roof edge and the gutters from one company?
The drip edge and the gutter are one system. The metal has to kick water past the back of the gutter, and the gutter has to hang at the height and pitch that lets it. When a roofer sets the edge and a gutter company hangs the gutter a month later, each works around what the other left behind. Guttrz does both. On the same visit we can add drip edge, rehang or reseal the gutter, replace a rotten fascia board, or, if the gutters are spike-hung and past saving, form new seamless gutters in Canton and set the drip edge to lap into them. One inspection, one photo report, one written price for the whole edge of the house.
How does a drip edge job with Guttrz go?
Send your address by the form on this page or by text, and we text or call you within the hour, any day of the week. The owner checks every edge from the ladder, photographs what is behind the gutter, and sends the report the same day. The written price is fixed before any work starts and good for a year, with a job minimum that applies to small edge repairs.
Get a written price for drip edge installation in Canton, or text your address to (330) 818-5584 at any hour.
Questions
Can drip edge be installed without replacing the roof?
Yes. The first course of shingles and the starter strip are lifted, the metal slides under them onto the deck, and the shingles are resealed. It works on any roof with enough life left that the shingles bend instead of crack. On a roof that is already due, the drip edge goes on with the replacement instead, because the shingles come off anyway.
How can I tell if my roof has drip edge?
From a ladder at the eave, look at the edge of the roof below the first shingle. Drip edge shows as a strip of metal, usually white, brown or plain aluminum, running down over the top of the fascia behind the gutter. If you see bare wood, a strip of wood molding, or the underside of the shingle and nothing else, there is none. From the yard, a gray stain line or peeling paint on the fascia behind the gutter points the same way.
What color is drip edge, and will it show?
Aluminum drip edge comes in white, brown and black as well as plain mill finish, and Guttrz matches it to the fascia or the gutter. Behind a gutter, only the bottom half inch is visible from the ground. Along the rakes, where there is no gutter, the whole vertical leg shows, so the color is matched to the rake trim there.
Do I need a permit for drip edge installation in Canton?
A drip edge or fascia repair on its own is ordinarily maintenance and does not need a permit from the City of Canton Building Department at 424 Market Avenue N, while a full re-roof inside the city does. Guttrz pulls the permit where one is required and tells you on the quote if your job needs one.
Is drip edge the same thing as a gutter guard?
No. Drip edge is roof edge metal under the shingles that directs water into the gutter and protects the fascia. A gutter guard sits on top of the gutter and keeps leaves out. A roof can have one, both or neither. Guttrz installs both, and the gutter guard page explains how guards are fascia-mounted so nothing goes under the shingles.
Do you install drip edge in North Canton, Jackson Township and Massillon?
Yes. Drip edge work covers Stark, Summit and Medina counties, including North Canton, Jackson Township, Massillon, Plain Township, Perry Township, Green, Hartville and Louisville as well as Canton itself. The inspection, same-day photo report and one written price work the same way in every town.
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Written by Christian Schaffner, owner of Guttrz. Updated November 8, 2026.
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