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Cleaning up gable end of roof

user-155237 | Posted in General Discussion on May 27, 2009 12:34pm

I have a cosmetic problem with my roof – the amount of overhang (nominally 3/4ths of an inch) where the rows of shingles end at the gable end / rake is inconsistent, ranging from 1/2 inch to a full inch.   They just weren’t trimmed to a consistent length of overhang.  From ground level it looks a little messy.  I read an interesting trick of running a starter course up the rake at the beginning of installation to create a very clean line, but that’s impractical as a retrofit solution. 

I was thinking of replacing the L-shaped drip edge with a P or T shaped drip edge that provides a 1-inch reveal beyond the faschia board.  This would hide the edges of the shingles when seen from below.   Is this the best way to go or is there a better approach?  I don’t want to start replacing shingles because the roof is fine and this is a cosmetic issue.

-Dan

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  1. mikeroop | May 27, 2009 12:56am | #1

    I'd get up there with a chalk line and snap a line from top to bottom and then trim them down with a hook blade. forget changing drip edge over something so minor huh?

    1. User avater
      Sphere | May 27, 2009 01:25am | #2

      Mine's like that. I just make a point of not looking up there.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

      Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

      "If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt

      View Image

      1. mikeroop | May 27, 2009 01:44am | #3

        Thats the easiest fix! at least you won't trip over your feet that way! :)

  2. bcarpentry | May 27, 2009 02:05am | #4

    what he said.

    snap a line and cut it.

    you'll remember to have them run the soldier course (might not be right but what we always called it) next house.

    1. user-155237 | May 27, 2009 02:11am | #5

      Snapping a kine and trimming down seems to be the consensus.  Thanks everyone.

      1. seeyou | May 27, 2009 02:44am | #8

        Snapping a kine and trimming down seems to be the consensus.

        Maybe not. The drip edge may be crooked and the shingles are cut straight. http://www.quittintime.com/      View Image        

        1. mikeroop | May 28, 2009 05:34am | #9

          He can cut the shingles crooked and then they will look straight from underneath where the problem lies. :)~

  3. User avater
    EricPaulson | May 27, 2009 02:15am | #6

    I read an interesting trick of running a starter course up the rake at the beginning of installation to create a very clean line, but that's impractical as a retrofit solution. 

    If you get up there on a cool cloudy morning and get to it with a flat bar and a nail puller you can slip those shingles in still, using the rake molding as your guage. Probably only a nail per shingle.........

    Go back and renail the shingles where you pulled the nails out and hit the heads with some Geocell or Silkaflex.

     

     

    "When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896

    1. bcarpentry | May 27, 2009 02:31am | #7

      if he still has 1/2" overhang why bother? Definitely would make sense if it was short and he was staring at an exposed drip edge top every day.Might have been double-nailed up the rake.still you are right that it's not too big of a deal either way. Cutting is a lot faster though.

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