- Kind of in the same boat here—first time dealing with all this roof stuff.
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“Maybe it’s overkill in Bakersfield, but up here where weather likes to surprise you... I’d say it’s cheap insurance.”
- I get the “cheap insurance” angle. My house didn’t have drip edge either, and after a couple of heavy storms, I noticed paint peeling and a bit of rot starting on the fascia. Not catastrophic, but annoying.
- Honestly, I was skeptical it mattered. But replacing even a few feet of fascia was more hassle than just putting on the metal strip when I finally got around to it.
- Guess it depends how much you want to gamble on weather and how much you trust your paint job. For me, not worth the risk—especially with all the weird weather lately.
I tried skipping the drip edge to save a few bucks—big mistake. Ended up with soggy fascia and a paint job that looked like it’d been through a blender. If you’re on the fence, just slap the metal on. Cheaper than fixing rot, trust me.
Been there, done that—tried to cut corners on my first roof job and skipped the drip edge too. Thought I was being clever, but a couple of rainy seasons later, I was scraping off peeling paint and patching up soft spots on the fascia. That little strip of metal doesn’t look like much, but it really does save you a headache down the line. Sometimes those “optional” bits aren’t so optional after all...
I hear you—when I first looked at the cost breakdown for my roof, I wondered if the drip edge was just another upsell. It’s honestly wild how something so thin makes such a difference. Did you notice any issues right away, or did it take a few seasons for things to go south? I’m always skeptical of “must-have” add-ons, but after seeing what water can do when it sneaks in, I get why folks say not to skip it. Still, sometimes I wonder if there’s a cheaper workaround...
Yeah, I had the same reaction when I saw that line item—looked like a tiny strip of metal, and the price seemed out of proportion. But after living through a couple of rough winters up here in Michigan, I get it now. The first time I skipped drip edge (trying to save a few bucks), water started creeping under the shingles and rotted the fascia board within two years. Ended up costing way more to fix than if I'd just done it right the first time. Maybe in super dry climates you could get away without it for a while, but anywhere with rain or snow... not worth the gamble, honestly.
