Why Does Water Leak From Soffits Behind Gutters

Many of the solid gutter covers are design to take advantage of this water characteristic.

Why does water leak from soffits behind gutters.

Capillary action is a water activity in which water adheres to a surface and follow the surface around. Usually this is due to gutter fasteners rusting. When the roof shingles do not extend past the metal drip edge the water will suck back on the metal drip edge this is called capillary action and run behind your gutters. Left long enough the water runoff will cause damage to the roof shingles as well as your home s facade.

Have rain water dripping out from between your facia and gutters. The water freezes again and then thaws out leaking through any seams or damage in the soffit because it cannot flow down the rain gutters. This not only discolors and deteriorates the siding it can cause leaks in the house and create erosion problems for the foundation. Water should run out the downspout and away from the house without filling the gutter.

If the gutter is clogged some of that water will back up on the roof soaking it. And it doesn t stop there. If the gutters look clear run a hose and fill the gutters with water. Some gutter backups are caused by blockages in the downspouts.

Maintaining your gutters eliminates this problem because melting snow flows off your roof without any backup. Some of the water may leak behind the gutters down towards the soffit and the fascia. Because water does not flow down the gutters properly during the winter snow that begins to melt off the roof can freeze again and end up pushed against the soffit because the rain gutters are full. The drip edge blocks the water.

See if they are filling up when it rains. 1 your roof sheets have a hole in them or your screws or nails or equivalent are not watertight anymore or 2 the more common reason is where roof sheets are cut too short or they don t overhang far enough into the gutter. This can be frustrating and also creates a dangerous situation on porch steps during freez. Water leaking in behind the facia of your roof could be caused by a couple of things.

Over time rain gutters often start to pull away from the roof allowing water to drip over the gutter sides or between the gutters and the walls. Before you worry too much about a new roof i would look at the gutters. But if it does you would benefit by installing the gutter over the drip edge not behind it. When the water overflows the gutters it will happen torrential downpours clogged downspouts the water will never be able to reach behind the fascia board and into the soffit and potentially into your house.