Kickout flashing is a small bent piece of metal installed where a roof edge dies into a wall that keeps going, usually beside a gutter. Its only job is to throw roof water out into the gutter instead of letting it run down the wall. When it is missing, water soaks behind the siding or stucco, and the rot that follows can spread well beyond the corner before anyone notices.
If you've found soft siding or stains below a roof-to-wall corner, call Cannon Roofing at (940) 627-1045, 24/7, or tell us what you're seeing through our contact page.
Where kickout flashing belongs on your house
Look for any spot where a lower roof meets a taller wall and the wall continues past the bottom edge of the roof. On North Texas homes the usual suspects are:
- A garage or porch roof tied into a two-story wall
- Dormers whose side walls stop short of the main roof's eave
- Room additions where a newer roof butts into the original house
- Chimney chases clad in siding that sit partway up a slope
At each of these points, step flashing runs up the side of the roof, tucked under the wall covering. Water travels down that step flashing to the bottom. Without a kickout at the end, it simply pours off the last piece of flashing onto the wall, right behind the end of the gutter.
What happens when kickout flashing is missing
Every rain sends a concentrated stream down the same few inches of wall. Brick veneer can shed some of it, but on siding, stucco and trim that water works its way behind the cladding, past the building wrap and into the sheathing and framing.
Why the damage stays hidden so long
The wet area sits behind a finished surface, often low on the wall and partly screened by a gutter or shrubs. Wood sheathing can soak and dry through many storms before it softens enough to show. By the time paint peels or siding bulges, the framing behind it has often been wet for years.
Signs of rot to look for
Stand at the bottom of each roof-to-wall corner and check:
- Dark streaks or staining running down the wall below the roof edge
- Siding that is swollen, soft, cracked or pulling away from the wall
- Stucco with cracks, bubbles or crumbling near the bottom of the corner
- Peeling paint on trim or a window frame directly below
- Inside, stained drywall, bubbling paint or musty smells on the wall beneath
- Termite or carpenter ant activity near the corner, since both favor damp wood
A simple probe test
Press a screwdriver gently into the trim or siding right at the corner. Sound wood resists. If the tip sinks in easily or the surface feels spongy, the damage has gone past cosmetic and the wall needs to be opened.
How a roofer retrofits kickout flashing
Adding a kickout to an existing home is a targeted job, but it has to be done in the right order to work. Caulking a piece of metal onto the face of the siding does not count; water still finds the gap behind it.
Opening the corner
The roofer removes the bottom course or two of siding, or cuts back stucco, at the roof-wall intersection. That exposes the step flashing, the building wrap and the sheathing so the crew can see how far water has traveled.
Repairing what the water damaged
Soft sheathing and trim are cut out and replaced. If rot extends into the framing, that gets addressed before anything is closed up. There is no point in fitting new flashing over wood that is already failing.
Installing and lapping the kickout
The kickout is set at the bottom of the step flashing so its angled lip points water into the gutter. It laps over the last step flashing piece and tucks under the building wrap above, so every layer sheds water onto the one below. The gutter end is positioned so the diverted stream lands inside it.
Closing it back up
Siding or stucco goes back over the flashing with the proper gap at the roofline so the cladding doesn't wick water. A final check with water run down the roof confirms the stream now drops into the gutter.
Kickout flashing repair with Cannon Roofing
Our roof repair team handles flashing retrofits as part of everyday leak work, and we look at every roof-to-wall corner during an inspection because this is one of the most commonly missed details on homes of every age. Cannon Roofing was founded in Decatur in 1994, and each technician holds the Technician Seal of Safety: background checked, drug tested, factory trained and insured.
If the corner has already let water in, we'll show you photos of what we find behind the siding before any wall work goes ahead. For more on the flashing that runs up the side of the roof, read our guide to step flashing failures where the roof meets a wall.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add kickout flashing myself?
Fitting it correctly means removing siding, working under existing step flashing and handling any rot you uncover, all while standing on a roof edge. Most homeowners are better off having a roofer do it so the layers are lapped properly and hidden damage isn't sealed in.
Is kickout flashing required on new homes?
Current residential building codes generally call for a diverter at these roof-wall intersections, but many older homes in North Texas were built before the detail was widely used, and some newer ones were missed. An inspection is the only way to know for sure.
Will a bigger gutter solve the problem instead?
No. The water runs down the wall behind the gutter end, not over the gutter. Without a diverter, even an oversized gutter never catches the stream coming off the step flashing.
Worried about a roof-to-wall corner on your house? Call Cannon Roofing at (940) 627-1045, day or night. We'll inspect each intersection, probe for soft wood and explain exactly what a retrofit involves before any work begins. You can also send a note through our contact page.