Remembering Kick-Out Flashing

Yes, it is a thing. There are many applications in which flashing is required to keep the rain water from entering your home.

I expect that you could find a lot of diagrams and photos on the internet listing out the proper names and locations of all of the flashings used and if your tackling a roof on your own, please do. However, I would like to focus on the elusive kick-out flashing.

Elusive, because many homes lack the protection this small item offers, and the results of this oversight can be detrimental to the integrity of your home. Just imagine rainwater flowing underneath your siding. Invisible right? Tucked away from view one might say, “out of sight, out of mind”.

Over the course of a few short years, the water flows unobserved each time it rains. This moisture becomes soaked up by the substrate and when enough time is allotted, decay of the house begins.

The wall sheathing begins decomposing allowing the moisture to travel deeper into your home. The studs begin to rot. The entire area becomes involved, spreading further outward and downward towards the foundation. And no one can tell that it is going on. Until you peel back the siding.

There have been too many cases that I have personally seen this ugly scenario and the cost to repair the damage caused by this lack of flashing can be wide ranging. The solution is simple. Be sure you have kick-out flashing properly installed on your home.

The next time that you clean your gutters, get new gutters, get a new roof, get new siding, be sure to have this little yet invaluable flashing securely in place. You will be glad to know that it is there for you.

Feel free to comment or reach out to me with any questions you may have on Kick-out flashing. I’ll be happy to help you where I can.