What Is Kick-Out Flashing?
Kick-out flashing is the last piece of step flashing at the bottom of a roof-to-wall joint, bent outward at an angle so the concentrated stream of water running down that joint is 'kicked' away from the wall and into the gutter. Without it, that stream — often hundreds of gallons per storm — pours off the roof edge directly behind the siding, soaking the wall sheathing for years. The damage is hidden: paint bubbling low on the wall, a soft or stained band of siding below the roof termination, or rot discovered only during siding replacement. Because the failure point is a missing part rather than a broken one, homeowners and even inspectors overlook it. Installation is cheap during a re-roof and awkward afterward: the bottom courses of siding and shingles come off, a formed kick-out is woven in with the step flashing, and any rotted sheathing behind it is replaced first.
Important Distinction
Note: Kick-out flashing is often simply missing rather than failed — many older roofs were built without it, and its absence causes wall rot that gets misdiagnosed as a siding or window leak.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
What Kick-Out Flashing Can Lead To
A missing kick-out flashing dumps an entire sidewall's runoff into the wall cavity where roof meets gutter - one of the few roof defects that rots framing while the roof surface looks perfect from the street.
Related To Kick-Out Flashing
Kick-out flashing is the last piece in a step-flashing run, bent to throw water into the gutter - a sidewall's flashing is unfinished without it no matter how well the rest was woven.
The dirtiest streak on a house's siding usually marks where a sidewall meets a gutter without a kick-out flashing - the streak is years of roof runoff washing down the wall instead of turning into the gutter.
Questions about Kick-Out Flashing?
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