Hello everyone,

We just had a heavy rainstorm and my basement collected a lot of water. I've been in this house for approximately one year and this was the first time that I noticed water in the basement. During the storm I observed water leaking from underneath the soffit above the basement window well. I initially thought it was a clogged gutter, but that's not the case. I inspected the attic as best I could during the storm but didn't notice anything leaking. The roofing shingles are in relatively good shape, but I noticed that the plywood around the house is about an inch or two shy of the gutters. There is a gap there, and the singles extend right to the gutter with very little overhang. My question ... Is this my problem? I've asked other people about the plywood not extending to the gutter and most people said it wasn't an issue. However after this evening, I think that it is. I'm thinking that water is finding it's way into that gap and leaking through the soffit joints. I was wondering if I could put flashing underneath the roofing shingles to close the gap between the plywood and gutter. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

The only times I have seen water in a basement from a roof leak was from a masonry chimney.

"The roofing shingles are in relatively good shape, but I noticed that the plywood around the house is about an inch or two shy of the gutters. There is a gap there, and the singles extend right to the gutter with very little overhang. My question ... Is this my problem? "


What plywood around the house?
Pictures would be helpful.

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I don't need no freakin' signature, I Am Roofer.

I have seen many new homes where the roof sheeting doesn't go ALL the way to the fascia/sub-fascia, but it's usually only an inch at best. And unless you get a good wind I can't see too much water getting in there (I definitely can't see it without pics).

If this is the problem, then yes it can repaired by installing some flashing under the shingles, but this isn't the easiest of tasks for a DIYer.

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Almost 100 years ago, injured workers rights were taken away, it's high time we got them back.

This is really a problematic situation.
I think you should concult your roofing company about this. They will give you correct advise and also repair the leakage if you want.

In case anyone else is interested, I'll provide a quick update on this. I tried closing the gap between the plywood sheathing and the fascia with an adhesive flashing, but that didn't do the trick. During the next heavy rain I still noticed drops of water leaking through the soffit.... Although the volume of water was reduced. The next day I took metal flashing and placed it under the shingles and tar paper and made sure it had about a 1/4" - 1/2" overhang into the gutter. That seems to have resolved the issue for now. We had a very heavy rain and I saw an odd drop here and there, but the bulk of the water found its way to the gutter. I realize that this is not a great solution and I plan on revisiting this roofing issue at some point in the future.

I appreciate everyone's help and suggestions. Thanks