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Few roofing components are as small and as easy to overlook as kickout flashing, and few are as commonly missing on homes built or reroofed before this detail became a standard part of building code and manufacturer instructions. A kickout, also called a diverter flashing, is installed at the bottom termination of a roof-to-wall step flashing run, exactly where a roof edge meets a wall above an exterior door, a lower roof section, or a point where the roofline stops partway down a wall.
Without a kickout, water running down the step flashing at the base of that intersection has nowhere to go but behind the wall cladding, since the last piece of step flashing simply ends at the roof edge and the water sheets off the edge of the roof deck directly against the sheathing or siding below. A kickout diverts that water out and away from the wall, directing it into the gutter or off the roof edge instead of behind the cladding. The piece itself is typically a bent or pre-formed metal flashing, sometimes fabricated on site from step flashing stock and sometimes purchased as a manufactured component, set at the transition point and lapped with both the step flashing above and the drip edge or gutter apron below.
The angle of the diverter leg matters to how effectively it performs, and some manufactured kickouts are adjustable so an installer can set the diverting leg to a wider or narrower angle depending on how much water the particular roof section is expected to shed and how far the gutter sits from the wall. A poorly angled kickout can still allow some water to splash back toward the wall during heavy rain, even though it is technically present, which is one reason inspectors look not just for the presence of a kickout but for how well it appears to be functioning relative to the gutter and wall geometry at that specific location.
The consequences of a missing kickout tend to show up gradually rather than immediately, which is part of why the detail is easy to miss during a routine claim inspection focused on storm damage. Water intrusion at this location often appears as staining or deterioration on interior wall finishes well below the roofline, or as rot in the wall sheathing discovered only when siding is removed for an unrelated repair. Because this is typically a long-term construction or workmanship issue rather than damage from a specific weather event, it is generally evaluated and discussed separately from wind or hail claims, even though the same inspection that examines storm-related roof damage may also reveal a missing kickout.
Building codes and shingle manufacturer installation instructions in most jurisdictions now call for kickout flashing at these transitions, and its absence on an older home reflects the standards in effect when that home was built or last reroofed rather than necessarily a defect. When a roof is being replaced for storm damage, some contractors will add missing kickouts as part of bringing the roof up to current installation standards, while others treat it as outside the scope of a like kind and quality repair. Which approach applies in a given claim depends on the policy, the applicable building code, and the facts at that specific property, all of which are matters for the parties involved rather than for the roof inspection itself to resolve.
This article is general education about how the appraisal process commonly works. It is not legal advice, and specific procedures can vary by state and policy.
Russ Lis is a working property insurance appraiser and umpire based in Minnesota, serving clients nationwide. Contact Appraisal Resolution.