Missing Kick-Out Flashing Caused Wood Rot - Here's the Fix

A missing kick-out flashing might sound like a minor thing. But that one small gap is all it takes for water to find its way in - and once it does, it starts doing real damage behind the scenes. On this home, that's exactly what happened. Water was sneaking in right where the roof meets the wall near the gutter, and by the time we got out there, the wood rot had already worked its way into the trim and fascia.

Here's what makes this kind of damage tricky - it doesn't always look like much from the outside. The stucco above can look totally fine. But pull back the surface and you've got rotted wood that's been sitting wet for who knows how long. That's why we always stress catching these things early. The longer it sits, the more material you're replacing.

We removed the damaged trim and fascia, replaced what had rotted out, and properly installed kick-out flashing so water actually goes where it's supposed to go - into the gutter, not into your wall. From there, we sealed everything up tight and finished it with a clean coat of paint that matched the existing exterior. No shortcuts, no band-aids.

This is the kind of work that falls right in the middle of what we do every day - stucco repairs and exterior work that actually addresses the source of the problem, not just the surface. It's not glamorous, but getting it right matters a lot for the long-term health of a home. A detail this small can lead to thousands in structural damage if it's ignored long enough.