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Installing a Rain Diverter
By: Danny Lipford 
Nothing is more annoying than having to walk through a waterfall coming off your roof to reach the front door every time it rains. Fortunately, there’s an easy and inexpensive solution to the problem.
Rain diverters are available at building supply stores, but if you can’t find one, see our article on How to Make a Rain Diverter to see how you can make one from sheet metal yourself. They are easiest to install on asphalt roofing and consist of an “L” shaped piece of sheet metal that fits under the roofing above the entranceway.
First, cut the diverter about a foot longer on each side than the area you want to keep dry.
Center the diverter over the area to be covered using a plumb bob or a string with a weight attached. Using a pry bar or putty knife, loosen the second row of shingles up from the edge of the roof where the diverter will be located.
Slide the diverter under the shingles.
Slant the diverter so that one side is slightly lower than the other to allow for drainage. A drop of 1” is plenty for a 6′ diverter.
Carefully lift up the shingle tabs to keep from breaking them, and nail the diverter in place with roofing nails. Position the nails so they will be covered by the shingles and are a few inches up from the bottom edge of the overlapping shingles.
Dab roofing cement on the nail heads, under each shingle tab, and in any gaps between the shingles to keep water from getting underneath the diverter. Press the shingles down to seal them back in place.
That’s all there is to it. Now you won’t get soaked on the way to the mailbox when it rains.
Be sure and clean behind the rain diverter from time to time to keep leaves and other debris from building up.
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28 Comments on “Installing a Rain Diverter”
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September 24th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Dear Danny,
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Kindest regards,
Rick Weinberg
October 11th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I have searched all local building supply
companies for this type of rain diverter and have had no luck! Home Depot didn’t carry
it either. Do you know if I can order them
on-line?
October 17th, 2007 at 11:34 am
[...] Remove the clamps and attach the diverter to the roof as detailed in the article Installing a Rain Diverter. [...]
Ben Erickson Says:October 17th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
John,
Rain diverters are available in the roofing departments of many home improvement stores and online from several suppliers including Amazon.com.
In response to your question, we have posted an article on how to make a diverter yourself.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
I bought a rain diverter from Home Depot in the building materials dept with the drip edge and flashing products. A 10 ft. section of 7-1/2 inch diverter was $4.99, plus tax.
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:33 am
BENDTEK – located on Cape Cod fabricates custom rain diverters from sheet copper. very attractive, I had a 10′ diverter fabricated, although it was a little more expensive than using drip edge. Web site available at http://www.bendtek.com and very responsive. They ship.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I make rain diverters with aluminum, any color to match roofing color, any size to 10′
August 30th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Picked up my diverter at HD today. Just slid it under the shingles for now to see how it goes. Will remove it and paint to match the roof before suring up.
October 17th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Hello,
I am looking for a company that sells a metal strip,30″ wide that can be attached near the bottom of the outside part of our door.I need a piece about 1″ with a 45degree angle i” that can divert water away from threshold and away from door. When we get hard rains water gets in the house on the hardword floor via the threshohd at the bottom of the door. My house is 4 yrs old in excellent shape and the threshold plate at the bottom of the door is very tight against bottom of door but water still gets in.
Thanks
Jim Ashley
803-817-7830
November 14th, 2008 at 10:29 am
What’s the best way to install a diverter on a cedar shake roof? just work it under each individual shake and let friction hold it in place, or nail it down?
January 4th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Danny, I have two places on my roof that need a rain diverter but they are both where water runs together from two sides of the roof into “valleys,” and then off the roof just over doors. How/where do I find a diverter that’s angled to fit into these valleys? Thanks! Lucy
February 18th, 2009 at 7:41 am
How do I take what you’ve shown with the rain diverter and put it on my awning coming out my side door.
Thanks
May 25th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Can the diverter be installed at lengths greater than 10 ft., or would this cause too much water to be held back and then overflow?
Ben Erickson Says:May 26th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hi Dave,
If you can’t find a factory made rain diverter, consider making one yourself from sheet metal. Check out our article on How to Make a Rain Diverter to find out how.
May 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Same story as the others….no rain diverter anywhere to be found in the Cleveland or Seven Springs area of Pittsburgh. I wish HD would stock what is being advertised on TV. Very frustrating…all anyone carries is drip edge and it’s a lighter gage and doesn’t hold up under ice/snow loads in winter.
Ben Erickson Says:May 26th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Hi Ed,
I would not install a long diverter, since it not only might back up behind the roofing but would produce concentrated runoff that could damage your foundation. If you need a diverter that long, I would install gutters with downspouts to direct the runoff away from the house.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
This is a diverter/gutter question, but first some context: Every year I get terrible ice dams. I have installed soffit vents in hopes of eliminating the ice dams, but if I don’t scrape the snow off with an ice rake within a day, the ice dams will form. I need to install some kind of diverter/gutter to prevent water damage to the front door area (already spent over $1000 fixing rotted wood). What do I do? Gutter? Diverter?
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Macbeth if i were you i’d install a metal roof and be done with it. i live in the U.P. of Michigan and that’s what kind of roof we have. the metal heats up when the sun is out and whooshhhhhhhhhhhh off all the snow comes.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Does a rain diverter work well in Florida? My gutters keep filling up with tree debris. And even when clean – a hard rain will drive the water down the roof and over the gutter.
Ben Erickson Says:September 2nd, 2009 at 8:12 am
Hi Al,
We’re in L.A. (lower Alabama), and rain diverters work great here. You may need to clean off any leaves and debris that build up behind it from time to time (pine straw is the worst) if the wind doesn’t do it for you, but diverters will require much less maintenance than gutters. You also might want to install gutter guards on your gutters. I put the inexpensive plastic ones on mine. They were easy to install and have worked great so far (1 year).
September 10th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Can a rain diverter be installed on a 1/12 pitch non-shingle roof? The roof is not tar or gravel, but a rolled out material that was heated.
Ben Erickson Says:September 11th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Hi Kim,
I wouldn’t reccommend it on a roof with a slope under about 3/12 since water would tend to back up behind it. Also, I wouldn’t want to cut into a membrane roof like you have to insert the diverter under it.
April 15th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Can you install a rain diverter on a metal roof using the same metal as the roof? Pls. advise. Our gutter guy says no problem but my boss and roofer are saying that this is never done. Thanks!
April 25th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
I wonder if you could use say 4 10 footers properly placed to divert the water to any given corner of the house and have a catch basin to take the water? All one we need to do is make sure the pitch was right for say a 40 foot run no? And of coarse having a gutter / receptacle at the corner to receive the on coming water. No more long runs of guttering needed. Sweeet!
January 3rd, 2011 at 7:46 am
Can you install a rain diverter onto a roof that has ‘architectural’ shingles? I can’t find a good ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to this. This is a roof that doesn’t have gutters, so it would be nice to put something up above an entryway.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:57 am
can rain diverters be used with a torch down roof?
August 31st, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Great instructions for installing a rain diverter, which like others commenting here,are not easy to find in building supply stores. I went to a roofing company, drew them a little picture of the area I was trying to divert rain from and they fabricated one that matches the bronze windows and door facings in my home. The ones in stores were only aluminum, were ugly, and would have needed paint. Roofing company had several color selections. A 7 ft section was $15.
December 20th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Have you ever looked at the Barnetts Valley Controller, made for an inside corner, ot eliminates the need for a diverter. It lets the debris slide off and pulls the water into the gutter.