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The simplest little piece that could prevent or cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.
See the little angled piece labeled "kickout flashing" (aka diverter flashing)? That's the cheap little part that is often not installed or installed incorrectly and causes thousands of dollars in moisture damage to homes every year. They cost about $20 at home depot, do need to be installed correctly, but will save your home in the long run.
Kickout (aka Diverter) Flashings
“Kickout flashings are one of the most commonly found defects responsible for causing moisture damage to homes and materials here in the northwest.”
Here in the Northwest our biggest destroyer of homes and the materials they're made of is moisture, more specifically the non-stop rains through the entire winter. Once our winter sets in there are very few breaks in the weather that will allow for houses and materials to dry out. The longer materials (especially wood and wood products) are subjected to prolonged periods of moisture, the more chance for deterioration and rot to set in.
Essentially a kickout flashing is just a small piece of bent flashing (often metal or plastic) placed in the correct place to direct roof runoff into a gutter. Wherever a roofs slope intersect with the side of an exterior wall there is a chance for runoff to sneak its way into (or onto) the wall of the structure. The kickout flashing is designed to eliminate that concern and direct the water running down the roof away from the wall and into the gutter system below, to properly drain out of the downspout and away from the foundation.
Kickout flashings are one of the most commonly found defects responsible for causing substantial moisture damage to homes and materials here in the Northwest. On more than one (or lots) of inspections I have found damaged, improperly installed, or the absence of kickout flashings. Honestly, in some cases it seems like it would have been better if they weren't installed rather than being poorly installed or damaged.
Rain water and run off will always find it's way downhill in the easiest manner possible, if that so happens to be through the inside of your wall, down the side of your chimney bricks, or onto the tops of exposed beams and framing members, that is of no concern to the water.
Here are a few images and details of properly installed kickout (diverter) flashings.
The image above is from an immaculately well maintained newer (2018) home that had almost zero other defects or concerns. I went through the entire house, inside and out, and had one of the cleanest inspection reports I had written in a long time. I entered the crawlspace, it too was in immaculate condition, except for a substantial amount of moisture damage to the OSB sheathing and some framing members (2x4's and such). The water had made its way all the way down to the sill plate (framing member attached to the concrete foundation) from two stories above, and it did it without ever being seen. The really bad damage (not visible in this photo) wasn't able to be seen until later when the walls were opened up for repairs.
The kickout flashing I had noticed on the roof that was installed incorrectly (at the wrong angle) was actually directing water to run into the wall. It had run down 2 stories inside the wall all the way down to where you see it pictured in the crawlspace (that crawlspace happen to be about 10 feet tall on that side). Along its way it soaked the insulation inside the wall, saturated the exterior sheathing, and had begun to deteriorate the backside of the interior drywall. The repair to fix the flashing was simple and non-expensive. However to remove the siding, sheathing and insulation then repair and replace the damaged materials was not. The moisture that ran through the wall completely saturated the insulation and osb sheathing and was trapped in the wall with no way to ever dry out. The sheathing was saturated and delaminating, the insulation was completely soggy and mold/mildew had taken over in that area. The only good news was that it was caught before it had time to do any damage to the more structural members (wood framing and beams) of the home.
The long and short of this story is that a kickout flashing is a very cheap and simple item and installation that can prevent thousands of dollars in repairs. Next time you look at your house, or a house to buy please take a second to look for them and see if you notice any issues around it, or if it just hasn't been installed in a place that is should be and you notice any issues there.
Below is a different instance of a kickout flashing that wasn't installed. Roof run off has been draining down the side of the chimney, slowly eroding it. You can see the erosion down the side of the chimney and the deterioration of the stone and the mortar directly below at the gutter/chimney junction. There was also moisture staining on the under side of the soffit adjacent to the chimney. Odds are there is moisture and moisture related damage inside of the soffit. Always install kickout (aka diverter) flashings.
Best of luck and well wishes with your purchase, sale or everyday maintenance of your home.
-Brennan