Pitch And Elevation Of Roof

If a roof increases in height by four inches for every foot of horizontal run it is considered to have a 4 in 12 pitch or just a 4 pitch talk in terms of pitches and you will always be understood in the roofing universe.

Pitch and elevation of roof.

A roof similar to a mansard but sloped in one direction rather than both. The basic explanation is that most roofs have a slope and the degree of steepness associated with the slope is called pitch. Common rafter elevation if you are calculating rafter length from the center of the ridge beam as shown below you will need to subtract half of the thickness of the ridge beam from the top end of the rafter. This measurement is best done on a bare roof because curled up roofing shingles will impair your measurement.

High pitched roofs often need extra fasteners and their pitch can be as high as 21 12. The steep slope may be curved. For example if the roof rises 4 feet and the span is 16 feet twice the run then the pitch is 4 16 or 1 4. Squaring building lines example the picture below shows the pitch of a 7 12 roof slope meaning that for 12 of horizontal measurement roof run the vertical measurement roof rise is 7.

The most commonly used roof pitches fall in a range between 4 12 and 9 12. An element of the second empire architectural style mansard style in the u s. Understanding a roof s pitching can be quite tough if you are just getting started and working with a roofer can leave you a little bit unsure about what is being suggested with regard to the job there s so much to learn that it can become a bit baffling. A roof that rises 8 feet over a 24 foot span was said to have a 1 to 3 pitch.

Pitches lower than 4 12 have a slight angle and they are defined as low slope roofs. They have a pitch ranging from 4 12 to 9 12. So the pitch of a roof is determined by how many inches the slope rises for every 12 inches it runs horizontally. If the rise is 4 feet over a 24 foot span then the roof pitch was said to be 1 to 6 the pitch can be expressed numerically as a fraction.

Pitches above 9 12 are very highly angled and are designated steep slope roofs. Pitches of less than 2 12 are considered flat roofs even though they may be very slightly angled. Conventional roofs are the easiest to construct and you can walk on them safely. You can also calculate roof pitch even without using a roof slope calculator.