Pitch Of Roof For Snow

Low pitch roofs are easier to install and safer to walk around to complete repairs and maintenance.

Pitch of roof for snow.

A 1 4 inch slope may work in alabama but one can expect leaks in minnesota or. Others allow a 1 4 inch slope. Intuitively this is the number of inches of snow on your roof in the place where the cover is the thickest. You can enter this value either as a ratio x 12 or as an angle whichever suits you better.

Importance of a roof pitch. The minimum roof pitch is also subject to the standards set forth by the various building codes used in the respective regions. In country with heavy snow and tough winter days the metal roof minimum slope is recommended to be 1 12. Some metal building manufacturers will not warranty a roof with a 1 4 inch slope.

There are some opinions that standing seam metal roof minimum slope is 12 but it increases the possibility of leaking on the few first days of snow arrival. The chief reason for having a roof pitch is to redirect water and snow away from the roof and avoid any percolation that might result from stagnation of water on the roof. When the snow piled up on the roof melting occurred and ice dams resulted in water ponding 3 inches deep. For example a roof with a 6 inch 12 pitch is one where it rises 6 inches vertically for every 12 inches of the horizontal run.

This is fortunate since flat roofs are somewhat more prone to leaks and require frequent inspections. The minimum roof pitch for shedding snow is around 30 or a 6 12 or 7 12 slope although this is not a definite as the material of your roof the direction of the snow and wind are some factors that can affect whether or not snow will slide as roofs of as little as 10 have been reported to shed snow. This can be accomplished by measuring the number of inches the roof rises vertically for every 12 inches it extends horizontally. A pitch over 9 12 is considered a steep slope roof between 2 12 and 4 12 is considered a low slope roof and less than 2 12 is considered a flat roof.

The table below shows common roof pitches and the equivalent grade degrees and radians for each. Low pitch roofs are seldom used in regions of severe weather due to the stress of snow accumulation on roofs of structures. In general determining the pitch of an existing roof is a simple calculation. Metal roofs leak under these circumstances.