Understanding Roof Pitch

You ll often hear experts express pitch as x over y.

Understanding roof pitch.

Roof pitch is the rise of the roof over the run of the roof. Because it is one of the many key elements that determine the safety of the roof over your head there is a very good reason to understand the purpose of roof pitch. They do not mean the same thing. A roof that ascents six inches each twelve level inches is depicted as a 6 and 12 roof.

The term pitch and slope are often used interchangeably which is incorrect. Pitch compares the roof s span to the rise while slope compares rise and run. A 12 to 24 pitch is expressed as 1 2. For example if a roof is 8 feet high and spreads out from the center covering 12 feet in each direction the rise over the run would be 8 12.

The rise is the height of the roof from the base to the top. The angle or pitch of a roof is calculated by the number of inches it rises vertically for every 12 inches it extends horizontally. The pitch of your roof is determined by the measurement of the vertical rise by the horizontal run. Simply put roof pitch is the measurement of the angle or the steepness of your roof.

To calculate pitch you simply divide rise by span and display your result as a fraction. For example given a roof with a rise of 4 feet and a span of 24 feet the pitch is 1 to 6 pitch which can be expressed as the fraction of 1 6. Roof pitch is indicated by the measure of vertical ascent they ensure for each twelve creeps of horizontal estimation. This implies a rooftop that is 4 inches higher than it was 12 creeps back assessing on a flat plane is a four and twelve rooftop.