Roof Pitch For Shingles

5 12 to 12 12 pitch.

Roof pitch for shingles.

They provide excellent weather resistance great value and now more than ever a tremendous range of beautiful designs and color blends. Although ceramic tile roofs are expensive they can have a life span of over 100 years. The short simple answer is 2 12 has traditionally been considered the absolute minimum acceptable roof slope suitable for asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles continue to be the most widely installed roof covering option in north america.

The pitch of the roof is the rise over a 12 inch run. Normal shingle installation is allowed for all roofs with a pitch of 4 12 and above. Roof pitch is the measurement of a roof s vertical rise divided by its horizontal run. It is often compared to slope but is not exactly the same.

In the roofing trade the go to term is pitch and it is expressed in terms of 12 inches so the pitch of a roof is determined by how many inches the slope rises for every 12 inches it runs horizontally. Resilient asphalt shingles lie much flatter to the substrate than slate tile and concrete which keeps water from being easily blown under them. So a 4 12 pitch roof rises 4 inches for every 12 inches of horizontal run. The recommended minimum roof pitch for shingles is 2 12 or simply two units of vertical rise to every twelve units of horizontal span.

However it is regrettable that many installers usually ignore this requirement due to the desire for a quick installation process. For example a 4 12 pitch roof that is 100 square feet. If 4 12 and above is normal and 2 12 is minimum what about properties with roofs in between the two such as a 3 12 pitched roof. Asphalt shingle roofing is designed to shed water that is flowing downward over its surface with each shingle overlapping the one below.

Shingle roofs typically have a life span of 15 30 years while membrane roofs usually last 5 15 years. Pitch is measured in inches of vertical rise of the roof over one foot 12 inches of horizontal run. What is the minimum slope for an asphalt shingle roof. A pitch of 2 12 is the minimum pitch for shingles made of asphalt so your roof just barely makes the cut off for one of the most popular roofing material options.

Manufacturers of asphalt shingles recommend a pitch of 4 12 or more but the absolute minimum pitch is 2 12. Next multiply the footprint of the roof by the multiplier below for your roof pitch to find the overall roof area. These shingles are appropriate for pitches as low as 4 12 pitch all the way up to a 12 12 pitch. We do install shingles on these in between pitches but special application measures must be taken in this middle ground.

Low sloped roof shingle installation.