Roof Pitch Vs Slope

The steepness of your roof also known as the roof pitch or slope is an important decision to make for your property especially when considering residential roofingchanges.

Roof pitch vs slope.

Understanding your roof s pitch and slope by knowing the pitch of your roof you will know what type of products can be used and the best ways to go about applying them. Roof pitch can be a health and safety issue on homes in geographic areas that experience heavy snow and rain. Remember slope is expressed as a ratio and in inches per foot. Pitch and slope do not mean the same thing.

Slope is the ratio measured in inches per foot. If the rise is 6 inches for every 12 inches of run then the roof slope is 6 in 12 the slope can be expressed numerically as a ratio. A roof that rises 4 inches for every 1 foot or 12 inches of run is said to have a 4 in 12 slope. If the pitch is 1 3 the slope is 8 12.

Knowing the difference between a steep pitch a low pitch or somewhere in between is important since your final choice will have an impact on the type of roof you can install as well as the ideal materials to consider. March 18 2019by american roofing. The pitch of the roof pertains more to the actual construction of the house whereas the slope is more relevant to the roofing of your house. Picking a low pitch or slope for your roof will give your rooftop a flatter more box like look.

This can be very effective for certain ranch styles porch rooftops or modern geometric rooftops. Plus since the low pitch requires fewer materials and less work than the steep pitch it comes at a lower cost. If the slope is 4 12 the pitch for the 24 foot span is 1 6. Because slope affects how water is shed from a roof surface and determines the limits for using asphalt shingles understanding how to measure the slope of a roof may be valuable to a home inspector.

A steep slope to a roof makes it more difficult for wet snow to accumulate and put undue stress on your roof.