Why Is My Roof Pitch Sk Small

There are advantages and disadvantages to having a steep pitch versus a shallow or low pitch.

Why is my roof pitch sk small.

A 4 12 pitch being 4 inches of vertical rise over one foot or 12 inches of horizontal run. For the curious or do it yourselfers wikihow has a good explanation on how to measure the pitch of your roof in easy to follow steps. A flat roof would have a 2 12 pitch while the average roof pitch would be between 4 12 and 9 12. Before we get started with all that we need to find out the pitch of a roof.

Many factors determine which roofing materials you can use and one make or break factor is the slope of the roof known as roof pitch. While asphalt shingle is a good roofing material it s not the best choice in all situations. Simply put pitch is expressed as rise over run just as the grade is simply this fraction expressed as a percentage. But again we are jumping ahead of ourselves.

As standard practice places with heavy rainfall or snow storms will have higher roof pitches compared to places that experience less rain and snow. More than aesthetics roof pitch determines how a roofing system will perform long term and it determines how quickly water and debris will shed from the roof. Most manufacturers specify at least a 4 12 roof pitch for installing them meaning for every foot the rafters extend out from the ridge beam they drop down 4 inches. The pitch of the roof is determined by the vertical rise in inches for every horizontal twelve inch length.

Any pitch higher than 9 12 is considered a steep pitch. Low slope or flat roofs are primarily seen in commercial roofing applications although they are being found more and more in today s modern residential architectural designs. This is a steep slope roof. 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.

In roofing it is expressed in inches of vertical rise over inches of horizontal run. For example you may think you want classic composite shingles on your roof but if the pitch is below a certain ratio you may be forced to install a different type of roofing perhaps rolled roofing or standing seam metal roofing. Roof pitch refers to the amount of rise a roof has compared to the horizontal measurement of the roof called the run. So a roof pitch of 10 12 as seen below means for every 12 horizontal inches of roof the roof rises 10 inches.

The roof pitch is necessary for two things one estimating the amount of material to be ordered for the job and two knowing what materials are suited for the roof.