Understanding Roof Pitch

A roof that ascents six inches each twelve level inches is depicted as a 6 and 12 roof.

Understanding roof pitch.

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. The pitch of your roof is determined by the measurement of the vertical rise by the horizontal run. 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.

Simply put roof pitch is the measurement of the angle or the steepness of your roof. 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. The rise is the height of the roof from the base to the top. 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.

Mathematically the pitch of a roof is different calculation than roof slope. The term pitch and slope are often used interchangeably which is incorrect. Roof pitch is indicated by the measure of vertical ascent they ensure for each twelve creeps of horizontal estimation. 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.

You ll often hear experts express pitch as x over y. Roof pitch is the rise of the roof over the run of the roof. To calculate pitch you simply divide rise by span and display your result as a fraction. For example a roof that rises 6 inches for every 12 inches of horizontal run has a 6 in 12 pitch.