How To Tell The Pitch Of A Roof

Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates.

How to tell the pitch of a roof.

Some carpenters consider it more correct to use the term slope for the steepness and use pitch to describe the roof s overall dimensions. Here s an easy safe way to determine the pitch from inside your attic. How to measure roof pitch. To convert between american roofing ratios and pitch degrees follow these steps.

The roof pitch is important in determining the appropriate installation method and how much roofing material will be needed. A 12 12 pitch roof has a pitch angle of 45. The level should be at least 12 long. The example to right shows 2 different ways to determine or calculate roof pitch also called roof slope.

Example a the measurements are taken from on top of the roof. To measure the roof pitch you ll need an 18 or 24 inch level a tape measure and a pencil. Divide the first part of the ratio by 12 to work out the pitch. Check your results with the omni roof pitch calculator.

Simply mark a level at 12 hold it perfectly level and measure from the roof surface to your 12 mark this. When you need to determine your roof pitch all you need is a bubble level and a tape measure. Roof pitch or slope is a measure of vertical rise to horizontal run expressed in inches per foot. Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12.

Find the inverse tangent of the pitch to find the angle in degrees. Marvel at your mathematical. Most people use it to mean the steepness of the roof. Make sure your have a 12 mark on your level.

You can assess this in two ways either as the roof pitch angles which the rafters make with the horizontal or the proportion between the run and the rise of the roof. Knowing the pitch of your roof is useful when designing an addition installing skylights or cutting new rake boards.