How To Figure Out Your Roof Pitch

To measure the roof pitch you ll need an 18 or 24 inch level a tape measure and a pencil.

How to figure out your roof pitch.

Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates. Roof pitch calculator results explained slope the slope of a roof is represented as x 12 where x is the number of inches in rise for every 12 inches of run. If you want to know how to find the pitch of a roof then start with a calculator. 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.

Rise run pitch where pitch is expressed in percent. This is very useful information for many purposes especially for roof framing the slope sometimes called pitch is calibrated on speed squares. If this distance measures 4 inches you have a 4 in 12 pitch. On a ladder beside the roof place the level a foot or so up the roof hold it level and measure from the 12 inch mark on the level s bottom straight down to the roof.

Generally roof pitch is calculated from the same formula that describes a right triangle. You ll need a level that is 12 or longer and a tape measure. Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12. This will allow your project to carry the depth and detail in the roof that you wanted as well as make sure that it will maintain a sturdy and effective nature throughout.

Here are a couple examples. How to measure roof pitch. On the roof hold the level perfectly level and measure the height from the roof to the level 12 inches away from where the level touches the surface this will be the rise. The rise is the height of the roof and the run is the horizontal span as pictured above.

First measure 12 inches from one end of the level and make a mark. You can use the following equations to find the length of the rafter and the slope. Pitch measurement method 1. For a simple gable roof the span wall to wall will be twice the size of the run wall to ridge horizontally.

Then in the attic place the end of the level against the bottom of a roof rafter and hold it perfectly level. If you do need to calculate the pitch an estimate or shortcut is usually more practical than measuring the roof s overall dimensions. Even if you want to use a flat roof pitch calculator system you will be able to find one. 8 inches and you have an 8 in 12 pitch.

Rafter rise run from the pythagorean theorem. How to calculate roof pitch. The roof pitch is the slope of the rafter. For example if a roof has a pitch of 4 12 then for every 12 inches the building extends horizontally it rises 4 inches.