Roof Slope Vs Pitch

Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates.

Roof slope vs pitch.

Roof pitch is a term describing how steep or flat your roof slope is. A roof with the least pitch would be a flat roof. 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. When someone remarks on the pitch of a roof they are referring to the angle slant or slope of your roof.

Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12. Roof slope expressed as rise. Remember slope is expressed as a ratio and in inches per foot. If the slope is 4 12 the pitch for the 24 foot span is 1 6.

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. Other than the 45 roof slope which is 12 in 12 none of the standard roof pitches 5 in 12 6 in 12 etc are equal to a whole degree. Slope minimums for various roof coverings. If the pitch is 1 3 the slope is 8 12.

The combination of two numbers are used to display or show the roof pitch. Roof pitch or slope is a measure of vertical rise to horizontal run expressed in inches per foot. The pitch is measured by a simple formula. The following table shows the roof pitch rise in run equivalents for all roof slopes in degrees from 1 to 72.

Slope is the ratio measured in inches per foot. Pitch is thus the ratio of the rise in inches to a 12 inch run and is often expressed using a semicolon for example 6 12. Picking a low pitch or slope for your roof will give your rooftop a flatter more box like look. A a roof with a 6 rise for every 12 run has a 6 per foot or 6 in 12 pitch.

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. Plus since the low pitch requires fewer materials and less work than the steep pitch it comes at a lower cost. The slope ratio represents a certain amount of vertical rise for every 12 inches of horizontal run. Pitch and slope do not mean the same thing.

A roof that rises 4 inches for every 1 foot or 12 inches of run is said to have a 4 in 12 slope. 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. To see what the degree equivalents are for standard rise in run roof pitches see our page quick reference. Last updated july 10 2020.

And pitch is a fraction derived by dividing the rise by the entire span.