How To Check The Pitch Of A Roof

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

How to check the pitch of a roof.

Simply mark a level at 12 hold it perfectly level and measure from the roof surface to your 12 mark this. Then in the attic place the end of the level against the bottom of a roof rafter and hold it perfectly level. So if the roof has a 24 foot span and has a 4 foot rise then it has a 1 6 pitch. Marvel at your mathematical.

First measure 12 inches from one end of the level and make a mark. To convert between american roofing ratios and pitch degrees follow these steps. Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12. Example a the measurements are taken from on top of the roof.

Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates. Most people use it to mean the steepness of the roof. If you need to find the pitch of an existing roof all you need is a level and a tape measure. Divide the first part of the ratio by 12 to work out the pitch.

Pitch is shown as a fraction which divides the rise by the span. Check your results with the omni roof pitch calculator. Some carpenters consider it more correct to use the term slope for the steepness and use pitch to describe the roof s overall dimensions. This is the amount your roof inclines in a 1 foot span or the pitch of your roof.

So a roof that rises six inches for every foot of run has a 6 in 12 slope. The example to right shows 2 different ways to determine or calculate roof pitch also called roof slope. 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. The 7 means that the roof rises 7 for every 12 it runs.

Find the inverse tangent of the pitch to find the angle in degrees. The term pitch has two different meanings when it comes to roofs. Watch more mastered in a minute videos. Here s an easy safe way to determine the pitch from inside your attic.

It isn t necessarily a 12 inch run but the entire span.