Best Roof Angle For Snow

The safest way to determine the pitch of an existing roof is to measure from inside your attic using a level tape measure and pencil.

Best roof angle for snow.

Again the most important consideration is the weather. Flat and nearly flat roofs a pitch of 1 in 12 or 2 in 12 cannot be covered with shingles or shakes of any material since there is not enough angle to combat the danger of blow off. These are also the most common pitches for shed roofs. Across all materials this threshold is around 45 50 degrees away from perpendicular.

Significant here means less than an 8 change. Simply put roof pitch is the measurement of the angle or the steepness of your roof. The smallest pitch of a roof is 0 5 12. A reputable roofing contractor will be familiar with the pitch required by these codes.

How roof pitch determines suitable roofing systems. On roof slopes between 4 12 and 6 12 rough textured roofing materials work best. Use a handy tool like snow load calculator to help you determine if your roof can handle the weight of snow based on its pitch. This image shows a relatively shallow roof pitch of 15 degrees.

Any roof from 4 12 to 9 12 is considered an ordinary angle for a roof. The loft space would be much larger with a roof pitch of 45 degrees. At these slopes snow creeps rather than slides and is easy to manage. The pitch of the roof is determined by the vertical rise in inches for every horizontal twelve inch length.

This will extend the life of your roof. In snowy areas your roof should be at least 10 12 40 to allow snow to shed while the safest roof pitch in very windy areas is between 4 12 6 12 18 5 26 5. Pitch is a measure of the steepness of a roof. 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.

To put this another way you can tilt a roof angle about 45 degrees away from the optimal angle the perpendicular angle to the sun without significantly affecting light transmission. If you are building a new roof however consider the climate to determine the correct pitch and proper materials. Having a steeper pitched roof allows for more space in a shed loft. Basically the steeper the pitch the better it can shed snow and rain.

A flat roof would have a 2 12 pitch while the average roof pitch would be between 4 12 and 9 12.