How To Check The Pitch Of A Roof

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How to check the pitch of a roof.

If you need to find the pitch of an existing roof all you need is a level and a tape measure. It isn t necessarily a 12 inch run but the entire span. First measure 12 inches from one end of the level and make a mark. Simply mark a level at 12 hold it perfectly level and measure from the roof surface to your 12 mark this.

Here s an easy safe way to determine the pitch from inside your attic. The term pitch has two different meanings when it comes to roofs. Marvel at your mathematical. Example a the measurements are taken from on top of the 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. Most people use it to mean the steepness of the roof. Hold the level straight and level bubble centered and then measure the vertical distance down from the your 12 mark on the level down to the roof. Pitch is shown as a fraction which divides the rise by the span.

To measure the roof pitch you ll need an 18 or 24 inch level a tape measure and a pencil. Place the end of your level the 0 inch point of your 12 marking against the roof surface. 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. Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12.

The 7 means that the roof rises 7 for every 12 it runs. A 12 12 pitch roof has a pitch angle of 45. Then in the attic place the end of the level against the bottom of a roof rafter and hold it perfectly level. Check your results with the omni roof pitch calculator.

Divide the first part of the ratio by 12 to work out the pitch. Find the inverse tangent of the pitch to find the angle in degrees. Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates. So a roof that rises six inches for every foot of run has a 6 in 12 slope.

This is the amount your roof inclines in a 1 foot span or the pitch of your roof.