Best Roof Angle For Snow

How roof pitch determines suitable roofing systems.

Best roof angle for snow.

This will extend the life of your roof. 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. Again the most important consideration is the weather.

The pitch of the roof is determined by the vertical rise in inches for every horizontal twelve inch length. Any roof from 4 12 to 9 12 is considered an ordinary angle for a roof. A reputable roofing contractor will be familiar with the pitch required by these codes. Simply put roof pitch is the measurement of the angle or the steepness of your roof.

Having a steeper pitched roof allows for more space in a shed loft. At these slopes snow creeps rather than slides and is easy to manage. A flat roof would have a 2 12 pitch while the average roof pitch would be between 4 12 and 9 12. On roof slopes between 4 12 and 6 12 rough textured roofing materials work best.

Basically the steeper the pitch the better it can shed snow and rain. 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. 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. 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.

The loft space would be much larger with a roof pitch of 45 degrees. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a steep pitch versus a shallow or low pitch the most obvious of which is the roof s ability to shed or withstand heavy snow rain or wind. The smallest pitch of a roof is 0 5 12. If you are building a new roof however consider the climate to determine the correct pitch and proper materials.

Across all materials this threshold is around 45 50 degrees away from perpendicular. Roof slopes lower than 4 12 tend to perform well with metal roofs which are less prone to leakage and ice dam formation. 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. These are also the most common pitches for shed roofs.

Significant here means less than an 8 change.