Best Roof Angle For Snow

This image shows a relatively shallow roof pitch of 15 degrees.

Best roof angle for snow.

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. Across all materials this threshold is around 45 50 degrees away from perpendicular. At these slopes snow creeps rather than slides and is easy to manage.

Pitch is a measure of the steepness of a roof. Roof slopes lower than 4 12 tend to perform well with metal roofs which are less prone to leakage and ice dam formation. 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. The loft space would be much larger with a roof pitch of 45 degrees.

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. The smallest pitch of a roof is 0 5 12. 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. Significant here means less than an 8 change.

Again the most important consideration is the weather. If you are building a new roof however consider the climate to determine the correct pitch and proper materials. What is the smallest pitch of a 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.

Any roof from 4 12 to 9 12 is considered an ordinary angle for a roof. 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. 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. A flat roof would have a 2 12 pitch while the average roof pitch would be between 4 12 and 9 12.

These are also the most common pitches for shed roofs. A reputable roofing contractor will be familiar with the pitch required by these codes. On roof slopes between 4 12 and 6 12 rough textured roofing materials work best. The pitch of the roof is determined by the vertical rise in inches for every horizontal twelve inch length.

How roof pitch determines suitable roofing systems.