How To Find The Pitch Of A Roof With A Speed Square

A roof slope of 4 12 is a 1 6 pitch a 6 12 slope is a 1 4 pitch an 8 12 slope is a 1 3 pitch and so on.

How to find the pitch of a roof with a speed square.

If a magazine such as finehomebuilding is going to put out an article to teach a topic it should use the proper words and definitions. Because of its compact size it is frequently used as a saw guide when cutting framing members as well as a layout tool for quick 45 and 90 degree cuts. I hear read all too often this misuse and usually ignore it. Measured rafter run rr 17 ft.

Set the level on the edge of the speed square as shown below then place the heel of the speed square on a rafter or gable edge of the roof. For example using the numbers from our roof framing square table example just above. Roof pitch is the measurement of a roof s vertical rise divided by its horizontal run. Or 17 x 12 204 in.

The triangle shaped square was invented in 1925 by albert swanson to provide a quick accurate method for marking rafters. With a torpedo level and a speed square you can pretty accurately gauge the pitch of any roof with a gable end photo 1. A speed square and level can be used to easily find the pitch of a roof. After finding out your roof pitch angles you can use the calculator to perform the calculations for you instead of doing them manually.

To find the pitch just place the pivot point against the shingles. Finding the pitch of a roof is simple with a speed square. In the united states a run of 12 inches 1 foot is used and pitch is measured as the rise of the roof over 12 inches. As a matter of fact finding the pitch of a roof was the motivating factor for how this tool was invented in the first place hence it s official name the rafter square.

The pitch tells you the amount of vertical rise in inches for every 12 in. It is often compared to slope but is not exactly the same.