Snow Roof Degree

Rise run rise run slope.

Snow roof degree.

First convert the pitch to a slope. A 30 degree roof slope 7 12 pitch is the right pitch to aerodynamically handle high wind. To do this simply convert the rise and run as a fraction to a decimal form eg. Lower slopes don t handle wind driven rain as well.

Steeper slopes increase the sail effect that makes them susceptible to wind. And although asphalt shingles are the easiest to damage among the roofing materials they are another good option for snow as long as your climate isn t too windy. Slate is also a popular material in this climate zone. The minimum roof pitch for shedding snow is around 30 or a 6 12 or 7 12 slope although this is not a definite as the material of your roof the direction of the snow and wind are some factors that can affect whether or not snow will slide as roofs of as little as 10 have been reported to shed snow.

The 30 degree 7 12 roof recommendation is backed up by testing according to the publication science daily. Building a roof with wood shakes works well in moist colder climates as they don t dry out from the snow. If you live in the us our snow load calculator compares the total weight on your roof with the permissible load calculated according to the standards issued by the american society of civil engineers regarding the minimum design loads for buildings and other structures asce7 16. How to convert roof pitch to degrees.

To find the angle of a roof in degrees convert the pitch to a slope then convert to degrees by finding the arc tangent of the slope.