For many homeowners, designing a custom home is the ultimate dream. But the planning and the work that goes into building a home can be quite challenging. There are many facts, figures and features that need to be taken into account by roofing contractors to create a safe and livable home that meets the building standards required for your specific area. Your building’s footprint will be critical to your roof design.
Today, Lankford Roofing & Construction LLC discusses what roof pitch is and how it applies to homes in hot climates.
Why Look at Your Roof’s Components?
The roof plays an essential part in your home’s design, but it also largely serves a practical purpose as a protective barrier from sun, wind, rain and more. Since a roof accounts for the largest visible surface of a building’s envelope, building a good roof requires a mastery of measurements as well as facts that pertain specifically to the property’s location, weather and size. It also requires you to hire only the best roof repair contractors to tackle any issues that may arise.
Roof Pitch
Pitch is a measure of the steepness of a roof. It is determined by the vertical rise in inches for every horizontal 12-inch length. A flat roof would have a 2/12 pitch while the average roof pitch would be between 4/12 and 9/12. Any pitch higher than 9/12 is considered a steep pitch.
In a hot or arid climate, 30 degrees would be considered a good roof pitch. This may go as high as 45 degrees, which contractors and architects would consider as better. Why so? A house-to-roof ratio of one-is-to-three – where the height of the walls of the house would essentially be one-third the height of the roof – would make for very cool interiors. The steeper pitch allows for the inhabitants of the home to distance themselves considerably from the top of the building (which is the hottest part of the house) and to stay away from the rising hot air as well. For the roofing material, it is best to consider materials that are organic and porous, which will allow the rising hot air to escape quite easily and make the cooling cycle effective.
The Lowdown
Because the roof is the hottest part of the house, you’ll also want to avoid having attic rooms as bedrooms or living spaces in hot climates. Roofs with a steeper pitch are attractive and have better drainage, but they cost more to build as they require more lumber and more labor. This tends to be offset by the fact that steep roofs tend to last longer and require less maintenance.
Entrust your window replacement as well as your roofing and roof repair needs to Lankford Roofing & Construction LLC. As a GAF Master Elite® roofing contractor, you can rest assured that your roof is in good hands. Call us today at (903) 465-7677 or (580) 920-1433. You may also fill out our online form. We serve residents of Texas, particularly in Sherman and Denison, TX.
