7: ROOFING

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela

Building Systems Design
Measuring and Calculating Roofs

■ There are two very fast ways to

estimate roofing quantities:
– Calculating the area of the roof
then adding 10% for wastage
– Calculating the actual are needed
for the roof to avoid wastage.
Level Roofs

■ The dimensions on the plans give you the actual measurements for a level roof. To
get the area of a rectangular roof:
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ × 𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ

■ For non-rectangular roofs, there are two ways to calculate the area:
– Positive method – divide the roof into rectangular areas then add the parts to
get the total area
– Negative method – extend the roof lines to form a single rectangle. Calculate
the area of the rectangle, and subtract the areas of the rectangular spaces
which lie outside the actual roof.
Level Roofs

■ Calculate the area of the given roof

plan.
Level Roofs

■ The perimeter (also called the perimetry or periphery) of a level roof is the total
distance around the roof, measured from outside of roof to outside of roof.

Positive method calculation for roof areas Negative method calculation for roof areas
Sloped Roofs
Sloped Roofs
Sloped Roofs

To determine the slope of any roof,

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑒
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑢𝑛

For Imperial units,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠)
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 =
12 (𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑢𝑛)

Always round the answer to the

nearest whole number.
Sloped Roofs

The total span of a roof is its horizontal

distance, from one eave to the other.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑒
𝑃𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑛
If a roof geometry is symmetric at a
certain orientation, the slope of the roof at
that orientation is twice its pitch at the
same orientation.
If roof slope needs to be described in
terms of angle, you can use arc tangent
relations to convert roof slope to degrees.
Rafters

Rafters are the inclined members of

the roof frame.
• Common rafter – a rafter that
extends perpendicularly from the
top of an outside wall to the ridge
board.
• Ridge rafter – a common rafter
that runs parallel to the ridge
board.
• Hip rafter – a rafter that extends
diagonally from an outside corner
of a building to the ridge board.
Rafters

Rafters are the inclined members of

the roof frame.
• Valley rafter – a rafter that
extends diagonally from an inside
corner of a building to the ridge
board.
• Hip jack rafter – a rafter that
extends from an outside wall to a
hip rafter.
• Valley jack rafter – a rafter that
extends from the ridge board to a
valley rafter.
Rafters

■ The length L in the figure of the eaves

edge (the roof dimension
perpendicular to the run of the rafters)
is horizontal, thus, dimension can be
read directly from plan.
■ However the exact size of the width W
cannot be read because of roof
slopes.
■ The plan length of a common rafter is
called the run of the rafter.

Sample plan view of a gable roof

Rafters

Run of various types of rafters: (a) tail-cut rafters, (b) heel-cut rafters, and © rafters cut for sloping fascia
Determining rafter lengths Roof-Slope Factors for determining rafter
lengths
Pitch of Roof Slope Valley and
(Imperial) Factor* Hip Factor*
1:12 1.0035 1.4167
■ Conversion factors to the right are 2:12 1.0138 1.4240
used to determine actual length of 3:12 1.0308 1.4362
roof, assuming all hips and valleys are
framed at an angle of 45 degrees with 4:12 1.0541 1.4530
respect to the eaves line. 5:12 1.0833 1.4743

■ These values use Imperial units (foot). 6:12 1.1180 1.5000

7:12 1.1577 1.5298
■ Use roof-slope factors to determine
the actual length of a common rafter 8:12 1.2019 1.5635
or jack rafter. 9:12 1.2500 1.6008
10:12 1.3017 1.6415
11:12 1.3566 1.6853
12:12 1.4142 1.7320
* factor x run length = actual length
Determining rafter lengths Roof-Slope Factors for determining rafter
lengths
Pitch of Roof Slope Valley and
(Imperial) Factor* Hip Factor*
1:12 1.0035 1.4167
2:12 1.0138 1.4240
3:12 1.0308 1.4362
4:12 1.0541 1.4530
5:12 1.0833 1.4743
6:12 1.1180 1.5000
7:12 1.1577 1.5298
8:12 1.2019 1.5635
Assume a roof slope of 10:12 find the actual length 9:12 1.2500 1.6008
for the typical common rafters.
10:12 1.3017 1.6415
11:12 1.3566 1.6853
Actual length (common factor) = 10’ x 1.302 (Col. 2)
12:12 1.4142 1.7320
= 13.02 linear feet (convert to SI) * factor x run length = actual length
Perimeter of a Sloped Roof

The eaves of a hip roof or a hip-

and-valley roof run horizontally all
the way around the building, so we
can determine the perimeter from
the dimensions on the roof plan:

where L is the roof length, W is the

roof width, and R is the depth of
recess. If the building has no
recess, the formula is simply:
Assume a roof slope of 9:12 find the actual length
for the typical common rafters.
Area Calculations

The net area of a roof is the area of roof sheathing that will be covered
with roofing material. Materials for an area should be much larger than
the net roof area, which will be based on the following:
• Additional felt underlayment at the ridge, hips, and valleys
• A starter course
• Hip and ridge units
• Cutting allowances at rakes, hips and valleys (for shingles)
Area Calculations

The simplest way to account for Assume that it will require 12 squares of material
material required for overcutting (including allowance for waste and lapping) to
and lapping is to use an allowance cover 10 squares of roof deck. Calculate the
allowance factor and the percentage of material
factor, which is usually added as allowance.
allowance to the computed area:
SOLUTION:
12 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = = 1.20
10 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠
In other words, 20% material allowance factor is
needed.
Calculating Total Net Roof Area

Since the eaves and ridge of a roof run

horizontally, their plan lengths are their actual
lengths. We can adopt the method of
calculating length of any common rafter if the
following conditions are met:
• All roof planes have the same slope
• All hips and valleys are framed at 45
degrees with respect to the eaves.
In other words,
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑅𝑜𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
= 𝑅𝑜𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 × 𝑅𝑜𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
Assuming a roof slope of 5:12, find the net area of
the roof shown above.
Calculating Total Net Roof Area

Assume a roof slope of 4 in 12, find the net area of

the roof shown.
Calculating Total Net Roof Area
Compute the net area of the room
shown.
Hint: Section off the drawing, to
isolate two different slopes (6:12
and 4:12) and use roof-slope
factors 1.118 (6:12) and 1.054
(4:12)
Roof Overhangs

When calculating net area of a roof, one

must be careful not to omit the roof
overhang that extends beyond the walls of
the building.
Same procedure for calculating areas for
roof overhangs, but remember that
according to NBCP, the minimum length of
overhang/eaves is 750-mm.
Trusses

Trusses that support the shape of the roof needs to be verified using structural analysis.
For the trusses, it is customary to use “T” labels for full trusses and “HT” for half
trusses. Full trusses refer to trusses with breadths and lengths extending beyond its
kingpost. If these trusses did not extend beyond their kingpost, it is called half-truss.