Slope - Degree, Gradient and Grade

Converter
Converting slopes between degrees, gradients and grades
Slope or gradient of a line describes the direction and the steepness of a line. Slopes vs. gradients
vs. % grades are indicated below:

Slope
Gradient
degrees % grade
Y X
0.1 1 573.0 0.17
0.2 1 286.5 0.35
0.3 1 191.0 0.52
0.4 1 143.2 0.70
0.5 1 114.6 0.87
0.57 1 100 1
0.6 1 95.49 1.05
0.7 1 81.85 1.22
0.8 1 71.62 1.40
0.9 1 63.66 1.57
1 1 57.29 1.75
2 1 28.64 3.49
3 1 19.08 5.24
4 1 14.30 6.99
5 1 11.43 8.75
5.74 1 10 10
6 1 9.514 10.5
7 1 8.144 12.3
8 1 7.115 14.1
9 1 6.314 15.8
10 1 5.671 17.6
11 1 5.145 19.4
12 1 4.705 21.3
13 1 4.331 23.1
 Slope
Gradient
degrees % grade
Y X
14 1 4.011 24.9
15 1 3.732 26.8
16 1 3.487 28.7
17 1 3.271 30.6
18 1 3.078 32.5
19 1 2.904 34.4
20 1 2.747 36.4
21 1 2.605 38.4
22 1 2.475 40.4
23 1 2.356 42.4
24 1 2.246 44.5
25 1 2.145 46.6
26 1 2.050 48.8
27 1 1.963 51.0
28 1 1.881 53.2
29 1 1.804 55.4
30 1 1.732 57.7
31 1 1.664 60.1
32 1 1.600 62.5
33 1 1.540 64.9
34 1 1.483 67.5
35 1 1.428 70.0
36 1 1.376 72.7
37 1 1.327 75.4
38 1 1.280 78.1
39 1 1.235 81.0
40 1 1.192 83.9
41 1 1.150 86.9
42 1 1.111 90.0
43 1 1.072 93.3
44 1 1.036 96.6
45 1 1.000 100.0
46 1 0.9657 103.6
47 1 0.9325 107.2
48 1 0.9004 111.1
 Slope
Gradient
degrees % grade
Y X
49 1 0.8693 115.0
50 1 0.8391 119.2
51 1 0.8098 123.5
52 1 0.7813 128.0
53 1 0.7536 132.7
54 1 0.7265 137.6
55 1 0.7002 142.8
56 1 0.6745 148.3
57 1 0.6494 154.0
58 1 0.6249 160.0
59 1 0.6009 166.4
60 1 0.5774 173.2
61 1 0.5543 180.4
62 1 0.5317 188.1
63 1 0.5095 196.3
64 1 0.4877 205.0
65 1 0.4663 214.5
66 1 0.4452 224.6
67 1 0.4245 235.6
68 1 0.4040 247.5
69 1 0.3839 260.5
70 1 0.3640 274.7
71 1 0.3443 290.4
72 1 0.3249 307.8
73 1 0.3057 327.1
74 1 0.2867 348.7
75 1 0.2679 373.2
76 1 0.2493 401.1
77 1 0.2309 433.1
78 1 0.2126 470.5
79 1 0.1944 514.5
80 1 0.1763 567.1
81 1 0.1584 631.4
82 1 0.1405 711.5
83 1 0.1228 814.4
 Slope
Gradient
degrees % grade
Y X
84 1 0.1051 951.4
85 1 0.08749 1143
86 1 0.06993 1430
87 1 0.05241 1908
88 1 0.03492 2864
89 1 0.01746 5729
90 1 0.00000 ∞

 % grade = 100 Y/X (vertical rise / horizontal distance)

 degrees = tan-1(Y/X)

Example - Slope

 1% grade = 0.57 degrees = 1 cm per 100 cm = 1 inch per 100 inches = 0.125 inch per
foot

Conversion Tables - Horizontal to Slope Areas

 Horizontal to slope areas - inches/feet

 Horizontal to slope areas - cm/m

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Roof Framing
Run, Roof Slope, Gable Height and Gable Area
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Run

Run can be calculated as:

R=S/2 (1)

where

R = run (ft, m)

S = span (ft, m)

Example - Run

The run of a roof with 60 feet span is

R = (60 feet) / 2

= 30 feet

Gable Height
Gable height can be calculated as

GH = R VR (2)

where

GH = gable height (ft, m)

R = run (ft, m)

VR = vertical rise (in/ft, cm/m)

Example - Gable Height

The Gable Height of a roof with 30 feet run and vertical rice 6 inches per foot, can be calculated
as

GH = (30 feet) (6 inches/foot)

= 180 inches

= 15 feet

Gable Area

Gable Area can be calculated as

GA = GH R (3)

where

GA = gable area (sq.ft, m2)

GH = gable height (ft, m)

R = run (ft, m)

Roof Slope

Roof slope is the ratio between the vertical rise and the horizontal run:

RS = y / x (4)

where

RS = roof slope
y = vertical rise (in, m)

x = horizontal run (in, m)

In the United States, slope is typically given in inches per 1 foot or as a ratio of inches per 12
inches and is often referred to with units of "pitch". Ex.

4 in 12

or

4 pitches, 4:12 pitch

In metric countries it is common to use degrees or 10 or 100 as denominator. Ex.

21.8%

or

4:10

Roofing Materials - Weights

Weight calculator for roofing materials
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The weight of roofing constructions may be estimated with the calculator below:

Roofing Materials
 None
Asphalt roll roofing (1.1 lbm/ft2)
Asphalt shingle or asphalt-fiberglass composite shingle (2.7 lb m/ft2)
Metal roofing - aluminum or steel - panel, sheet or shingle (1.2 lb m/ft2)
Terne plate - copper bearing steel sheet (0.7 lb m/ft2)
Wood shingle or shake (2.4 lbm/ft2)
Zinc roofing (1.6 lbm/ft2)

Copper-asphalt composite shingle (4.2 lbm/ft2)

Asphalt roll roofing (1.1 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and gravel roofing - 3 ply (4.8 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and gravel roofing - 4 ply (5.3 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and gravel roofing - 5 ply (6.1 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and slag roofing - 3 ply (4.5 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and slag roofing - 4 ply (4.8 lbm/ft2)
Felt, tar and slag roofing - 5 ply (5.3 lbm/ft2)
Ceramic slate (5.8 lbm/ft2)
Reconstituted slate (4.4 lbm/ft2)

Clay tile (10.8 lbm/ft2)

Asphalt roll roofing (1.1 lbm/ft2)
Concrete tile (9.3 lbm/ft2)
Slate - 1/4" to 3/16 thick (9.1 lbm/ft2)
Slate - 3/8" thick (12.8 lbm/ft2)
Slate - 1/2" thick (18.8 lbm/ft2)
Slate - 3/4" thick (26.0 lbm/ft2)

Sheating Materials

Plywood

None 5/16" thick (1.0 lbm/ft2) 3/8" thick (1.1 lbm/ft2) 7/16" thick (1.3 lbm/ft2)
15/32" thick (1.4 lbm/ft2) 1/2" thick (1.5 lbm/ft2) 19/32" thick (1.8 lbm/ft2) 5/8"
thick (1.9 lbm/ft2) 23/32" thick (2.2 lbm/ft2) 3/4" thick (2.3 lbm/ft2) 7/8" thick (2.3
lbm/ft2) 1" thick (3.0 lbm/ft2) 1 1/8" thick (3.3 lbm/ft2)

Oriented Strand Board (OSB), Com-Ply

5/16" thick (1.1 lbm/ft2) 3/8" thick (1.2 lbm/ft2) 7/16" thick (1.4 lbm/ft2) 15/32"
thick (1.5 lbm/ft2) 1/2" thick (1.7 lbm/ft2) 19/32" thick (2.0 lbm/ft2) 5/8" thick (2.1
lbm/ft2) 23/32" thick (2.4 lbm/ft2) 3/4" thick (2.5 lbm/ft2) 7/8" thick (2.9 lbm/ft2)
1" thick (3.3 lbm/ft2) 1 1/8" thick (3.6 lbm/ft2)

Underlayment Materials

Asphalt impregnated felt paper

None 15 pound paper (0.2 lbm/ft2) 30 pound paper (0.3 lbm/ft2) 45 pound
paper (0.5 lbm/ft2)

 1 lbm/ft2 = 4.86 kg/m2

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Horizontal Roof Rafters - Maximum Span

Douglas Fir in horizontal roof rafters and maximum span
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Douglas fir maximum horizontal roof rafter span for Lumber Grade Selected Structural and No.
1 and No. 2, are indicated below.

Max. dead load (weight of structure and fixed loads) 15 lbs/ft2. Live load is weight of furniture,
wind, snow and more.

 1 psf (lbf/ft2) = 47.88 N/m2

 1 ft = 0.3048 m
 1 in = 25.4 mm
Max. Live Load 20 lbs/ft2 (956 N/m2)

Maximum Span (ft - in)

Rafter Spacing, Lumber Grade
Nominal Size
Center to Center Selected
(inches) No. 1 No. 2
(inches) Structural
12 16' - 4'' 15' - 9'' 14' - 9''
2x6 16 14' - 11'' 13' - 8'' 12' - 9''
24 13' 11' - 2'' 10' - 5''
12 21' - 7'' 19' - 11'' 18' - 8''
2x8 16 19' - 7'' 17' - 3'' 16' - 2''
24 17' 14' - 1'' 13' - 2''
12 27' - 6'' 24' - 4'' 22' - 9''
2 x 10 16 25' 21' - 1'' 19' - 9''
24 20' - 9'' 17' - 3'' 16' - 1''
12 33' - 6'' 28' - 3'' 26' - 5''
2 x 12 16 29' - 5'' 24' - 5'' 22' - 10''
24 24' 20' 18' - 8''

Max. Live Load 60 lbs/ft2 (2873 N/m2)

Maximum Span (ft - in)

Joist Spacing Lumber Grade
Nominal Size
Center to Center Selected
(inches) No. 1 No. 2
(inches) Structural
12 15' - 0'' 13' - 7'' 12' - 3''
2x8 16 13' - 7'' 11' - 9'' 11'
24 11' - 7'' 9' - 8'' 9'
12 19' - 1'' 16' - 8'' 15' - 7''
2 x 10 16 17' - 4'' 14' - 05'' 13' - 6''
24 14' - 2'' 11' - 9'' 11'
12 23' - 3'' 19' - 3'' 18'
2 x 12 16 20' - 1'' 16' - 8'' 15' - 7''
24 16' - 5'' 13' - 8'' 12' - 9''
12 25' - 11'' 21' - 7'' 20' - 2''
2 x 14 16 22' - 6'' 18' - 8'' 17' - 5''
24 18' - 4'' 15' - 3'' 14' - 3''
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Rainfall Draining of Roof Areas and Vertical

Downspouts
Capacity of vertical downspouts when draining roof areas in
rainfall
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Capacities of clean vertical downspouts without obstructions when draining roof areas are
indicated below:

Downspouts Size Roof Area

mm inches m2 ft2
50 2 65 700
65 2 1/2 120 1300
80 3 205 2200
100 4 430 4600
150 6 1255 13500

The table is based on rainfall intensity 100 mm per hour (4 inches per hour). Rainfall intensity
should always be checked with the local authorities.

Gutters and downspouts are vulnerable for obstructions caused branches and leafs from
surrounding trees and similar. This should be considered when connecting gutters and
downspouts.

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Moisture Transport through Building Walls
and Roofs
Moisture will flow through a wall or roof if the vapor partial
pressure is higher on one of the sides
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Moisture flows from one side of a wall or roof if the vapor partial pressure is higher on one side
of the wall or roof than the other. The vapor pressure depends on the relative humidity of the air.

The moisture flow can be expressed as

qm = (p1 - p2) / Σ Z (1)

where

qm = moisture flow (kg/sm2)

p1 = vapor partial pressure on one side of the wall or roof (Pa)

p2 = vapor partial pressure on the other side of the wall or roof (Pa)

Z = diffusion coefficient for the wall or roof (Pa s m 2/kg)

Diffusion coefficients for some common building materials are indicated in the table below:

Diffusion Coefficient - Z
Material
GPa s m2/kg GPa s m2/kg m
Aluminum foil 5000
Asphalt 1 coat 150
Asphalt 2 coats 2000
Asphalt paper, 0.5 kg/m2 750
Asphalt paper, 2.5 kg/m2 1700
Concrete 150
Gypsum 40
Glass infinite
Mortar 80
Cork 100
Wallpaper 0.3
 Diffusion Coefficient - Z
Material
GPa s m2/kg GPa s m2/kg m
Air, still 5
Metals infinite
Rock wool 5
Polyethylene 125
Polystyrene 75
Bricks 25
Wallboard, hard 500
Wallboard, soft 15
Paint for walls, matt 2-5
Paint, alkyd 20 - 40
Paint, oil 10

 GPa = 109 Pa

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Rainfall on Roofs and Gutter Slopes

Draining of roof areas and recommended gutter slopes
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Rainfall and recommended gutter slopes when draining roof areas:

 Roof area
Gutter Diameter Gutter Slope
0.5% 1% 2%
mm inches
m2 ft 2 m 2 ft2 m2 ft2
80 3 16 170 22 240 32 350
100 4 33 360 47 510 67 720
125 5 58 625 82 880 116 1250
150 6 89 960 126 1360 178 1920

The table is based on rainfall intensity 100 mm per hour (4 inches per hour). Anticipated rainfall
intensity should always be checked with local authorities. As a reference - maximum rainfall
intensity used in the UK is normally 75 mm per hour.

Slope

 0.5 % grade = 0.5 cm per 100 cm run = 0.0625 inch per 1 ft run
 1 % grade = 1 cm per 100 cm run = 0.125 inch per 1 ft run
 2 % grade = 2 cm per 100 cm run = 0.250 inch per 1 ft run

Gutter Size vs. Downspout Size

 100 mm (4") gutter -> 75 mm (3") downspout

 125 mm (5") gutter -> 100 mm (4") downspout
 150 mm (6") gutter -> 100 mm (4") downspout

Example - Draining Roof

A roof with area 45 m2 can be drained with a gutter with slope 1%. From the table above a gutter
with diameter 100 mm (4 inches) can be used.

The downspout can be 75 mm.