Glossary of Roofing Terms and Definitions H-Z

Glossary of Terms

Hail Damage - Damage to roof materials caused by the pounding of hail during a storm. This damage is often covered by insurance policies.
Hip Roof - A roof where the ends of the roof end in hips rather than gables. Walls on such structures stop at the ceiling height.
Rake - The edge of a roof that extends down the top of a gable wall.
Ridge - The apex of a roof which runs parallel to the ground.
Ridge Vent - Attic ventilation applied to the ridge line of a roof system. The vents may or may not be covered with shingles.
Roof Felt - an underlayment material applied between the roof sheathing and the shingles or other roofing material. The felt generally comes in two thicknesses which are sold as 15 and 30 pound rolls. The 15 # roll typically covers 400 square feet, while the 30# roll will cover 200 square feet.
Roof Pitch - The angle of the roof surface. This measurement is usually described in a ratio, which is the rise in the roof in relation to a 12 foot run of the baseline of the roof. For example a roof surface which rises 3 feet for every 12 feet of run would be described as a 3/12 or a 3 in 12 pitched roof.
Roof Sheathing - The material applied to the roof structure to form the roof surface. Older homes often have 1 inch planks used as roof sheathing. Newer homes generally have plywood or OSB 4foot by 8 foot sheets as sheathing.
Roofing Tar - A tar based material which can be applied to areas prone to leakage.
Rolled Roofing - A roofing material which comes in rolls somewhat similar to roof felt. The material resembles shingle material in roll form. The material can be used on roof surfaces which are too flat for shingles or other residential roofing materials.
Shakes - Term used to describe wooden roofing material. Shakes are generally about 12 inches wide and 18 inches to 24 inches long. They are applied by laying one row of shakes on top of a lower row of shakes in a fashion similar to shingles.
Shingles - The most common form of residential roofing material. The shingles are approximately 12 inches wide and about 3 feet in length. They are asphalt and fiberglass based sheets covered with gravel material.
Soffit - The area underneath the overhang of a roof.
Soffit Vent - Attic ventilation applied in the soffit area.
Square - A 100 square foot area. Roofs are generally measured in squares and roofing material is generally sold by the square. Therefore a roof area of 200 square feet would most often be described as a 20 square roof.
Tear Off Roof - A term describing a roofing job where the existing roof covering must be torn off before the new material can be applied.
Valley - The intersection of two roof surfaces at an inside corner of a structure.
Walk on Roof - This term describes roofs which can be walked across and do not require scaffolding when working on them. Typically roofs which have a pitch or 6/12 or less are considered walk on roofs.
Woven Valley - The result of interweaving the shingles from the two roofing surfaces which meet to form a valley in the roof structure. Shingles are interlaced as they ascend up the valley.