Roof Pitch Calculator

Pitch, angle, grade and the slope factor — from rise and run, rise and span, rise per 12, an angle or a grade.

Pitch

Unit system

Code references and product data are quoted in the units their source uses.

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Roof Pitch · Result

Calculated

PITCH

6:12 pitch

Rise per 12
6.00
Angle
26.57°
Grade
50%
Slope factor
1.1180
Hip / valley factor
1.5000
Code references & assumptions · 1

How this result is supported

The slope factor multiplies plan area into sloped area. The hip and valley factor is a different number and applies to diagonal members only.
ASSUMPTIONThe pitch text rounds the rise to the nearest 1/8 per 12 for trade notation — at most 1/16 per 12 from the exact value, which is the rise per 12 reported beside it
ASSUMPTION
What do these evidence labels mean?
PRIMARY-VERIFIED
directly supported by one authoritative primary source, quoted with section/page/figure
CROSS-VERIFIED
independently supported by two or more appropriate authoritative sources
DERIVED
mathematically derived from PRIMARY-VERIFIED values; the derivation is preserved in data and in code
INTERPRETED
a source exists but translating it into calculator behaviour required interpretation
CONVENTION
recognised trade practice, not a mandatory provision
ASSUMPTION
product/design assumption or useful default with no authoritative basis
UNVERIFIED
insufficient authoritative evidence
Full methodology →

Code references and product data are quoted in the units their source uses.

Reference checks are informational, not compliance determinations.

How roof pitch is calculated

Pitch, angle and grade are three ways of saying the same thing, and a roof is usually described in whichever one the person measuring had to hand. Enter any of them and the calculator returns the others, along with the framing-square setting the number rounds to.

The slope factor is the one that does the work elsewhere: multiply a plan area by it and you get the sloped area. A 6:12 roof has a slope factor of about 1.118, so a 1,000 ft² footprint is roughly 1,118 ft² of roof.

The hip and valley factor is a different number and is not interchangeable with it. It converts a plan run into the length of a hip or valley rafter, which runs diagonally across two slopes rather than up one.

slope factor = √(rise² + 12²) ÷ 12

What plan area is multiplied by.

angle = arctan(rise ÷ 12)

grade % = rise ÷ 12 × 100

Questions

What does 6:12 mean?
Six inches of rise for every twelve inches of horizontal run — the run is always twelve, which is what makes pitches comparable. It is about 26.6 degrees, or a 50% grade.
Why is the slope factor not just the pitch?
Because the roof surface is the hypotenuse, not the rise. A 6:12 roof rises half as much as it runs, but its surface is only about 12% longer than the plan — √(6² + 12²) ÷ 12.