Guides & Articles
Recent posts, plus every guide on the site organised into topic silos. Use this index as a starting point — pillar pages cover the headline topic, and sub-pages drill into the specific questions and decisions that branch off it.
Recent posts
- guide
Solar Panels and Roof Pitch: What Installers Don't Tell You
Pitch versus latitude, why your roof is probably wrong for ideal solar production, and the trade-offs of tilt mounts.
- guide
The Five Most Common Roof Pitch Conversion Mistakes
Five conversion mistakes that show up in real projects, what they cost, and how to avoid them.
- news
What the 2024 IRC Updates Mean for Roof Pitch Requirements
Subtle minimum-pitch and underlayment changes in IRC 2024 that affect residential roof specifications.
- guide
Insurance Claims After Wind Damage: The Seven-Day Window
A practical post-storm timeline: what to do in the first hours, days, and weeks to protect your claim.
- guide
A 12-Point Spring Roof Inspection Checklist
A 12-point checklist any homeowner can use to catch small roof problems before they become large ones.
- guide
Cheap Tools vs. Expensive Tools for Measuring Roof Pitch
Phone apps, basic angle finders, and laser distance meters compared for measuring roof pitch.
- reference
A Tour of the Free Roofing Calculators on This Site
A roundup of every free calculator on this site, with notes on when to use each one.
All guides by topic
A complete library of standard roof pitches from 1/12 to 24/12, with applications, material compatibility, and visual examples.
Field measurement guide — three methods, safety tips, and how to verify your numbers before ordering material.
Calculate common rafter length, plumb cut, seat cut, ridge offset, and overhang — with cut diagrams.
Roofing-area, sheathing, and material estimators that account for pitch, hips, valleys, and waste.
Hands-on guide to measuring tools every roofer, framer, and DIYer should know — from the speed square to laser distance meters.
Master the rise-over-run concept used for roofs, ramps, stairs, and roads — with worked examples for each.
A growing set of practical carpentry and construction calculators that pair with the roof pitch tool.
What you can realistically do yourself, what you cannot, and how it changes your cost calculation.
A plain-language glossary of every roofing term you will encounter, from "abutment" to "valley".