Roof pitch

8/12 roof pitch

A 8/12 roof rises 8 inches for every 12 inches it runs: an angle of 33.7°, and a steep roof. You see it on traditional two-storey homes and houses built for snow load.

Drawn to true scale: the angle on screen is the real angle.

Angle: 33.69°
Slope: 66.7%
Area multiplier: ×1.202
Rafter per foot of run: 14.42"

What 8/12 means for your roof

Size. A roof is bigger than the ground it covers. At 8/12 every square foot of footprint carries 1.202 sq ft of roof, so a 2,000 sq ft house has about 2,404 sq ft (24.0 squares) of roofing before overhangs and waste. A quote measured on the footprint alone under-buys every shingle and every hour of labour by 20.2%.

Working on it. Hard to stand on without brackets or harnesses; staging and safety gear add time, and most roofers charge a steep-roof premium. Federal safety rules (OSHA 1926.500) treat any roof above 4/12 as a steep roof.

Cost. Replacing architectural shingles on that 2,000 sq ft house, old layer torn off, comes to about $13,300–$15,300 at US-average roofer wages. That figure follows the roof's area only: the steep-roof labour charge most roofers add at this pitch comes on top. Price your own roof from satellite.

Roofing materials at 8/12

Minimum slopes in the International Residential Code (2021). Cities adopt it with changes, and a manufacturer's instructions can be stricter, so check locally before you buy.

Asphalt shingles — allowed (minimum 2/12, IRC R905.2.2)
Clay or concrete tile — allowed (minimum 2½/12, IRC R905.3.2)
Metal shingles — allowed (minimum 3/12, IRC R905.4.2)
Slate — allowed (minimum 4/12, IRC R905.6.2)
Standing-seam metal panels — allowed (minimum ¼/12, IRC R905.10.2)

Compare with the pitches either side

Other pitches: 2/12 · 3/12 · 4/12 · 5/12 · 6/12 · 7/12 · 9/12 · 10/12 · 11/12 · 12/12. Any other pitch, in degrees and to scale: roof pitch visualizer.

8/12 pitch questions

What is a 8/12 roof pitch in degrees?

33.69 degrees. The angle is arctan(8 ÷ 12). As a percent slope it is 66.7%.

How much bigger is a 8/12 roof than the house's footprint?

Multiply the footprint by 1.202. A 2,000 sq ft footprint has about 2,404 sq ft of roof at 8/12, before overhangs and waste.

Can you put shingles on a 8/12 roof?

Yes. 8/12 is within normal shingle installation; the model building code allows asphalt shingles from 2/12 up.

Is a 8/12 roof walkable?

Hard to stand on without brackets or harnesses; staging and safety gear add time, and most roofers charge a steep-roof premium.

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