9/12 roof pitch
A 9/12 roof rises 9 inches for every 12 inches it runs: an angle of 36.9°, and a steep roof. You see it on Victorian, Tudor and colonial-revival homes, and dormers on steeper main roofs.
- Angle
- 36.87°
- Slope
- 75.0%
- Area multiplier
- ×1.250
- Rafter per foot of run
- 15.00"
What 9/12 means for your roof
Size. A roof is bigger than the ground it covers. At 9/12 every square foot of footprint carries 1.250 sq ft of roof, so a 2,000 sq ft house has about 2,500 sq ft (25.0 squares) of roofing before overhangs and waste. A quote measured on the footprint alone under-buys every shingle and every hour of labour by 25.0%.
Working on it. Work happens from roof brackets and toe boards. Labour per square rises noticeably, and materials are harder to stage on the roof. 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 $13,800–$15,900 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 9/12
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)
9/12 pitch questions
What is a 9/12 roof pitch in degrees?
36.87 degrees. The angle is arctan(9 ÷ 12). As a percent slope it is 75.0%.
How much bigger is a 9/12 roof than the house's footprint?
Multiply the footprint by 1.250. A 2,000 sq ft footprint has about 2,500 sq ft of roof at 9/12, before overhangs and waste.
Can you put shingles on a 9/12 roof?
Yes. 9/12 is within normal shingle installation; the model building code allows asphalt shingles from 2/12 up.
Is a 9/12 roof walkable?
Work happens from roof brackets and toe boards. Labour per square rises noticeably, and materials are harder to stage on the roof.
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