\u00a9 2021 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Measure distance “A” along the unit run and mark. From your average hip roof calculator to something more specific like a hip roof rafter calculator, there is plenty to consider with this kind of calculation! With over 12 years of construction industry experience, David specializes in restoring, repairing, and maintaining residential, commercial, and industrial roofs. References. Select the following information by using the drop downs to enter values in feet and inches. How to Measure for Hip Roofing Step 1. This article was co-authored by David Bitan. The vertical dimension of a structure as measured from the average elevation of the finished grade at the front line of the building to the highest point of the roof of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the mean height level between eaves and ridge (mid-line of the roof) for a gable, hip or gambrel roof. Tip: If you want your roof to have overhanging eaves, don’t forget to account for the added length while measuring and cutting your remaining rafters. They run from the ridge (the uppermost edge of the roof) down to the exterior walls of the structure. (This is the line to cut along) The ridge of a hip roof is equal to the length of the building minus twice the run plus the thickness of the rafter stock. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. When I bought the cabin, it was pretty run down and in need of a lot of repairs but because of other commitments, I had to hire a contractor and a roofer in Wilmington, DE to do most of the work for me. After that, you will have to try and find a good hip roof pitch calculator to make sure you can get the last of the calculations. I use it with an adjustable stanley quick square and can cut the whole roof on the ground, take all the timbers up and assemble the lot in one go. For example, if you measure 4 inches, the pitch of your roof is 4:12. The square footage of a Hip roof area is identical to the square footage of a Gable roof of the same size. If you’re not sure that you’re up to the task on your own, it’s best to hire a qualified contractor to avoid potentially costly mistakes. Pitch Measurement Method 2 2. The term “slope” refers to the steepness of the angle of each of the roof’s faces. The exact length of each of your rafter boards will depend on the particular slope you’ve selected for your roof. To find the square footage of a hip roof, you just need to calculate the area of each of its faces. The common rafters are the vertical boards that serve to mark the ends of the ridge board. Design Tab. There are 24 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. For many people, being able to get the right kind of hip roof calculator is very important, as knowing how to measure a hip roof is going to be vital to making sure that it turns out well. Master Life with wikiHow Pro Expert Videos. For instance, if the measurement is four inches over the 12 inch horizontal distance, your roof slope will be 4/12. X If you have two planes on your roof, you need to take measurements of each plane length and note the measurements down. Make sure to document the number of chimneys, skylights or other obstructions and include dormers in your measurements. Set up your ladder beneath one of the roof’s hips, or sloped faces. A hip roof's square footage is equal to that of a gable roof with the same dimensions. On a ladder beside the roof, place the level a foot or so up the roof, hold it level, and measure from the 12-inch mark on the level’s bottom, straight down to the roof. Enter the extension wall length into 'Wall Length' and double the extension wall width, then minus ridge thickness, into the 'Wall Width' entries. Hip roof is a roof with a sharp edge or edges from the ridge to the eaves where the two sides meet. Simply looking around for the correct kind of calculator will pay dividends for you as it will ensure that what you are calculating and putting together is going to be mathematically correct, avoiding any problems with structural weaknesses and similar foundation issues. Research source. Your support helps wikiHow to create more in-depth illustrated articles and videos and to share our trusted brand of instructional content with millions of people all over the world. In order to calculate this, measure the vertical rise of your deck over a 12 inch horizontal distance in inches. For Hip Roofs, I measure the length of the house and then I measure the width. For reference, a standard package of shingles contains enough materials to cover 33.3 square feet (3.09 m. You may not end up using every last bit of your chosen roofing material when it’s all said and done, but it’s better to have too much than not enough. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. If you’re putting down new roofing materials on your home or another building with a hip roof, your first step will be to find the exact dimensions of each of the roof’s individual faces, then use those measurements to calculate its total area in square feet. How to calculate pyramid roof? Binoculars can be helpful on high roofs. (2) Height of structure. eg: Exposure comp shingles 5.5″, shake 10″, tile 13.5″-14″. Constructing and resurfacing hip roofs is a big project, one that costs a lot of time and money and could impact the resale value of your building. Measure out 12" along the level bottom edge - the green line in our sketch. Next, you will want to look for a hip roof angle calculator so that you can make sure all of your precision detailing for the roof itself is going to be spot on; getting things like the area and the angles right is going to be so important to doing this kind of job right.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'myrooff_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_16',124,'0','0'])); You’ll also need to look for a hip roof design calculator to let you work out the height and the overall format of the design, ensuring that your calculations are going to allow for the type of design that you were hoping for in the first place. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Some people will need to work out certain aspects of the job separately, so for example you might want to start by looking for a hip roof shingle calculator.