20 Parts of Roof: Terminology & Diagram With Pictures

5 min readFeb 27, 2023

20 Parts of Roof: Terminology & Diagram With Pictures

The roof is an essential part of the building envelope it is covering the topmost portion of the house or building and the roof is supported on the wall of the house.

There are different parts of the Roof such as Cornice, Counter Flashing, Course, Eaves, Flashing, Gable, Hip, Fascia, Felt, Joist, etc.

Roof

The roof gives protection against snow, wind, rain, sunlight, and extremes of temperature.

Also, the roofing increases the value of the building to an unimaginable level. The roof is much more than just it decorative upper layer of the house.

The exterior layer of a roof varies depending on the supporting structure and availability of materials.

Lastly, the process of building and maintaining the roofs is called Roofing.

Different Types of Roofs

The following several roof types with pictures,

- Flat Roof

- Pitched Roof

- Low Sloped Roof

- Mansard Roof

- Skillion Roof

- Gable Roof

- Hip Roof

- Saltbox Roof

- Butterfly shaped Roof

- Arched Shaped Roof

Types of Roofing

The following different types of roofing based on the materials:

- Solar Tiles

- Asphalt Shingles

- Metal Roofing

- Stone Coated Steel

- Slate

- Rubber Slate

- Clay and Concrete Tiles

- Green Roofs

- Built up Roofing

Parts of Roof Or Roof Terminology

The following major parts of the roof are,

Roof Diagram

- Built up Roof

- Cornice

- Counter Flashing

- Course

- Eaves

- Flashing

- Gable

- Hip

- Fascia

- Felt

- Joist

- Rafter

- Ridge

- Rack

- Soffit

- Purlins

- Pitch

- Sheathing

- Shingle Flashing

- Frieze Board

Built-up Roof

A Built-up rooftop layer is made with a layer of gravel hot-mopped asphalt and it’s having alternating layers of both.

Cornice

The topmost portion of the roof is projecting out from the sidewalls of the house.

Generally, three types of Cornice are used namely, Box Cornice, Open Cornice, and Close Cornice.

Counter flashing

This flashing is embedded at its top in a wall or other vertical structure and it lapped down over shingle flashing.

Courses

Courses mean horizontal rows of tiles or shingles. It is one of the important parts of the roof in the house.

Drip

A drip is a metal strip that extends beyond the racks or eaves for preventing the rainwater from rolling around the shingles.

Eaves

Eave, Soffit, Fascia, Downpipe

Eaves mean the Lower edge of a Roof and generally overhanging beyond the edge of the house.

Soffit

Soffit parts of the roof mean something fixed underneath the roof.

Fascia

The trim board behind the eaves and gutter. It is one of the important parts of the roof.

Flashing

Generally, it is an impervious metal strip used for preventing water from the junction between a covering of the roof and other parts of the roof.

Flashings are provided to prevent leakage from the wall and roof through joints in copings, and parapet walls.

Felt

Generally, it is made of a combination of asphalt and either rags or paper. The tar paper was used by the roofer.

Gable

Gable means triangular upper portion of the wall, which is the closing end of a ridged roof.

Hip

Hip means supporting a wall adjoining the external angle at the junction of two sides of the roof.

Joist

Joist, Rafter, Purlin, Wall Plate, Battens In Roof

Joist is a horizontal structural member to which sheathing is nailed.

Rafter

Rafter is a slanted structural member to which sheathing is nailed.

Purlins

It is a horizontal member which is laid on the principal rafters from wall to wall.

The main aim is to support the common rafter of the roof. When the span is large

Purlins are made up of steel, and wood and the top surface of the purlin is plane and uniform. This is painted before fixing on their position.

Rake

Rake is a slanting surface of a gable roof which is extending beyond the wall end of the building.

Ridge Point

Two sloping roofs that meet at the top edge of the roof are called Ridge Point.

Sheathing

Roof Parts

The sheathing is parts of the roof that have a strong layer of component of wood boards which is fixed to your joist of the roof and truss.

Also, your roofers attach your shingles to this square of wood.

Roof sheathing is also known as Roof Decking.

Advantage of Providing Sheathing in a Roof,

- Roof Sheathing is adding strength to your roof.

- It gives the support of Roof.

- It prevents fire.

Fascia Board

This is a wooden board fixed to the feet of the common rafter at the eaves. The ends of the lower-most roof covering material rest upon it.

Pitch

Pitch means slop of the roof and it is defined as the ratio between the rise and span of the roof. Also, it gives an angle of inclination.

FAQs:

What are the Different types of roofs?Flat Roof
Pitched Roof
Low Sloped Roof
Mansard Roof
Skillion Roof
Gable Roof
Hip Roof
Saltbox Roof
Butterfly shaped Roof
Arched Shaped RoofWhich are the Types of roofing?The following different types of roofing based on the materials:
Solar Tiles
Asphalt Shingles
Metal Roofing
Stone Coated Steel
Slate
Rubber Slate
Clay and Concrete Tiles
Green Roofs
Built-up RoofingWhat do you mean by Roof?The roof is an essential part of the building envelope it is covering the topmost portion of the house or building and the roof is supported on the wall of the house.What Are Different Parts of Roof?The following are some important parts of the roof,
1. Built-up Roof
2. Cornice
3. counter Flashing
4. Course
5. Eaves
6. Flashing
7. Gable
8. Hip
9. Fascia
10. Felt
11. Joist
12. Rafter
13. Ridge
14. Rack

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Written by Mike Mahajan