How to Calculate Minimum Pitch

The term "minimum pitch" refers to a roof's minimum slope or angle, which is important information to know if you are trying to meet certain building codes. However, figuring out how to calculate the minimum pitch is can be a little tricky if you weren't exactly at the top of your geometry class. Fortunately, calculating minimum pitch is actually fairly simple and requires only a couple of basic measuring tools.

Level
Measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length of the level first with the measuring tape. For example, you might have a 18-inch level.
- 2
  Hold one end of the level against the roof and then point it out away from the house so the level is completely flat and the roof slopes underneath it.
- 3
  Use the tape measure to measure how many inches there are from the end of the level that is suspended in the air straight down to a spot on the roof directly below it. For example, you might measure 12 inches from the level to the roof, and since the level is 18 inches long, the roof's pitch is 12 inches deep and 18 inches long, or 12/18.
- 4
  Convert the resulting figure to a fraction with a denominator of 12 to match industry measurements. In the example, you would simply convert the 12/18 measurement to an 8/12 measurement, so your roof's minimum pitch would be 8/12.

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