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Read Roof Pitch

0:09
0:46
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At 0:09 in

Stop climbing your roof to find the pitch! #roof #tools #diy #construction #home

What happens here

With the plumb line hanging vertically, take a speed square. Position the speed square against the rafter or truss so that its pivot point (the corner of the square) is aligned with the plumb line. Allow the plumb line to rest against the speed square. The number on the 'common' scale of the speed square that the plumb line intersects indicates the roof's pitch. For example, if the line crosses the '4' mark, the pitch is 4/12, meaning 4 inches of rise for every 12 inches of horizontal run.

Goal: Determine the roof pitch from the speed square

Tools and materials

  • Plumb Line — To provide a vertical reference for the speed square
  • Speed Square Milwaukee — To measure the angle/pitch of the roof

What they say

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line or a plumb bob, hang it from either your rafter or your truss, take your speed square, and run that speed square all the way up to your pivot mark there. And I'll go ahead and read your your common. And your common is what gives you the pitch of your roof. So, butt that up. And as we can see, I have a 4 12. I'm filming a full breakdown of everything that a speed square can do.

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