How it works
The parts of a roof on three drawings: a house with a gable roof, an L-shaped hip roof from above, and the layers cut away. Start with the 7 main parts, then the house, the plan and the layers.
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Edges and shapes
The ridge runs along the top, and the eaves are the lower edge that overhangs the wall; the soffit is their underside. On a gable end, the sloping edge is the rake. On a hip roof, hips run to the outside corners and a valley into each inside corner.
Water and layers
The gutter catches rain at the eaves and the downspout takes it to the ground. Flashing seals joints round a chimney. From the bottom up, the rafters carry the deck, then the underlayment, then the shingles.
- A hip and a valley are both lines where two slopes meet: a hip sticks out, a valley dips in and carries water.
Questions and answers
What is the edge of a roof called?
The lower, level edge is the eaves. The sloping edge over a gable end is the rake. The top edge where two slopes meet is the ridge.
What is the underside of a roof overhang called?
The soffit: the finished underside of the eaves, between the edge of the roof and the wall.
What goes under roof shingles?
Underlayment, a water-resistant sheet, laid over the deck, the boards or sheathing fixed to the rafters.