Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home. It protects your house, as well as your family and belongings, against the elements. It can also help keep your house safe and make it more energy efficient. Of course, the roof also plays a significant role in your home’s appearance and value.
With all that being the case, it’s important to keep your roof in the best possible shape with routine maintenance and prompt repairs when they’re needed. A Weatherford roofing contractor can help you do that. Communicating with a roofing contractor can feel like trying to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even speak the same language as you, though, can’t it?
Understanding Common Terms in the Roofing Industry
As a homeowner, knowing the most common roofing terms is essential. It helps you communicate with your roofing contractors, understand what types of work your roof might need, and make sense of contractors’ estimates. It can even empower you to be more proactive in keeping your roof up to par.
This guide is designed for just those purposes. Take a look at the following roofing terms and their meanings. They’ll help give you a better understanding of the common industry jargon and give yourself more decision-making power as a homeowner.
What Are the Parts of a Roof Called?
Let’s start with the names and explanations of the parts of a roof. Most homeowners feel that these are the most confusing terms they hear when they’re talking to contractors.
Shingles
First, we’ll cover one of the most basic and common terms in the roofing industry: shingles. They’re the outermost layer of a roof, and they’re the most visible. Their main job is to keep out moisture and protect the underlying layers of a roof. They can be made of asphalt, metal, slate, tile, wood, concrete, and other materials.
Conventional asphalt shingles are the most common in America. They’re affordable, effective, and available in an array of colors and styles. That said, a professional roofing contractor can help you chose the best option for your home based on its architectural style, where you live, your unique needs, and your budget as well as other factors.
Flashings
Flashings are thin waterproof roof components that are often made of metal. They’re installed around other roof features, like chimneys, vents, and skylights. They’re designed to seal gaps and keep water from seeping into the seams of a roof. Those areas are among the most vulnerable to leaks, so it’s essential for flashings to be installed properly.
Underlayment
Underlayment is the layer of a roof that’s installed under the shingles and on top of the deck. It’s water resistant, and it helps the shingles keep moisture on the outside of the roof where it belongs. If your shingles happen to get damaged or blown off, the underlayment can help protect your home against leaks until your roofer replaces them. Though both felt and synthetic underlayment is available, synthetic is the most commonly used because it’s lightweight and it provides more moisture protection.
Valleys
Valley are where two sections of a roof meet at an angle. They’re the low points of roofs. Water runs into them, and they channel it to the gutters. Valleys are among the areas where flashings are installed to help protect against leaks.
Ridges
Ridges are the highest points of roofs where two sloping sides meet. Roofers install ridge caps or specially designed shingles along ridges to seal them. That helps keep moisture from seeping underneath the shingles and underlying layers. Ridge caps can also contribute to a home’s energy efficiency to an extent.
Eaves
Eaves are the edges of a roof that extend beyond a home’s exterior walls. They’re horizontal. They help direct rain away from walls and protect foundations against runoff. Soffits and vents are built into eaves.
Soffits
Soffits are the undersides of a roof’s overhangs, or eaves. They fill the spaces under the eaves. You see them when you’re standing directly under the eaves and looking up. They help ventilate the attic and keep moisture from building up inside your home. They can also give the roof a more finished look while also keeping out pests.
Fascia
Fascia are long, straight boards that run along the edges of roofs where they meet the outer walls of homes. They’re vertical. They support the bottom rows of shingles and help keep gutters in place. They’re often made of aluminum, vinyl, or wood. They work with the eaves and soffits to help keep pests and the elements at bay.
Decking
Also called sheathing, decking is the layer of boards that creates the base of a roof. It’s what the underlayment, shingles, and other components are attached to. If the decking is damaged or decaying, it’ll need to be repaired or replaced before any other roof work can be done. Otherwise, it’ll leave your home vulnerable to water and air leaks along with many other problems.
Drip Edges
Drip edges are thin strips of metal that are installed along the edges of roofs. They’re placed right under the singles and above the fascia. They help channel water into gutters. That keeps it from seeping under the shingles and damaging the material beneath them.
Penetrations
Penetrations are objects that project through roofs. Some common examples are chimneys, skylights, exhaust fans, and plumbing vents. Each penetration can be a weak spot in a roof where leaks might form if they’re not handled properly. It’s important for roofing contractors to seal these areas and installed flashings around them correctly to prevent problems.
Other Important Terms to Know
Those are the most common and essential parts of standard roofs on homes. Contractors may use additional terms when they’re talking about their work and what your roof needs. They’re just as important as the components mentioned above.
Pitch
Pitch, also known as slope, is a measure of how steep your roof is. It’s usually written as a ratio. For example, the pitch of your roof might be 6/12. That means your roof rises 6 inches for every 12 horizontal inches. If you remember anything about high school algebra and finding the slopes of lines, the same principles and formulas are used here. Pitch can affect the types of materials that are best for your roof and how well it holds up against rain, snow, and ice.
Square
When roofers talk about a square, they’re talking about roofing measurements. One square equals 100 square feet of a roof. If your roof is 2,000 square feet, a roofer would refer to it as 20 squares. This measurement helps roofing contractors determine the amounts of materials they need to build or repair roofs. They also help roofers estimate material and labor costs more easily.
Ventilation
Roof ventilation refers to the vents that allow air to flow in and out of your attic. It helps with controlling temperatures and moisture in your attic. Without proper ventilation, heat and humidity can build up in your attic. That may lead to higher energy bills, mold growth, and damage to your roof and attic.
Ice Dams
Ice dams are ridges of ice that form along eaves and gutters. They happen when heat from attics melts snow and ice on roofs. From there, the water flows down to the colder edges of roofs and refreezes.
Ice dams can cause numerous problems. They may place extra weight on gutters, which can damage the gutters themselves as well as the fascia, eaves, and other components of a roof. Ice dams can also trap melted snow and ice behind them and allow it to seep under your shingles. That, in turn, can damage further damage to your roof as well as your attic and the interior of your home.
Understanding Your Roof and Your Roofing Contractors
Roofs are among the most important components of homes. They’re also among the most complicated. They’re made up of several parts that all work together to keep your home dry, comfortable, and structurally sound.
Though the roofing industry has a language all its own, you don’t have to simply smile, nod, and go along with all the jargon you might hear when you’re talking to a contractor. Hopefully, this glossary will help you better understand the common terms roofers use when explaining the problems they find and the types of work you need to keep your roof in good condition. Knowing what these terms mean can help you protect your family and investment and make more informed decisions about what goes into your roof.
Dean has extensive experience in the roofing and construction business with over 26 years under his belt. As a former insurance adjuster, Dean got into this industry knowing what is required for a good durable quality roof, founding JDCC Roofing in 1999. Over the years, creating roofs that are not only safe and dry but add beauty and style to a house led JDCC Roofing into the remodeling business.
Dean and his family proudly support “Bearcat Nation” in Aledo, TX. Dean also enjoys spending time outdoors and playing golf in his spare time.
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