What does ... mean?
< Back to Genesis Roofing, Inc.'s Roof Information CenterEvery industry has its own jargon, and the roofing industry is no exception. Understanding roof-speak can be somewhat daunting, but the following brief list of terms should give you a leg-up in understanding your roof.
- Coverage
- The degree of weather protection offered by a roofing material: single, double or triple coverage.
- Deck
- The wood roof surface to which roofing materials are applied.
- Drip Edge
- Weather-resistant metal or vinyl edge installed along eaves and rakes to facilitate shedding of water at the edges.
- Eaves
- Parts of a roof that project beyond or overhang the face of the wall at the lower edge of the roof.
- Exposure
- Specifically, exposure to weather: the distance from the butt edge of one shingle to another.
- Felt
- A breather-type building paper of strong, tough base saturated with asphalt.
- Flashing
- Strips of metal or roofing material used in making watertight joints on a roof, especially in valleys or where inclined and vertical surfaces intersect.
- Gable
- The end wall of a building which comes to a triangular point under a sloping roof; also, a type of roof.
- Hip
- An external angle formed by the meeting of two sloping ends of the roof, from the ridge to the eaves; also, a type of roof.
- Rake
- The inclined edge of a pitched roof over an end wall.
- Ridge
- The apex of the angle formed by a roof, or the peak, where the common rafters meet.
- Square
- The amount of roofing material required to cover 100 square feet (10'x10') of roof surface.
- Valley
- An internal angle or water runway formed by the intersection of two slopes in a roof.
