8 parts of a roof worth knowing when talking to a roofer.

 

A home’s roof may be the most underappreciated facet of its design. After all, it’s hard from ground level to get a good look at all the parts involved in constructing and maintaining your roof. You may not know a soffit from a drip edge or flashing from fascia right now but read on, and we can give you a crash course in parts of a roof without climbing a ladder.

What are the parts of a roof called?

Soffits/Soffit Vents

Soffits are installed under the overhanging roof where it meets the house wall. They are often made of aluminum and vented to bring ventilation into the attic area.

Fascia

Located just above the soffit, the fascia is the trim piece just below the roof that gives a roof a finished look. It is also the piece that allows gutters to be attached below the roofline. Fascia is often made of the same material as the home’s siding – wood, aluminum, or vinyl.

Roof Ridge Cap

This is trim that caps the top ridge of the roof where two surfaces meet. Although the trim pieces look like shingles, they are made of a thicker material and are pre-bent to fit the ridge. Never use regular shingles to do this job!

Roof Ridge Vent

Working in conjunction with soffit vents, roof ridge vents are installed at the top of the roof to allow warm and humid air to escape upward from the attic space. Without some form of ventilation, moisture can accumulate in the attic and cause damage and a musty scent.

Roof Flashing

Constructed of a thin metal material such as aluminum, copper, or steel, flashing is the material that directs water away from critical areas of the roof, such as chimneys, roof valleys, or walls. Flashing is long-lasting but should be inspected regularly for potential leaks.

Roof Drip Edge

The drip edge of a roof is the metal flashing that hangs over the roof’s edge and prevents water from getting underneath the roof’s components, including shingles, fascia, and gutters. Without the drip edge, a roof can quickly rot, so it must be installed carefully and maintained.

Rain Gutter

Gutters run along the bottom edge of a roof to collect rainwater and keep it from accumulating around the foundation of a house. The size of the gutters should depend on the amount of rain you can expect in your area. Gutters must be properly installed to allow a slight pitch to run water down the length of the gutter to a downspout. Too great a pitch can make a home’s façade look askew.

Gutter Downspout

Downspouts direct collected rainwater from gutters, and run it to a water collection device, or to an underground drainage system. As with gutters, the number or size of the downspouts is determined by the amount of predicted rainfall in a particular area or climate.

We hope this information has helped you to understand the many parts of a well-functioning roof. Your local experts at Stonewater Roofing are here to answer any questions you may have. Stonewater is a family-owned business with more than 12 years of expert roofing experience, specializing in hail damage and other roof damage repair that produces results as if the damage never happened. Contact one of our numerous offices today, from Austin to Dallas! We’re also your local solar power solutions experts. Contact Stonewater for a free roof damage or solar assessment.