Angle, slope and rafter length conversions

Pitch converter

Edit any field — the others update instantly.

°
%
: 12
cm/m
Common pitches

Rafter length

Uses the current pitch to size the rafters of a symmetric gable roof.

m
Outside wall to outside wall, in meters.
cm
Horizontal overhang beyond the wall, in centimeters.
Angle
Slope
Ridge height
Rafter length

Rafter length is given per side, measured along the slope including the overhang.


About Roof Pitch Calculator

The roof pitch calculator converts between every way of expressing a roof slope: the angle in degrees, the slope as a percentage, the rise per 12 units used in North America (a “6/12 roof”), and the rise per meter used in metric practice. Edit any one field and the other three update instantly.

It also sizes the rafters of a symmetric gable roof. Enter the building span — outside wall to outside wall — and the eaves overhang, and the tool applies the current pitch to return the rafter length per side, measured along the slope including the overhang, plus the ridge height above the wall plate.

Roofers, framers, and DIYers use it to translate a plan angle into a cut length, order rafter stock, or compare pitches before choosing a roofing material. Quick-pick buttons load the common pitches, a live gable-section diagram shows the geometry, and everything runs free in your browser.

How to use Roof Pitch Calculator

  1. Type a value into any converter field — angle, slope %, rise per 12, or rise per meter — and watch the others update.
  2. Or tap one of the common pitch quick-picks to load it.
  3. For rafter sizing, enter the building span in meters and the eaves overhang in centimeters.
  4. Read the rafter length per side and the ridge height, and check the gable-section diagram.

Frequently asked questions

Take the arctangent of rise over run. A 6/12 pitch is atan(6 ÷ 12) ≈ 26.6°, which is also a 50% slope. The converter does this in both directions for any of the four notations.

The roof rises 4 (or 6) inches for every 12 inches of horizontal run. Lower numbers are shallower roofs; 12/12 is a 45° roof. The same idea in metric is rise per meter — a 6/12 pitch rises 500 mm per meter.

By the Pythagorean relationship along the slope: the horizontal run is half the span plus the overhang, and the rafter length is that run divided by the cosine of the pitch angle. The result is given per side of the gable.

Most sloped residential roofs fall between 4/12 and 9/12 (about 18° to 37°). Below roughly 2/12 counts as low-slope and needs membrane roofing; steep architectural roofs can exceed 12/12.

No — the calculator returns the geometric ridge height above the wall plate from pitch and half-span. Add the ridge detail and rafter seat-cut geometry from your framing drawings when setting out.

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