5:12 Roof Pitch
5/12 is a moderate pitch that balances aesthetics, performance, and cost — a popular choice for contemporary residential roofs.
Pitch Ratio
5:12
Angle
22.6°
Slope
41.7%
Rise per 12" Run
5 inches
🏠 Common Uses for 5:12 Pitch
- •Contemporary and transitional home styles
- •Suburban family homes
- •Craftsman-style bungalows
- •Commercial light residential
🌦️ Best Climate Fit
- •Moderate rainfall regions
- •Mixed climates with occasional snow
- •Coastal areas with moderate winds
✅ Advantages
- ✓Good balance of slope and walkability
- ✓Works with all standard asphalt shingles
- ✓Sheds water better than 4/12
- ✓Still relatively economical to build
- ✓Versatile for most architectural styles
⚠️ Drawbacks
- ×Not steep enough for heavy snow accumulation
- ×Still needs proper underlayment for wind-driven rain
- ×Moderate curb appeal compared to steeper pitches
🧱 Recommended Materials for 5:12
About 5:12 Pitch
A 5:12 (also written as 5/12) roof pitch means the roof rises 5 inches for every 12 inches of horizontal distance. Expressed as an angle, this is approximately 22.6 degrees, with a slope of 41.7%.
Asphalt shingles (most popular), architectural shingles, or wood shakes. Standard residential pitch range.
Compared to a flat roof of the same footprint, a 5:12 pitch roof has about 8.3% more surface area due to the slope. Use our roof area calculator to convert your footprint to actual roof surface, or go straight to shingle and cost estimates with a pitch multiplier of ×1.083.
Cost Impact of 5:12 Pitch
Modest cost increase over 4:12 — roughly 3% more material. Still walkable for most roofers without special equipment. Often considered the sweet spot between drainage, cost, and ease of construction.
Building Code Notes
5:12 comfortably exceeds the minimum pitch for asphalt shingles. No special underlayment is generally required beyond standard practice in most jurisdictions. Typically meets ventilation requirements for standard ridge and soffit vent configurations.
Calculation Example
For a 32×45ft colonial (1,440 sqft footprint) at 5:12 pitch: roof area = 1,440 × 1.083 = 1,560 sqft, about 15.6 squares. That's approximately 47 bundles of architectural shingles plus 10-15% waste.
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