What Is The Rake Of A Roof

Are Roof Rakes Bad

A Never, never use a roof rake or try to shovel snow off a slanted roof. It will do no good, will not cure ice dams, is extremely hazardous and can harm asphalt shingles and, in your case, slate shingles. And it will take away snow that is a natural insulator as long as it stays on your house.

What is a rake soffit?

Page 1. Rakes, Soffits, and Friezes. The rake board is the slanting edge of a gable roof at the end wall of the house. In this photo, the rake is the white board. The soffit is the area that encloses the underside of the portion of the roof that extends out beyond the sidewalls of the house.

What does a 4/12 roof pitch mean?

A roof that rises 4 inches for every 1 foot or 12 inches of run is said to have a 4 in 12 slope. The slope ratio represents a certain amount of vertical rise for every 12 inches of horizontal run. For example, a 4 in 12 slope can be expressed as the ratio of 4:12. A 6 in 12 slope is expressed as 6:12.

What Is A Roof Rake And Why Should I Care

If you live in the Southwest United States, you probably wont know or care about getting a roof rake for your home. However, if you live in areas with high snowfall, a roof rake is something that you not only will know about but will need to keep you roof free from excessive snow accumulation. Snow has weight and even if you have those snow guards on your roof especially over doorways and walkways, they can only hold back so much snow before being overwhelmed.

Snow falling off roofs and onto an unlucky by-passers head may seem hilarious in the movies but if you have ever been clobbered by a heavy, wet mass of snow sliding off a roof, you wont like it. Besides, youll only make some lawyer rich if a dumped upon visitor decides to sue.

Roof rakes also aid in keeping roof repair expenses down since lessening the weight of snow on the roof takes stress off the your homes structure and stops ice dams from forming by removing the insulating top layer of snow over the melting sub-layer closest to your roof. In other words, scraping snow off your roof starves ice dams. They need that constant influx of fresh melting and refreezing to grow down from the eaves and gutters and back up your roof. When ice dams grow upwards, they act as mini-me glaciers pushing ice under shingles where it can melt and seep into your roof.

A roof rake can come with a fixed or swivel head, shingle saver or soft scraper and they are even made in the United States!

Common Types Of Fascia Boards

There are two main types of fascia boards.

• Exposed fascia: Does your roof have a trim peeking out/exposed below the gutters? If so, then you have an exposed fascia board. The exposed trim is more for aesthetics as it gives your house a more dramatic visual effect than for structural integrity.
• Hidden fascia: These are not immediately visible to everyone. The reason you may not see your hidden fascia board is that the gutters drop below the fascia line, connecting directly against the soffits, hiding the fascia material. Hidden fascia boards are easier to maintain than exposed ones.

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What Are Rake Rafters Supported By

A gable/rake lookout is what you might expect it to be. supporting the rake rafter by cantilevering outward over the gable rafter and attaching to a common framing member The gable studs are missing. The gable rafter is supported by vertical studs that extend from the walls cap plate to the underside of the studs.

Used In Flat Or Low Slope Roof Systems

• Roof Rake boards happened to be used in both types of flat or low slope roof systems and high slope roof systems. Essentially, around the perimeter of a roof system, just below the roof membrane itself, there is a board to terminate and transition from wall to roof. On the horizontal areas of the roof, that board is generally referred to as a fascia board. At angled and rising areas such as above gable or gambrel walls, a similar board will be installed call it a rake board. The rake board is generally installed along the sides of a building, but not in all cases. The location of the rake boards depend on the facing of the building gable or end wall and there are even alternatives such as gambrel walls and other types of roof-wall system combinations.

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What Are The Powers Of The Rake

Capabilities and PowersAs a result of his superior agility, the Rake could often pull off feats of physical dexterity that would have been impossible for a human to accomplish. Damage that does not kill the Rake can be repaired through regeneration. For short periods of time, the Rake had the ability to teleport.

What Are The Common Parts Of A Roof

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What Is Rake In Construction

A roof rake always angles down. Terms are used to break down the various areas of a roof and a rake is one of many roof sections. The rake is not exactly on the roof. It is a term that describes the sloped sides of a gable end. The rake can be flat with no overhang, or it can overhang the gable end like an eave.

Clipped Rake Suits Many Eave Types

A clipped rake is the most-versatile option. Its commonly seen on Capestyle houses in New England and on contemporary houses when designers want to downplay the intersection between roof and wall. Although it naturally pairs with a clipped eave, it can easily pair with an overhanging eave, either open or closed.

In its simplest form, a clipped rake consists of a single or doubled-up shadow board. Besides creating a shadowline, these small extensions shed water away from the face of the wall.

A shingle-style spin on the clipped rake creates the simple but elegant detail shown here. An overlapping shingled rake uses siding material to dramatic effect and creates interesting shadows without the need for a substantial overhang. Although the eave has greater emphasis, the shingled rakes craftsmanship ensures that it wont be overlooked. The combination of shingled rake and semiopen eave illustrates the clipped rakes ability to work with different eave styles.

Drawings by: Katie Hutchinson

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How To Install Drip Edge On Rake Of Roof

Now that youre getting the hang of what is a rake on a roof and the details of it, you might as well learn how to install drip edge on the boards. This is the step-by-step guide for you to follow.

How Do You Measure A Roof Rake

The end of the level should be held perfectly level against the bottom edge of the roof rafter. The bottom edge of the rafter should be measured from the levels 12-inch mark to the bottom of the rafter. This is the number of inches that the roof rises in a full 12 inches of distance. Get your hands on an easy-to-use rake board now.

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What Is A Rake Board

Much like a fascia board, a rake board is mainly for aesthetic value. A rake board is the board that is placed on the slope of the roof of your home. It covers the top edge of the siding where it meets the roof, or sometimes the soffit, depending on if there is an overhang or not. A rake board prevents rain from running the wrong way that could ultimately cause damage to your roofs interior due to a leak.

Small Ornaments Can Have A Big Effect

A deep rake suits a deep eave on this formal, traditional home. The matching rake and eave unify this dressy elevation. Paired brackets with one dimension matching the depth of the overhang visually support the roof. The tall frieze board that receives the brackets further serves to emphasize the roofline. Pairing the brackets lends them significance without bulk. The overall width of the typical bracket pair corresponds to the width of the corner pilaster. In turn, the pilaster is proportioned to support the frieze trim visually. Decorative accents such as those located on the center windows head casing echo the bracket design that is on the eave and the rake.

In this case, it is an overhanging, closed, extended rake. The nomenclature classifies the rakes construction details. Overhanging describes a rake board framed or blocked out from the exterior wall. Rakes more than 6 in. deep are extended overhanging rakes less than 6 in. deep are short. The enclosed, or boxed, rake framing means that it is a closed rake.

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Maintaining Wood Trim To Last

From a conservation and preservation perspective, several approaches can be taken to improve conditions related to selecting, installing and maintaining exterior wood trim. Primarily, exterior wood elements should be inspected and checked on a routine maintenance schedule, either seasonally or at least annually. If coverings are kept in good condition, the life of exterior trim can be significantly extended. Hire a professional contractor which specializes, understands and appreciates historic construction elements and buildings.

In this article we talked about the following terminology and concepts, follow the links below for more related information from the IDS website:

• System, Roof

How To Maintain The Rake Of A Roof

The best way to keep the rake of your roof in good condition is to keep it clean and get an annual roof inspection from a professional roofing contractor. You cant always tell if there is any developing damage to your roof when youre looking at it from the ground or even inspecting the interior of the attic on your own. Sometimes you need a trained, professional eye to catch developing issues and fix them before they become serious problems.

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What Is A Rake On A Roof

So what is a rake on a roof? The extended outer part of the gable roof stretches out from the eave to the ridge, with a drip edge installed on it. In fact, the rake is a term used to refer to the sloped sides at the end of the gable, so it is not exactly on the roof. The rake may overhang at the tip of the gable or not overhang and lying flat.

It is either left open or closed with fascia or soffit. The rake is often designed in such an intricate way. The size and materials vary, but it is commonly made from wood materials. It depends on the builders, as they often have different fascia or trim styles to match with the rest of the buildings. Some homeowners may choose to wrap the rake boards with metal to achieve a more polished look.

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What is a rake on a roof purpose? The purpose of installing a rake board is to prevent roof damage from running or leaking water behind the siding. Moisture is the most common problem, given the purpose of the rake itself. It is necessary to do frequent checks for any damaged, cracked, or rotting rake boards installed on your house.

Pest damage is another problem that is often found in this area. The gaps inside the boards or the missing parts of the fascia or soffit might be used as a nest for insects and animals.

Where Do They Go

Historically, starter strip shingles have been used not only at the lower eave edge of the roof, but experienced professionals also use them at the gable, or rake edges of roofs. At the eave, the starters provide a simple way to cover the joints between the finish shingles in the first course, ensuring complete water-shedding roof coverage. As well, starter shingles have a sealant strip, and, when positioned correctly, the sealant strip will be on the top surface and at the lowest edge of the roof.

At the roofs rake edges, the starter doesnt necessarily perform that joint-covering function it performs at the eave, but it is integral in the roofs overall wind resistance. At the rake, the sealant strip will be positioned at the outer roof edge and once warmed by the sun, it will help seal the rake ends of all the finish roof shingles. A simpler and very useful purpose for using starter shingles along the rake edge is that it gives the installer a nice straight line to use as a guide when ending each course of the field shingles. So, when observers look up at the roof gable ends, theyll see an aesthetically pleasing uniform line rather than ragged and uneven shingle ends.

Whether installed at the eave or the rake, the starter shingles should overhang the edge of the roof by ¼ inch to ¾ inch. Typically, the finish shingles are then installed to align with the edge of the starters.

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Why Do Some Shingles Need Unique Shingle Starters

Normally, the finished shingles cover the starters entirely, so, as mentioned above, the color of starters is completely irrelevant. However, certain shingle designs, such as IKOs Armourshake, have intermittent lower exposed tabs. When roofers install those shingles at the eave on the first course, the starter is visible, and, therefore, its color is relevant. In this case, an additional starter shingle course, in matching colors to the finished shingle, is required as a secondary starter layer.

There are also performance reasons to use Armourshake with certain architectural shingles. It adds a second layer to the lowest shingles so that the entire roof now has two shingle layers. This coverage ensures better performance.

What Is The Rake Made Of

The rake boards can be cut from multiple roofing materials. Pine, cedar, smart board, PVC board, and concrete board are all types of materials used to make a rake of a roof. The builder will determine the type of rake board to use based on the style of the trim and fascia of the home. You might also see rake boards wrapped in metal to match a metal roof.

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What Type Of Rakes Do You Need For Your Roofs And Gutters

Your roof, whether it is a flat roof or sloping roof, will have gutters.

These gutters are there to collect the excess water that falls upon your roof and direct it down into the gutter below them.

It is this gutter that then carries the water away from your home.

If you are having new work done on your roof, or even if you are cleaning your own, then you will need to know about the different types of rakes that are available.

Modern materials used in roofs mean that more and more homes are having flat or low-pitched roofs installed on top of them.

However, whatever the type of roofing material, gutters will always be required to channel the water away from your home to prevent too much moisture building up around it.

Gutter rakes should be fitted in order that they sit parallel to the slope of the guttering, thus allowing rainwater to enter them easily and preventing problems with clogging up.

When you are having work done on your gutters, ensure that you choose the correct type of rake for the work that is to be done.

Different rakes will suit different angles and contours, thus it makes sense to buy a rake that is going to fit best into your gutter this will result in a great finish, which will keep your home looking beautiful for years to come.

To help you to identify what type of rake you need, there are a couple of ways that you can use.

There are two main types of rake: flat and counter-curve .

1. Flat rakes will sit parallel to a straight gutter