Low Slope
Low-slope roofing is often found on commercial, industrial and institutional structures. While less common, it is also applicable to residential roofing!
When going about your day-to-day life, you see low slope or flat roofs all the time. From the grocery store to the library to the school, these roofs are all around you. And even in your neighborhood, you probably see flat roofs! There are two main ways this type of roof appears, first on larger applications like residential condominium complexes, row homes and townhouses. The second is on single-family residences. Many roofers design things like porch and garage transitions using flat roofing resources. Further, that new modern home down the street? It might even have an entire flat roof system!
So what exactly defines a low-slope roof? In the roofing industry anything that has a slope of 3:12 or below is considered low-slope. This means that for every 12 horizontal inches (run), the roof has a rise of three or less vertical inches. The slope of a roof is expressed as inches per foot and is written in a ratio format. It is important to note that, while low-slope roofs may look flat to the naked eye and we often use that term colloquially, technically no roof is fully flat, there will always be a slight slope!
Low-slope roofs have a variety of pros and cons in comparison to their steep-slope counterparts. Where steep-slope roofing can struggle with wind damage, low slope excels! However, low-slope roofing is more at risk of water damage and subsequent roof leaks as they shed water slower. Because of this issue, low-slope roofs often use coatings and similar waterproofing roofing products. When it comes to different types, all low-slope roofs can be colloquially called a flat roof, however there are different products and methods that can be used for creating them. Check out some of these types on our low-slope roofing products guide!
Learn more about low-slope roofing materials and maintenance.
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