12/12 Roof Pitch
A 12/12 roof pitch can also be expressed as 12 over 12 and when you're talking to a roofer, this is the most common way you'll hear it explained because it's easy to say in conversation.
Another way to express a 12/12 pitch is "12 and 12."
In this pitch, the first twelve is your roof's rise and the second twelve is the roof's run. The roof's incline increases 12 feet for every 12 feet of horizontal measurement.
What angle is a 12 over 12 pitch?
Roofs with a pitch of 12/12 are approximately 45 degrees, depending on how exact you'd like to be in your measurement.
Check out our roof angle chart for more examples of the exact angles (expressed in degrees) of common roof pitches.
Visual Examples
The picture you see above is a recent roofing installation we completed in the Greater Boston suburb of Dedham, Massachusetts. The majority of the roof had a 12/2 pitch. You can see above how beautiful the home is. It's so symmetrical that even the pitch of the dormers had a 12 over 12 pitch. Knowing this while looking at the photo gives you a great visual example of what a 12/12 pitch looks like because you can see the angle of the dormers straight on.
When you have a 12 pitch roof, be mindful of snow accumulation. This is especially true for roofing in Denver, CO and other snowy climates. Since the roof is so steep, the snow can fall off the roof quickly. Be extra careful during warmer days after a big storm!
The majority of the Roslindale, MA roof you see pictured above has a 12/12 pitch. For comparison, you can see what the 12 over 12 part of the roof looks like compared to less steep angles. Both dormers on the front of the roof had almost half the pitch of the main roof. One was 5/12 and the other was 6/12.
Much like the first example on this page (the Dedham roof), the picture gives you a great visualization of what the 45* angle of a 12 over 12 pitch looks like because you can see the entire front section of the roof straight on.
We completed this installation during the 2016 season.