Typical Roof Overhang Length

Help to shade windows in hot weather.

Typical roof overhang length.

This is particularly true in geographical regions where high winds are a common issue. Two feet is the general maximum length for a typical roof overhang. The ideal spec for roof overhangs. Even if most people don t register what it is that makes a home seem special using a sloped soffit is an easy way to make a home look old or built with more craftsmanship than typical new homes.

By precutting all of the roof purlins to length and making any necessary adjustments in the last bay of the roof it should be possible to easily be within 1 16 th inch plus or minus. This will protect a roof from most types of damage. Of course there are engineering factors that restrict the length of the overhang. Most homes these days have boxed soffits but i find that a bit of creativity at the roof edge goes a long way toward style.

Again this length can be adjusted to fit the need of the truss. The size of the roof overhang depends on the property. Metal is usually installed on rafters or strip sheathing rather than the solid decking used under other materials. If the overhang extends beyond 24 inches say to 30 inches then a 2 6 top chord for the tail section will be required to handle the additional overhang.

A typical metal roof overhang may be 2 to 4 inches or even less. However it s far more common that roof overhangs are built too stingy. Roof overhangs can extend farther than 2 feet but beyond this length they begin to lose structural integrity and require external supports. The typical roof overhang serves six basic purposes.

The roof overhang length must be properly engineered to resist wind uplift. With a flat shed roof the roof simply extends past the wall plate to provide an overhang. Because this style of a shed has a flat roof it can facilitate a wider overhang which is ideal for storage. On very tall buildings there.

The typical overhang for residential is between 16 inches and 24 inches. Some slight overhang is recommended in conjunction with a drip edge flashing to prevent water from getting under the roofing and onto underlying wood.