Perfect Pitch

The key to a top-notch roof isn’t about how it looks, it’s how it works that counts.

- Dan Mitchell

It’s easy to get caught up in how your new log home will “look.” Everybody does, and for good reason — aesthetics are important. But what’s even more vital is how well your home will function, and your roof is a large part of its performance.

Though your roof makes up at least a third of your home’s curb appeal, it isn’t just something pretty to look at. At its core, your roof protects you from the elements, whether it’s rain, snow, blazing heat, debris, etc. You need the best roof you can afford, designed and covered to fit your home’s location.

A key element of a roof’s performance is its pitch. As a builder, I recommend incorporating as much pitch as possible, while keeping in line with the home’s overall design. A mantra in the log home industry is nothing less than a 3/12 pitch, meaning that the roof rises 3 feet for every 12-foot span. Personally, I advise my clients to double that to a 6/12 pitch (including porch coverings and gables), because it will shed fallen leaves, snow and rain more effectively and give the home a better aesthetic value with a negligible cost increase.

Having a hard time visualizing it? Think of it this way: If a 6-foot-tall man holds a 12-foot-long stick so it’s at head level on one end and slopes it to the ground at the other, the angle that’s created is a 6/12 pitch.