A pitched roof is any roof steep enough to shed water by gravity rather than by a designed fall, and in Britain that means almost every house roof. The confusion is in the naming. A dual pitched roof, a double pitch roof and a 2 pitch roof are all the ordinary gable roof with two slopes meeting at a ridge, and knowing that saves you comparing quotes for what you thought were different things.
Pitched roof meaning, and the shapes from a dual pitch roof to a mansard
A gable roof has two slopes meeting at a ridge with a vertical wall at each end, and that is what a dual pitched roof, a double pitch roof and a 2 pitch roof all describe. A hipped roof slopes on all four sides, which removes the gable walls and adds two more lines of detail for a roofer to form. A mono pitch or lean-to has one slope, usually against a wall. A mansard has two pitches on the same slope, the lower one much steeper, and is normally there because somebody wanted a room in the roof.
Pitched roof detail: what sits under the covering
Below the covering, a traditional cut roof has rafters, purlins and a ridge board assembled on site, while most houses built since the 1970s have prefabricated trusses. Over that goes a breathable underlay, then treated battens at a gauge the covering dictates, then the tiles or slates themselves, mechanically fixed to a pattern set by how exposed the site is. The pitch decides what coverings are allowed: a slate that is fine at forty degrees will drive rain under itself at twenty.
Types of pitched roof, and why the shape changes the price
Roofers price detail, not area. A plain gable roof is the cheapest shape per square metre because it has two slopes, one ridge and two verges. A hipped roof of the same footprint adds four hip lines, each of which has to be cut and bedded or fitted with a dry system. Valleys, dormers and chimneys each add a junction that leaks if it is formed badly, and each is priced by the metre or by the item rather than being absorbed into the rate.
A pitched garage roof
A garage often has a small pitched roof of its own, built from simple rafters or light trusses and covered in tile, slate or sheet. The same rules apply as on the house: the covering sets the minimum pitch, and the underlay, battens and fixings matter as much as the tiles. DDK Roofing gives £800 to £2,500 for a standard single garage roof replacement, with the covering, access and timber condition moving the figure.
Questions people ask about pitched roof
What is a dual pitched roof, and is a double pitch roof the same?
The ordinary gable roof: two slopes meeting at a ridge, with a vertical wall at each end. A double pitch roof and a 2 pitch roof are the same shape under other names, so quotes for any of them are quotes for one thing.
What is a mono pitch roof?
A roof with a single slope, usually running down from a wall or from one side of a building to the other. It is common on lean-to extensions and garages, and it drains everything to one edge, so the gutter on that side does all the work.
What pitch does a roof need to be?
It depends entirely on the covering, because each product has a minimum pitch below which wind can drive water back under the laps. That minimum is set by the manufacturer and is the reason you cannot simply swap a tile for a slate on the same roof without checking.
Can a flat roof be turned into a pitched roof?
On a garage or a single-storey extension it is a common way to end a repeated leak, and the pitch removes the standing water that caused it. It is a structural alteration, so it is controlled work and may need planning permission depending on height and position.
Is a hipped roof more expensive than a gable?
For the same footprint, usually yes, because the hips are extra lines of detail and the covering has more cuts and more waste. The difference is in labour and detail rather than in the price of the tiles.