Part 7 — The Roof Plan | Sheet by Sheet

 

The roof plan is the most underestimated sheet in any residential set.

It looks simple from above — just a bunch of lines and arrows. 

But those lines represent ridges, valleys, hips, and overhangs that the framing crew has to translate into three dimensions. Get the roof plan wrong and the framing crew gets it wrong with you.

What it shows:

• Ridge lines, hip lines, and valley lines
• Roof slopes and pitch callouts
• Overhangs and eave dimensions
• Crickets and saddles at chimneys and vertical walls
• Roofing material and underlayment notes
• Skylight and roof penetration locations
• Downspout and gutter locations

Key terms builders need to know:

Ridge — the highest horizontal line where two roof slopes meet at the top.

Valley — where two roof slopes meet going inward. Water runs here — critical to get right for drainage.

Hip — a sloping line where two roof planes meet at an outside corner.

Cricket — a small raised structure behind a chimney or parapet to divert water away. Often missing on poorly coordinated roof plans.

Where builders get burned:

Missing crickets. A chimney without a cricket behind it is a water infiltration problem waiting to happen. The roof plan should show it. The detail sheet should explain it. Both often don't.