Standard Roof Overhang

The roof overhang refers to how much the edge of the roof goes beyond the house siding.

Standard roof overhang.

Roof overhangs are the amount that the roof hangs over the top of the siding in residential home construction. A typical metal roof overhang may be 2 to 4 inches or even less. Metal is usually installed on rafters or strip sheathing rather than the solid decking used under other materials. Under the overhang is a structure known as the soffit.

Overhangs are common in most house designs providing protection against both wind and rain. The length of the overhang depends primarily on the climate. Some slight overhang is recommended in conjunction with a drip edge flashing to prevent water from getting under the roofing and onto underlying wood. Whereas the overhang on the gable end is a gable ladder.

Because this style of a shed has a flat roof it can facilitate a wider overhang which is ideal for storage. The size of the roof overhang you choose depends largely on the style of your shed s roof. With that in mind we kept a roof overhang at the eaves as it provides a nice shadow line and protects the second floor windows from a bit of the summer sun. At the rakes however with a nod to yankee frugality and clean modern lines we kept the roof trim as close to flush as practical while still allowing for a rain screen channel.

The overhang at the bottom of the slope is a simple overhang. If the overhang exceeds 2 5 feet we will need to use a larger top chord for the overhang typically a 2 6 top chord for the truss. If the roof overhang is not big enough then the only way to protect these windows doors and entryways is by recessing them into the thick exterior wall or by installing special casing and flashing for each door or entryway. The roof overhang occurs in a similar way to the pent roof in that the top chord of the roof truss projects past the wall plate by the desired amount.

With a flat shed roof the roof simply extends past the wall plate to provide an overhang. The siding underneath the overhang is known as the soffit. In general roof overhangs offer an effective solution for how to protect windows doors and entryways.