Standard Roof Overhang

With a flat shed roof the roof simply extends past the wall plate to provide an overhang.

Standard roof overhang.

Most homes have an overhang however length varies greatly depending on the architectural style of the roof with slate roofs having longer overhangs typically. Some slight overhang is recommended in conjunction with a drip edge flashing to prevent water from getting under the roofing and onto underlying wood. A standard overhang is 16 24 inches but the overhang can be any length you wish. The size of the roof overhang you choose depends largely on the style of your shed s roof.

In general roof overhangs offer an effective solution for how to protect windows doors and entryways. Overhangs are common in most house designs providing protection against both wind and rain. Whereas the overhang on the gable end is a gable ladder. The overhang at the bottom of the slope is a simple overhang.

Under the overhang is a structure known as the soffit. The roof overhang refers to how much the edge of the roof goes beyond the house siding. The length of the overhang depends primarily on the climate. Metal is usually installed on rafters or strip sheathing rather than the solid decking used under other materials.

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. A typical metal roof overhang may be 2 to 4 inches or even less. 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 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.

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. Because this style of a shed has a flat roof it can facilitate a wider overhang which is ideal for storage. The siding underneath the overhang is known as the soffit.