Know Your Roof

Know Your Roof: Roof Parts Explained

Plain-English guides to your roof, from the shingles and the deck under them to gutters, flashing, attic ventilation, storm damage and the insurance and warranty terms on your paperwork. Each one explains what a part does, how it fails and what a proper fix looks like.

Start here

Parts of your roofline

The roofline is everything along the edge of your roof. Here is what each labeled part does.

1. 1

   Fascia board (rakes and eaves)

   The board along the roof edge that your gutters mount to. Wrapped in aluminum or replaced, it protects the roof edge from rot and ends the scrape-and-repaint cycle.

   Fascia board guide
2. 2

   Frieze board

   Trim at the top of the wall, right under the soffit. It seals the seam where siding meets the overhang and helps keep wind-driven rain, wasps and squirrels out.

   Frieze board in the glossary
3. 3

   Solid vinyl soffit

   Closes in the underside of the overhang. Vinyl won't rot or need painting, and it wipes clean.

   Soffit guide
4. 4

   Vented vinyl soffit

   Your attic's air intake. Paired with exhaust at the ridge, it keeps the attic cooler in summer and drier in winter, which helps prevent ice dams and helps shingles last.

   Soffit vents guide
5. 5

   Gutters and downspouts

   Sized and pitched to carry roof water away from your foundation and landscaping. Rooftop Relief installs 6-inch seamless gutters with 3x4 downspouts.

   Gutter guides

It works as one system: fascia, soffit, trim and gutters all protect the same roof edge.

Browse by topic

• Soffit & Fascia

  Soffit and fascia finish the edge of your roof. Fascia is the board your gutters hang on, and soffit closes in the underside of the overhang and usually lets the attic breathe. These guides explain each part, how it fails and how it gets fixed.

  6 guides · 17 terms

• Gutters

  Gutters and downspouts carry roof water away from your fascia and your foundation. These guides cover the common gutter styles and the parts that move the water.

  4 guides · 24 terms

• Flashing & Roof Edge

  Flashing seals the spots where a roof meets a chimney, a wall or another slope, and the roof edge is where water leaves the roof. A lot of roof leaks start at these spots, not in the middle of the shingles. These guides explain each piece and the signs it is failing.

  10 guides · 20 terms

• Shingles & Roofing Materials

  The roofing material is the part of the roof you see and the part that takes the weather. These guides and terms cover asphalt shingles, metal panels and the membranes used on flat and low-slope roofs, and how each one holds up.

  1 guide · 22 terms

• Roof Structure & Shape

  Every roof has a shape and a frame under it. These terms cover how steep a roof is, the common roof styles, the framing under the deck and the things that pass through the roof, like vent pipes, chimneys and skylights.

  24 terms

• Underlayment & Roof Deck

  Under the shingles are two layers most homeowners never see: the underlayment and the roof deck it sits on. These guides and terms explain what each layer does, the common types and why decking problems usually only show up once the old roof is off.

  1 guide · 13 terms

• Attic Ventilation

  Attic ventilation lets outside air in low at the soffit and out high near the ridge, carrying off heat and moisture. When the balance is off, it shows up as ice dams, attic frost, mold and shingles that age early. These guides and terms explain how it works.

  1 guide · 15 terms

• Roof Damage & Leaks

  Roof damage does not always look dramatic from the ground. These guides and terms explain what hail, wind, ice and age do to a roof, what each kind of damage looks like and why a leak often shows up far from where the water gets in.

  1 guide · 24 terms

• Insurance, Warranty & Process

  These are the words you'll hear from your insurance company and your roofer, and see on your paperwork. These terms cover how a roof claim works, the difference between manufacturer and workmanship warranties, and what happens from estimate to final walkthrough. Rooftop Relief offers insurance claims support but is not a public adjuster or insurance agent.

  24 terms