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Nineteen terms from quotes and reports

Roof words, in plain English

Quotes, inspection notes and insurance letters use the same few dozen terms. These are the ones that come up most, each defined in a sentence or two and tied to the page it comes from.

Gloved hands lifting a cracked shingle with a flat bar
Roofer in a knit cap fitting metal flashing against a brick chimney
Underlayment
The water-resistant sheet laid on the deck before the shingles. The Department of Energy brief lists 30-pound felt in one layer or 15-pound felt in two, and FEMA's fact sheet for shingle roofs calls for it in high-wind regions.
Flashing
Sheet metal that bridges the seam between a roof and a chimney, wall, vent or valley. Sandy-era advice from the asphalt roofing trade group lists flashings among the roof's weakest points.
Drip edge
A metal strip along the eaves that guides water off the roof edge. FEMA's fact sheet lists it among the parts of a shingle roof in high-wind regions.
Starter strip
The first course along the eave, laid before the full shingles. FEMA's fact sheet calls for one.
Sealing strip
The line of adhesive on a shingle that bonds it to the course below. When wind breaks the bond, the shingle can lift, which is the start of many storm repairs. FEMA's fact sheet covers sealing strips.
Roof deck
The boards or plywood the whole roof is nailed to. The Department of Energy brief puts the limit at 20 percent moisture for wood before it is covered.
Valley
The channel where two roof slopes meet, which carries water from both. Building America lists self-adhering membrane at valleys, dormers and chimneys among its ice dam measures.
Ice dam
A ridge of ice at the eave that traps meltwater behind it. UMass says three ingredients have to coincide: snow, heat and cold.
Ice barrier
A self-adhering membrane laid under the shingles at the eaves. A New Jersey code bulletin asks for one in places where January averages 25 degrees or colder.
Intake and exhaust vents
Vents at the eaves let outside air in, and vents at the ridge let it out. Building America asks for balanced vents and a 2-inch vent space above the insulation.
R-value
A rating of how well insulation resists heat flow. UMass suggests R-38 for ceiling insulation, and Building America asks for R-60 in climate zone 5 and colder.
Granules
The gritty coating on the surface of asphalt shingles. UMass notes that roof rakes can scrape granules off when used to pull snow down.
Leader
The building code's word for a downspout. The state's ordinary-maintenance list includes gutters and leaders, and EPA advises checking whether a downspout feeds an underground pipe before redirecting it.
Roof covering
The outer weather layer of the roof. In the state's alert, redoing existing roof covering counts as ordinary maintenance for a stand-alone one- or two-family house.
Low slope
A roof whose pitch is 2:12 or flatter, the way the Department of Energy's product page uses the word. That is a rise of 2 inches for every 12 inches of run.
Ponding
Water still standing after 48 hours, in the asphalt roofing trade group's definition. The group asks for at least a quarter inch of fall per foot of run.
Scupper
An opening through a roof-edge wall that lets water drain off a flat roof. The trade group lists drains and scuppers among the remedies for ponding.
Cricket and saddle
Small sloped structures that divert water. A cricket sits upslope of rooftop equipment, and a saddle sits at a low point between drains.
Ordinary maintenance
The state building code's term for work that needs no permit. A state alert files roof covering repair and replacement on stand-alone one- and two-family houses under it, with an exception for work touching structural or fire safety.
Pages behind these notes 11

Checked 1 Nov 2026

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