By Amy Hanlon on 06 Aug 2023
Sometimes we forget that not everyone loves sheds quite as much as we do. We talk about roof pitch and bearers and dwangs and donks and weatherboard and water ingress like everyone knows all about these things.
So to help you sound like a native Sheddie – and to understand what we’re all on about – here’s a handy translation.
What better place to start than with roof pitch? Roof pitch is quite simply the angle of slope on a roof. A flat roof has a pitch of 0. Anything with any sort of slope has a pitch.
There are two main types of roof pitch when it comes to sheds. Take a look at the video below to find out more:
What are the advantages of an Apex Shed?
Here’s a classic Apex Shed. A for Apex, and an A-shaped roof
The main advantage of an apex roof is the dispersal of water. Because the roof is sloped, water won’t sit on the roof. It runs down the slope and into the guttering or onto the ground below. Since timber and water aren’t a great mix, this is quite an important design feature.
Just like the one pictured, our sheds come with steel box profile roofs as standard these days, even the apex sheds. It has a 20-year manufacturer’s guarantee and is as solid and water-tight as roofing materials come.
Are there any disadvantages to Apex Sheds?
The main disadvantage of the apex roof is that the highest part of your shed is in the centre. That’s absolutely fine if you’re storing A-shaped items, but if you have a large item to be stored that’s taller than the walls of your shed, the only place to store it is right in the middle of the shed. This may not be the best way to use your shed space.
However, if you’re storing items that aren’t taller than the walls, or you don’t mind larger items being in the middle of the building, an Apex Shed will suit you brilliantly.
What are the advantages of Pent Sheds?
Think about those tall items taking up space in the middle of your Apex Shed. If you’d rather have those out of the way against the wall, a Pent Shed is the solution.
We recommend Pent Sheds for storing bikes because you can hang them vertically against the tallest wall of the shed. That way the bikes are out of the way and the rest of the space is available for whatever else you want to store in your shed.
If you have larger items to store but also want to make the most of your space, a Pent Shed is the way to go.
Are there any disadvantages to Pent Sheds?
Pent Sheds have a 5° roof pitch, compared to the 18° pitch of the Apex Sheds. This means that water doesn’t run off the roof of a pent roof quite as easily as an apex because there’s less of a slope. Even before we got rid of roofing felt, we didn’t recommend felt for the Pent Sheds to avoid any issues with water sitting on the roof.
However, this issue isn’t an issue if you have steel box profile roofing. The coated steel isn’t penetrated by the water, so even if water does sit on the roof, it won’t reach the timber below.
If you’re wondering why these numbers are different to those in the video – good work for paying such close attention! The short answer is engineering and complicated sums.
The change from roofing felt to steel has meant changes to the pitch of the sheds because we’re no longer worried about water sitting on the roof and compromising the felt.
What is roof pitch?
The slope of your shed roof will have an impact on how easy it is for water to run off. Apex Sheds have a greater pitch, so water runs off very easily. Pent Sheds have a lesser pitch, but could be the best solution if you’re short on space.
The best way to see the different types of roof pitch is to check out our Apex and Pent Sheds in person. You can find them here at our Show Area in Errol – come on down and have a good look!
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