The slope of a roof or pitch is determined by how many inches the roof rises over 1 foot or 12 inches.
Roof pitch for water runoff.
Therefore attic space can be at a premium with a low pitch roof.
When installing a metal roof that has considerable formed thickness to is such as a shake or tile profile using 6 gutters would work better than 5 again to keep water from overshooting them.
While a 4 12 pitch roof has enough slope for water runoff it s often too low for regions with heavy snowfall which can put considerable weight on the roof s structure.
How water sheds off a roof depends on how much rain falls in that location and how quickly it needs to drain.
A wide roof with a steep slope will lead to faster runoff hence necessitating a slightly steeper slope for effective discharge of the rain water.
Every roof needs drainage.
If it is a large roof it is recommended to have drains placed at multiple locations within the area of the roof.
This means that the rise of the slope goes up or down 8 inches for every 12 inches.
Since the pitch of the roof is lower it can act as a catch all for tree limbs and other debris.
My own house with a metal roof of course is a 12 12 pitch and everything is just fine.
A 4 12 slope is enough to accommodate water runoff but is not suitable for regions that are affected by heavy snowfall.
Roof pitch refers to the slope which the rafter creates.
The ratio between width and height is much smaller with a low pitch roof.
High pitch roof pros.
Often you express roof pitch as the ratio between the rise and the run in the form of x 12.
You can assess this in two ways either as the roof pitch angles which the rafters make with the horizontal or the proportion between the run and the rise of the roof.
Care must be given so that debris does not collect and thus cause damage.
I do suggest hanging gutters as high as possible so that water does not over shoot them.
An example for a steep sloped roof is 8 12.
A small roof with a shorter length on the other hand will not collect a lot of water within a short period of time and will work just fine with the minimum roof slope for drainage.