A roof hip is the external angle formed where two sloping roof planes meet at a corner, sloping downward on both sides toward the walls rather than terminating in a vertical gable end, characteristic of hip roof designs found on many residential and commercial buildings.
Because all sides of a hip roof slope downward rather than including flat vertical gable ends, this design generally offers better wind resistance than a comparable gable roof, a genuine performance advantage in wind-prone regions.
The hip location requires its own specific capping material, similar in concept to a ridge cap but running along the sloped angle of the hip rather than a horizontal peak.
What Does a Roof Hip Involve?
- The angled intersection of two roof planes at a corner
- Hip and ridge cap shingles or material along the length
- Careful flashing given the exposed, angled location
- Coordination with jack rafters or trusses framing into it
Why Are Roof Hips Important?
The sloped, aerodynamic shape a hip creates contributes to a hip roof’s generally superior wind performance compared to a gable roof, since wind flows more smoothly across the sloped surfaces rather than pushing directly against a flat vertical gable end. This performance advantage is a significant reason hip roofs remain popular in hurricane-prone and high-wind regions despite their typically higher construction cost compared to simpler gable designs.
Proper capping and sealing along a hip’s length matters just as much as at the ridge, since this exposed, angled location experiences significant weather exposure and requires careful shingle or material overlap to remain weathertight.
Roof Hip vs. Roof Ridge
A roof hip is an angled, sloping intersection at an exterior corner. A roof ridge is a horizontal intersection at the peak, and a single hip roof typically includes both features, with hips at the corners and a ridge connecting them at the top.