Cricket (Saddle)

A cricket, also called a saddle, is a ridged structure that sends water around the high side of an obstruction or between low points so it does not collect. On steep-slope roofs crickets sit behind chimneys and large skylights. On low-slope roofs they are an essential part of the drainage layout.

On low-slope roofs

Crickets are placed:

• between roof drains along a drain line, where the two slopes would otherwise meet at a flat valley
• on the upslope side of HVAC curbs, rooflights and plant plinths
• along parapets, to move water toward scuppers or corner drains
• at the junction of two roof areas with different falls

They run against or perpendicular to the main slope. Because water travelling along the cricket's valley has only the cricket's slope to drive it, crickets are commonly built at least 50% steeper than the field of the roof to reduce ponding.

Construction

On low-slope roofs crickets are usually made from tapered insulation boards cut to shape and covered by the same membrane as the field. Timber framing or lightweight fill are alternatives. Small crickets on steep-slope roofs are often sheet metal.

Design

Cricket layout is part of the tapered insulation drawing. Designers check that water flowing along cricket valleys reaches outlets without creating flat spots, and UK guidance recommends crickets where falls are interrupted behind obstructions.

Common mistakes

Crickets that are too small or too shallow leave water standing at curbs and between drains. Guidance on ponding lists interrupted falls behind rooflights and plant plinths among its common causes, and recommends crickets to divert water in such areas.