Rake and Verge

The rake is the inclined edge of a pitched roof where it passes over a gable end wall, running from the eaves corner up to the ridge. In British, Irish and Australian usage the same edge is called the verge. Each simple gable roof has two rakes (or verges), one on each side of each gable.

Rake versus eave

Eaves are the horizontal lower edges of the roof, where water runs off. Rakes are sloping, so water does not flow over them; instead the main risks are wind uplift, which is often highest at roof edges and corners, and wind-driven rain being blown sideways under the covering.

Detailing in North America

• A rake overhang is created by projecting the roof sheathing and framing past the gable wall, often using lookouts or a ladder-framed fly rafter.
• The exposed edge is trimmed with a rake board or fascia, and in decorative work a bargeboard.
• Drip edge is required at rakes on asphalt shingle roofs under the IRC; at the rake it is installed over the underlayment.
• Starter shingles or adhesive along the rake help resist wind uplift.

Detailing in the UK (verges)

• Traditional verges are bedded in mortar on an undercloak of slate or fibre-cement strip, with the tiles or slates overhanging the gable wall slightly.
• Modern practice has moved toward mechanically fixed dry verge systems, plastic or metal caps clipped to the batten ends, because mortar-bedded verges are prone to cracking and wind damage.
• Bargeboards are used where the roof oversails the gable.

Terminology notes

"Rake" can also describe the pitch of the edge itself, and "raking" is used for any inclined line in a building. The board along a verge in older houses is called the verge board or bargeboard.