Architectural Shingles: Also known as laminated shingles, these are thicker and more durable shingles.

Built-up Roofing: A type of roof made from multiple layers of asphalt and fabric sheets.

Cricket: A small, peaked structure at the back of a chimney to direct water away.

Collar: A pre-formed piece that seals around a vent pipe on the roof, also called a vent sleeve.

Deck/Sheathing: The base layer, usually plywood or OSB, to which roofing materials are attached.

Dormer: A small structure with a window that sticks out from a sloped roof.

Drip Edge: An L-shaped metal strip at roof edges to direct water away from the building.

Eave: The lower edge of a sloped roof.

Fascia: A flat board at the ends of roof rafters, often holding gutters.

Felt/Underlayment: A layer of tar paper under the roof materials for extra protection.

Fire Rating: A classification of how fire-resistant a roofing material is, rated as Class A, B, or C, with Class A being the most fire-resistant.

Flashing: Metal pieces used to prevent water seepage around roof intersections like chimneys and vents.

Gable: The triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a sloped roof.

Gable Roof: A roof with two sloping sides and a gable at each end.

Gambrel Roof: A roof with two different slopes on each side, the lower being steeper.

Granules: Crushed rock pieces coated with ceramic, used on asphalt shingles.

Hip Roof: A roof with slopes on all four sides and no gables.

Laminated Shingles: Also called architectural shingles, these have multiple layers for extra thickness.

Oriented Strand Board (OSB): Roof panels made of wood bits glued together, used instead of plywood.

Penetrations: Any items like vents, pipes, or chimneys that go through the roof.

Pitch: The steepness of the roof, shown as a ratio of vertical rise to horizontal span.

Rafters: The sloped beams that support the roof deck.

Rake: The inclined edge of a roof over a wall.

Ridge: The top edge where two sloping roof surfaces meet.

Self-sealing Strip: Adhesive applied at the factory to bond shingle layers together.

Sheathing: Boards or sheets attached to rafters to cover the building.

Slope: The rise of the roof in inches per 12 inches of horizontal run.

Soffit: The underside of the roof overhang.

Square: A unit of roof area measurement equal to 100 square feet.

Truss: Engineered supports that replace rafters in newer buildings, designed for specific uses and not to be altered.

Underlayment: Felt material used under roofing for additional deck protection.

Valley: The angle where two sloping roof surfaces meet.

Vapor Retarder: Material used to stop water vapor from passing through the roof system or walls.