Roof framing necessitates its own language. Roofs feature hip rafters, ridge boards, jack rafters, and other structural elements, as seen in the figure below. It is beneficial to be familiar with these words when working on a roof. Here's a deeper look at some of the most commonly used roofing terms: A shingle's exposed end This is the thickest end of wood shingles or shakes. The thinnest part is called the edge. Dormer windows Have two sides, one above the other. A dormer is a triangular-shaped window that extends from a roof toward the interior of a building, usually to provide more light inside a room or to extend the eaves (the vertical wall extending beyond the line where the roof meets the house). Eaves Are the vertical walls located at the end of a building's roof. They can be designed to shed water or allow it to flow over the side of the building for visual appeal or environmental control purposes. Gutters Drainage channels built into the downspouts of roofs to carry away water flowing from the buildings' surfaces to prevent flooding and soil erosion. Hip Rafters These are the main supporting beams of the roof structure. They cross the attic area above the ceiling joists and connect to the ridge beam which runs along the top of the roof. The distance between each hip rafter and its adjacent one is called its "eave length". In other words, there is an eave attached to each hip rafter. Jack Rafters These are secondary support beams located directly beneath the primary support beams (the hip rafters).