FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter X Instagram Tiktok YouTube Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
Log In
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Restoration
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
Log In

Fine Homebuilding Project Guides

Roofing

Guide Home
  • Tools and Materials
  • Roof Replacement and Reroofing
  • Roof Ventilation
  • Waterproofing
  • Installing Asphalt Shingles
  • Installing Other Types of Roofs
  • Roof Maintenance and Repair

Preparing Vertical Lines on Hip Roofs

Establish control lines perpendicular to the eaves edge.

By Mike Guertin
  • X
  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • pinterest
  • email
  • add to favorites Log in or Sign up to save your favorite articles

There are a number of special situations that require additional layout control lines to keep the shingles straight. Hip roofs have no rake edges to line vertical control lines up to, so you’ll have to establish lines perpendicular to the eaves. And when there’s an obstacle on a roof plane such as a chimney or a dormer, you’ll have to snap extra chalklines so the shingles will align above and below. Contemporary-style homes often have broken-up roof planes with multiple eaves, so you’ll need to adjust either the width of the starter course or adjust a whole series of course exposures to blend the areas together.

Here’s how to use the eaves as reference for establishing vertical control lines on a hip roof. Remember, you won’t need vertical control lines for laminated shingle roofs; only for tabbed-style and other pattern shingles.

  1. Find a rough center point. Start by marking and snapping a horizontal control chalkline for the top of the starter course of shingles. Measure between the hips or between the hip and valley to find the rough center of the eaves.
  2. Find two equidistant points. Drive a nail into the control line at this center point with enough of the head sticking up to hook your tape measure. Measure away from the nail along the control line as far as you conveniently can an equal distance in each direction. Drive a nail at these two points, again leaving the heads up.
  3. Find the perpendicular point. Hook the end of a tape measure on each of the two outside nails and walk up the roof to the ridge roughly above the center nail. Cross the two tape measures, and shift them left or right until they cross at the same measurement. Make a mark at that point.
  4. Snap the primary vertical control line. Hook your chalkline on the nail on the control line. Extend the line to the ridge, making sure it is covering the mark where the tapes crossed, then snap. This line is perfectly perpendicular to the horizontal control lines. 

Establishing a Vertical Control Chalkline Perpendicular to the Eaves Edge

Establishing a Vertical Control Chalkline

Since there is no rake edge on hip roofs at which to end full shingles, you can use this vertical line as your primary vertical control line and snap offset lines from it. Or if you prefer to start elsewhere on the roof, you can use this line to measure, mark, and snap another parallel line as your primary control line.

Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Reliable Crimp Connectors

These reliable, high-quality connectors from Wirefy work on 10-22-gauge wire have heat-shrink insulation to keep out water and road salt.
Buy at Amazon

Handy Heat Gun

This heat gun is great for drying joint compound, primer and paint when patching drywall and plaster walls. Plus it can soften adhesive, get a very cold small engine to start, and shrink heat-shrink tubing.
Buy at Amazon

8067 All-Weather Flashing Tape

Available in 2- to 12-in. widths, this is a good general-purpose flashing tape that sticks well to most things. It features a two-piece release paper, water-shedding layers, and good UV resistance.
Buy at Amazon
Previous: Pyramid Pattern for Three-Tab Shingles Next: Establishing Control Lines around an Obstacle

Guide

Roofing

Chapter

Installing Asphalt Shingles

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Roofing

Roofing

A complete resource that includes the best materials and the right techniques to build a sturdy, leak-free, attractive roof on any house

View Project Guide

View All Project Guides »

Become a member and get unlimited site access, including the Roofing Project Guide.

Start Free Trial

Tools and Materials
  • Roof Coverings
  • Roofing Materials
  • Power Tools
  • Handy Helpers
  • Staging and Ladders
  • Safety Equipment
Roof Replacement and Reroofing
  • Preparing the Old Roof
  • Sheathing
  • Installing the New Roof
Roof Ventilation
  • Venting Basics
  • Installation
Waterproofing
  • Underlayment
  • Drip Edge
  • Flashing Adjoining Walls
  • Dormer and Skylight Flashing
  • Chimney Flashing
  • Vent Flashing
  • Gutters
Installing Asphalt Shingles
  • Calculating Shingles
  • Layout
  • Installation
  • Valleys
Installing Other Types of Roofs
  • Cedar Shingles
  • Metal
  • Low-Slope Roofs
  • Slate and Tile
Roof Maintenance and Repair
  • Assessing the Problem
  • Repairing Asphalt-Shingle Roofs
  • Other Roofing Repairs

Fine Home Building

Newsletter Sign-up

  • Fine Homebuilding

    Home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox.

  • Green Building Advisor

    Building science and energy efficiency advice, plus special offers, in your inbox.

  • Old House Journal

    Repair, renovation, and restoration tips, plus special offers, in your inbox.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters

Follow

  • Fine Homebuilding

    Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
    • LinkedIn
  • GBA Prime

    Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Old House Journal

    Learn how to restore, repair, update, and decorate your home.

    Subscribe Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
  • Fine Homebuilding

    Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
    • LinkedIn
  • GBA Prime

    Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Old House Journal

    Learn how to restore, repair, update, and decorate your home.

    Subscribe Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2025 Active Interest Media. All rights reserved.

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

  • Home Group
  • Antique Trader
  • Arts & Crafts Homes
  • Bank Note Reporter
  • Cabin Life
  • Cuisine at Home
  • Fine Gardening
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Green Building Advisor
  • Garden Gate
  • Horticulture
  • Keep Craft Alive
  • Log Home Living
  • Military Trader/Vehicles
  • Numismatic News
  • Numismaster
  • Old Cars Weekly
  • Old House Journal
  • Period Homes
  • Popular Woodworking
  • Script
  • ShopNotes
  • Sports Collectors Digest
  • Threads
  • Timber Home Living
  • Traditional Building
  • Woodsmith
  • World Coin News
  • Writer's Digest
Active Interest Media logo
X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Project Guides
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Online Learning

  • Courses
  • Project Guides
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • FHB House
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • X
  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 81%

Subscribe

You have 1 free article remaining.

Get complete site access, including thousands of videos, how-to tips, tool reviews, and design features.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in

Privacy Policy Update

We use cookies, pixels, script and other tracking technologies to analyze and improve our service, to improve and personalize content, and for advertising to you. We also share information about your use of our site with third-party social media, advertising and analytics partners. You can view our Privacy Policy here and our Terms of Use here.

Cookies

Analytics

These cookies help us track site metrics to improve our sites and provide a better user experience.

Advertising/Social Media

These cookies are used to serve advertisements aligned with your interests.

Essential

These cookies are required to provide basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website.

Delete My Data

Delete all cookies and associated data