Roof pitch documentation for adjusters and home inspectors
A slope number in a note is an opinion. A slope number drawn on the photo of the roof it came from is a record. Pitch Please takes the reading from the ground or from the surface and saves the photo with the pitch, the degrees, and the guide line on it.
The reading and the proof in one file
In Camera Mode you match an on-screen guide to the roof edge and the app bakes the guide line, the pitch or slope value, the degree reading, and the stability state into the photo you save. In Direct Mode, with the phone resting on the surface, it saves the measurement screen. Either way the number and the image are one object, which is what a claim file or an inspection report needs when someone asks where the pitch came from six months later.
What the saved photo actually shows
The line is visible
The photo shows exactly where the guide sat on the roof edge. Anyone reviewing the file can see whether the placement was reasonable, rather than taking the number on faith.
The value is on the image
The pitch and degrees are drawn on the photo, not typed into a separate field that can be edited, mis-keyed, or lost when the file moves between systems.
The reading had settled
The stability state is saved with it. A reading captured while the phone was still moving looks different from one captured after the indicator went stable.
The original is kept
Saving an annotated copy leaves the original picture unchanged, so the file can carry both the labelled version and the untouched capture it came from.
A repeatable claim and inspection workflow
- For a steep, wet, or otherwise unsafe roof, use Camera Mode from ground level. Stand square to the roof edge you are documenting and move the phone until the fixed guide lies along it.
- Where the surface is safely reachable, use Direct Mode: phone in landscape, long edge in line with the fall of the roof.
- Wait for the stability indicator before you save.
- Attach the saved photo to the claim file or inspection report the same way you attach any other site photo. It lives in your own photo library.
The same reading, taken the same way, on every property. Pitch Please records what you measured and what it looked like; it does not validate a claim decision, an inspection standard, or code compliance. When a file gives you a rise and run instead of a photo, the roof pitch calculator converts it to pitch, degrees and percent slope.
What is Pitch Please not suitable for?
Pitch Please is a field reference and documentation tool: it gives you a fast, repeatable roof pitch reading and a photo record. It is not an engineering instrument, and it does not replace one where the decision carries code, structural, or safety weight. Say so in the report, the same way you would for any other field measurement, and reach for the required instrument when the situation calls for it.
Measurement note. Verify final code, engineering, safety, or construction decisions with the required professional instruments and your carrier's, firm's, or local requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does the saved photo include the pitch value?
Yes. In Camera Mode the saved photo has the alignment line, the pitch or slope value, the degree reading, and the stability state drawn on the image itself, so the number cannot become separated from the picture.
Can I take the reading from the ground on a steep roof?
Yes. Camera Mode lines an on-screen guide up with the roof edge from a distance, which is the intended way to document a slope you should not walk.
Is Pitch Please accurate enough for a claim decision?
It is a field reference and documentation tool for fast, repeatable readings and photo records. Verify decisions that carry code, engineering, or safety weight with the required professional instruments and your carrier's or firm's requirements.
Does the app upload my inspection photos anywhere?
No. Measurement runs on the device and the photo is saved to your own photo library. There is no account and no GDK Digital server involved in taking or storing a reading. The privacy policy spells out each permission.
Full permission details are in the Pitch Please privacy policy.
Get Pitch Please
Available now on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Current pricing and device compatibility are on the store listings.
Related: how Camera Mode measures from the ground, device support for iPhone and Android, and the main Pitch Please page.